Freddogg Off The Chain

It was first day of Spring Practice for the Temple football team prior to the 1965 season. Coach George Makris, a University of Wisconsin graduate who was an NCAA heavyweight boxing champion was entering , a win or get out, season.

I was standing there having been recruited to Notre Dame and Michigan out of high school but electing instead to play Big Five basketball at Temple. A catastrophic knee injury and resulting surgery with a hacksaw had me on the trading block within the Temple program. They were trying to lure and entice me to play football.

Coach George Makris looked at me in a meeting with the Athletic Director Ernie Casell and said,” I’ve seen you play basketball Fredericks and you ain’t no basketball player. Now in football I believe you could letter for us as a sophomore.”

“Letter? Did you say, Letter? Is somebody kidding me here? Letter? I’ve seen you guys play and if I couldn’t start for your team I’d turn in my helmet for a drum major’s hat.”

“You are some kind of smart ass, aren’t you boy,” Makris said. I only responded, ”You started it.”

So there was Makris standing in front of a rolling blackboard out on the field with the red brick of Temple stadium behind him. Players stood silently in rapt attention,listening to his speech. Somewhere near the end he said,” And I’m not interested in your personal problems, I don’t care if you like me and I don’t care if you talk about me. And you can call me anything you want but I’d better never hear you call me a Goddam Greek”

Right on cue a boy from Brooklyn directly behind me shouted, ”Goddam Greek!”

Coach Markis looked directly what me. “What did you say boy?” I looked around to see who he was looking at but when I turned he was still looking at me.

“What did you say boy?”

“Coach, I didn’t say anything. It wasn’t me!”

“What your name boy?”

Now that really made me mad that The Goddam Greek Head Coach who lured me away from the basketball program didn’t know my name and the truth be told,”he didn’t know my name, which is why I was listed at fourth team offensive guard on the depth chart.


True the following fall I was the starting right guard on the team and I was a player with an edge and attitude like the time in practice Makris looked down at my size 13 shoes then contemplated the rest of my body for size and speed and said, ”Fredericks Goddamit. If I had your size and speed when I was in college I’d have been an All American”
“Coach in all due respect you look like you’re having enough problems just being yourself. “

My line Coach, Dave DiFillipo, crouched behind a canvas blocking dummy and started laughing.

“Call me a Goddam Greek one more time so I can kick your ass, ”Makris said.

“Coach I didn’t say it not then and I’m not saying it now. In fact, I speak every language but Greek.”

“Really, say something in Italian. “

“That’s Greek to me.” The goddam Greek walked right into my joke.

Peace Freddogg

Link below to Makris obit

http://www.owlsports.com/sports/football/releases/release.asp?RELEASE_ID=16502