Hailing from Fishtown, Jerry Franklin was a three year varsity player at North Catholic. Franklin was a two-time All-Catholic and All Scholastic selection. As a sophomore he was a member of the Falcons 1970 PCL champions and Co-City Champions. North beat Dougherty (1-0) to win the PCL crown. They then tied Frankford High (0-0) to grab a share of the City Title.
As a senior in 1972 Franklin was named 1st Team All Catholic, 1St team All City and 1st team All-State. He was also named to the Tri-State All-American team.
Franklin went on to play 4 seasons of College soccer at LaSalle University from 1973-1976. In his career LaSalle posted a 31-19-8 record. In his senior campaign the Explorers went 10-4-2. During his College career Jerry Franklin was twice named an ECC All-Star (1975, 76).