Francesco “Frank” A. Lentini (July 8, 1884 – September 22, 1966), was an Italian-American showman. Born in Rosolini, Sicily into a family of twelve children (seven sisters and five brothers), he was well known for having three legs, four feet and two genitals.
Lentini’s deformity was the result of a partially absorbed conjoined twin. The twin was attached to Frank Lentini’s body at the base of his spine and consisted of a pelvis bone, a rudimentary set of male genitalia and a full-sized leg extending from the right side of his body, with a small foot attached to this extra knee. It is recorded that Lentini had sixteen toes in total and two sets of functioning male sexual organs.
In his youth, Lentini used his extraordinary third leg to kick a football across the stage, hence his show name, the Three-Legged Football Player. By the time he was six, Lentini’s normal legs were slightly different in length—one was 39 inches, the other 38 inches—but the third leg was only 36 inches, and the foot on it was clubbed. Even more as an adult, while his extra leg was several inches shorter than the others, his primary legs were also two different lengths. He was heard to complain that even with three legs, he still didn’t have a pair. He married Theresa Murray, three years younger than he, and they had four children: Josephine, Natale, Frank and James. Frank Lentini died of lung failure in Jacksonville, Florida on September 22, 1966 at the age of 82.
