Football roots drive Gators QB
Trask’s grandfather was rugged leader for Houston Oilers.
GAINESVILLE – A photo of Orville Trask receiving the 1960 season AFL Championship game ball from Houston Oilers owner Bud Adams hangs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Nearly 1,300 miles southwest of Canton, Ohio, a copy commemorating the moment adorns a wall at Michael Trask’s home in Manvel, Texas.
As a child, his youngest son, Kyle, was awestruck by the image. The No. 79 jersey of the man he called Grandpa is covered in mud as he towers over Adams, who wore a white cowboy hat.
Orville Trask, a burly 6-foot-4, 258-pound defensive tackle for those champion Oilers, still remains larger than life to his grandson, who was just 10 when his grandfather died.
“Whenever I was a kid, he was the tallest person in the entire family,” Kyle Trask recalled. “He was definitely like a giant.”
Many of Trask’s memories of his grandfather are fuzzy and fleeting. But Orville Trask’s influence on the Florida Gators starting quarterback remains undeniable.
Growing up around Orville Trask’s memorabilia and hearing memories from his playing days had a profound impact on Kyle Trask, who himself had an aptitude and appetite for the sport.
“He’s kind of the reason I first started playing football, honestly,” Kyle Trask said. “I looked up to him.”
Years later, the 22-year-old carries forward the family’s football legacy after following his own circuitous path.
“He just kept his head down, worked hard and waited for his chance,” Michael Trask said of his son.
Orville Trask really never saw his opportunity coming.
Following a stint in the Marine Corps, he reckoned his football career was behind him until the American Football League arrived in Houston and staked claim to the Oilers franchise.
A balding 25-year-old firstyear law student at the University of Houston, Trask appeared to be the ultimate long shot when training camp opened during the summer of 1960. But by Week 2, coach Lou Rymkus named Trask team captain. He again held the position for the Oilers’ 1961 AFL champions — the last league title for a franchise that in 1996 would leave town to become the Tennessee Titans.
“Any time we were out to dinner in Houston, someone would come up to him, even after 20 or 30 years. It was like, ‘Are you Orville Trask?’” Michael Trask said. “I swore