Former Auburn player dies - Connie Frederick

[Saniflush]

I am embarrassed that I did not know anything about this until I was at the Warden's this weekend. 


http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20090415/SPORTS0402/904150341&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

Former Auburn big-play specialist Frederick dies

By Brad Zimanek
bzimanek@gannett.com

Montgomery sports star and former Auburn football player Connie Frederick, who was responsible for one of the more unique plays in school history with an 84-yard fake punt and run against Alabama in 1969, died unexpectedly Sunday in Georgia at 61.

Frederick, who was also a wingback for the Tigers from 1967-69, was the school's Cliff Hare Award winner in 1970, the highest honor a male student-athlete can receive at Auburn. It is given annually to the male student-athlete who, in addition to athletic and scholastic achievements, possesses a high degree of leadership ability, integrity and courage.

Frederick definitely showed courage with his decision to fake a punt from his own goal line in the waning moments against the Crimson Tide. Leading 42-20, Auburn faced a fourth-and-six from its own 16-yard line.

Montgomery native Buddy McClinton, a teammate of Frederick's in junior high school and at Auburn, remembers the play well. McClinton played defensive back, but he also was the holder on extra points and field goals, which meant he had to stick close to head coach Shug Jordan and offensive line coach Gene Lorendo.

"Connie would come over and say, 'They are not rushing me, they just peel back and run away every time. I'm telling you, I can run forever,'" McClinton recalled. "He just kept on 'em. Finally, Coach Lorendo gave him a nod, and Shug was a conservative coach.

"And it was the funniest thing when we saw it on film later, because the whole Alabama team that was running back to create a wedge looked like they were blocking for him, as he went the whole way untouched."

The play still is tied for the fifth longest run from scrimmage in school history. Auburn went on to win 49-26.

"It was something else," said Montgomery's Vince Bowlin, a teammate of Frederick's who also went into business with Frederick and considers Frederick his best friend the last 40 years. "It was our senior year and we were beating them pretty good, and he's thinking what can he do and he comes up with the fake punt and the coaches didn't want him to do it.

"And he takes off and runs 84 yards for a touchdown in front of us, and we're thinking what's going to happen to him when he gets to the sidelines. ... Everybody in the state of Alabama remembers him for that play."

Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Pat Sullivan, now the head football coach at Samford, missed the play. He was on the sideline speaking to some family members who happened to be Alabama fans and was relishing the moment.

"I never got to see it," Sullivan said. "All I did was hear a roar and then saw Connie off in the end zone. The bigger play for me came before halftime when we got the ball back and he made a catch down on a wheel route down to the three-yard line and we ended up scoring to take the lead, and that gave us all the momentum going into the half.

"He made so many big plays and great catches for us. He was a senior leader of that group of receivers. The coaches called him 'Old Reliable.'"

Frederick recounted the fake punt in an article written by Jason Peevy in Auburn Football Illustrated on the day of the Nov. 30, 1991, game between Auburn and Alabama at Legion Field in Birmingham.

"Finally, Coach Jordan grabbed my jersey and told me, flat-out, no," Frederick said. "I was watching, and Alabama wasn't even looking back. I told them if Alabama was going to (set up for a) return, I could run it. I still kept asking Coach Lorendo every time I went in to punt. He kept saying no.

"It had been so long since we'd been ahead of Alabama. The coaches were a little conservative. They didn't want to do anything to jeopardize the lead. With 53 seconds to play, I told Coach Lorendo to let me try it, that I could get a first down. He looked at me kind of funny. He said, 'If you do that, don't tell anyone that I knew about it.'

"No one knew what was going on. All those Alabama players were looking in the air for the ball. Coach Lorendo told me later that Coach Jordan was screaming 'Where's the ball? Where's the ball?' Coach Lorendo told him, 'Look, it's coming right by you!'

"The only person that came close to tackling me was (teammate) Terry Beasley. When he realized what was going on, he came down and tried to block for me. He almost ran me over. It was like instant fame, everybody thought it was the greatest thing. But Alabama was totally faked out. It was like an accident, it happened so fast. It was one of those things that only happens once every 100 years. It was so easy, I didn't feel like I'd earned it."

The victory was Auburn's first win against Alabama since 1963.

"For us seniors, that play was icing on the cake," said Mike Kolen, who was a linebacker on the Auburn team from 1967-69 and also a neighbor of Frederick's for 10 years. "He always had a lot of energy. He was active. He golfed. He always mowed his own yard. This is just a shock to believe he's not with us. I know it's hard on the family.

"But he was a Christian and I know there is comfort in knowing where he is."

The play is obviously not the only thing for which Frederick is remembered.

Bowlin called him Mr. Clutch "because he could do anything with a ball."

McClinton said he was "probably the finest athlete I've played with in any sport."

Frederick was a three-sport star in baseball, basketball and football at Lee High School. He was a part of Lee's 1966 undefeated baseball team. McClinton said he would have excelled in baseball at Auburn, but playing another sport was frowned upon in those days.

Frederick was the team's starting punter in 1968 and 1969, and holds the school record for the most punts in a game with 15 against Clemson on Oct. 12, 1968.

Frederick's character also stood out. During his senior season, Frederick's father, longtime Montgomery Parks and Recreation director Freddy Frederick, died before Auburn's game against Georgia Tech that year in Atlanta.

"It was a huge rivalry at that time," McClinton said. "We knew it would be a close game, and without him as a wide receiver and punter, we knew we probably wouldn't win the game if he didn't play.

"He ended up playing because he said dad would have wanted him to play. We all had great admiration for him. It was just an unbelievable thing for him to do."

Not only did Frederick play, he also caught a touchdown pass in the Tigers' 17-14 win over the Yellow Jackets and was awarded the game ball by Jordan.

"His father passed away, and he had a great game and we were able to win it at the end," Sullivan said. "He was a great player and person. He was always dependable. But everybody is going to remember him for that punt return more than anything."

Services for Frederick are at 3:30 p.m. today at Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church with the Rev. John Schmidt officiating. Interment will follow in Greenwood Cemetery.

Frederick is survived by his wife, Sandy Frederick; three daughters, Maris Frederick, Meredith F. Wit (Judd) and Blair F. Hardy (Wes); grandsons Carter and Cooper Wit and Townes and Conrad Hardy; sister, Amelia McQueeney (Jim); sister-in-law, Lu Ann Crawford; and several nieces and nephews.

Pallbearers are Bill Cochran, Buster Baggett, Bowlin, Jim McQueeney, Rob Robinson, and Ken Nelson.

Memorials may be made in Frederick's name to the Big Oak Ranch or the Matthew Streeter Burnham Memorial at Mulder United Methodist Church in Wetumpka.

"He was a great, great friend," McClinton said. "He would give you the shirt off his back. That's an overused saying, but that's just the way he was. He was always there for you. I was heartbroken when I learned he died."

[Pell City Tiger]

War Eagle, Connie! Rest in peace.