Francis Joseph Tripucka[1] (December 8, 1927 – September 12, 2013) was an American football quarterback who played professionally for 15 seasons.

His first two seasons, he played backup quarterback to Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Lujack on unbeaten Notre Dame squads in 1946 and 1947.

He took approximately 1/4 of Frank Leahy's 1947 squad's pass attempts, connecting on 25 of 44 throws for 422 yards, three TDs, and one interception and a remarkable passer rating of 155.3, and helping the Irish to a second consecutive national championship.

[2] Tripucka went on to become a first-round selection (ninth overall pick) by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1949 NFL draft, but was traded during the preseason to the Detroit Lions.

The Dallas Texans folded after one season, so Tripucka accepted a large contract for the time with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

But in the last game of the season against Bud Grant's Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Tripucka had 17 completions in 29 passes and Ferdy Burket ran for five touchdowns.

[4] After getting fired by Saskatchewan, Tripucka came out of retirement with the American Football League (AFL) as the starting quarterback for the new Denver Broncos franchise.

He started all 14 games in Denver's inaugural 1960 season, and though he led the league in interceptions in 1960 with 34 (still a Broncos franchise record), he also led the league with 248 of 478 passes for 3,038 yards (the first 3000+ yard season by either an NFL or AFL quarterback), to go with 24 touchdowns, including the first TD pass in AFL history.

This included a week 2 victory over Buffalo, in which Tripucka threw for a remarkable 447 yards, a franchise record that stood for 38 years.

On March 20, 2012, at a press conference announcing his signing by the Broncos, John Elway thanked Tripucka "for allowing the franchise to ‘borrow’ the number for Manning.

Kelly was an All-American at Notre Dame and then had an excellent 10-year career in the NBA with the Detroit Pistons, Utah Jazz, and Charlotte Hornets.

Chris, the youngest of the family, played quarterback, wide receiver, and kicker at Boston College, all with Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie.

Tripucka died of congestive heart failure on September 12, 2013, at his home in Woodland Park, New Jersey, aged 85.