Saturday, February 20, 2010

Nazi Labor Camp Survivor Makes Football History



Thanks to Mrs. Lewis for sharing this story. Of course, you knew that Texas football had something to do with it. I think you will find the story very interesting, even if you aren't a Texas fan.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

This video is really cool. That man is very lucky to have survived WWII after being in a camp. I think it is so cool that he overcame his past and became a great football player. Fred looks like he's a great guy.

FF6

Anonymous said...

Wow! Thats amazing how a prisoner survivor could come and be an amazing football player just like that. He is lucky that the football coach was there watching because if he wasn't, he wouldn't have been on the football team.

CM1

Anonymous said...

Fred not only changed the way of football forever, but he also survived one of, if not the, most brutal war man has ever seen. I wish I could meet fred. He seems like a very nice man.

JT2

Anonymous said...

I think its cool how despite his awful childhood, Fred could overcome it and go on to be a very successful football player.

-PW6

Anonymous said...

I really liked the video. He's very lucky he wasn't sent to a concentration camp.It was funny when he didn't know what a football was but he punted it 40 yards.I thought it was cool that he was the first soccer style kicker. I wonder what camp he was in.

-Jb2

Anonymous said...

I loved this video because i love texas. I have never heard of this guy in any of the texas books i have read. I think if Darrell K. Royal liked this guy he must have been great.

HS1

Anonymous said...

This is a great movie. It's a great story, especially since he was the 1st person to ever kick soccer-style. Before I watched the video, I thought it would just be about a guy who kicked. I had no idea that he invented the soccer-style kicking. He also seemed like he was grateful for being able to get out of the Nazi camp. That made it a great story. It was also cool to see him and his coach talking about it right next to each other.

-FW1

Anonymous said...

I thought this was a very interesting video. I also thought it was very cool how Fred was the first kicker to go "soccer style", and how that method worked so well. Fred and his family sure were fortunate to not have to be sent to a concentration camp! As I think about this video- I have two questions in my head.

1.) What is the difference between a concentration camp and a labor camp?

2.) Does the "soccer style" method of kicking actually work better than "normal" kicking... or did Fred just have one heck of a kick?

I hope some other classmates can answer my questions. Thanks!

JCon1

Anonymous said...

Unbelieveable that this guy came from a labor camp in Poland, overcame WWII, and stayed with his family throughout the entire thing. He is an amazing football player. I do have one question though, how old was he when he played football at Texas.

WB6

Anonymous said...

Growing up during WWII must have been extremely hard. It probably helped Fred work harder and overcome obstacles while he was in the U.S. He surly had a rough childhood, but know is happy and went to his favorite university.

JM6

Anonymous said...

This is an awesome video! Not only was he lucky enough to survive a labor camp, but he was also lucky enough to play a sport at such a high level. I thought it was clever how they would play soccer with balled up socks. Overall, this was a great video.

CT6

Anonymous said...

I cant belive it all started by a couple of kids that asked him to come kick a ball. After that his life and history was changed.

JAR2

Anonymous said...

This video is very good. I agree with FF6 that the man was very lucky to have survived the labor camp. What type of style did people kick footballs before he came along? Another question I have is, did he ever go to the NFL?
Also the man was lucky that the coach was on the feild that day or he may have never gone to college in his life.

KH3

Anonymous said...

I think that it is amazing that a Polish immigrant could influence an American sport so much. Look at every single kicker in the NFl. They all kick soccer-style. Every time I see a soccer-style kick from now on, I will remember Fred, the Polish immigrant.

-CL6

Anonymous said...

I think this is an amazing story. Not only did Fred survive WWII, but he also went on to be a great kicker at Texas. It is really cool that he basically started the trend of kicking soccer style. It seems like that is what's used by most kickers today.

JF6

Anonymous said...

Fred is amazing. I can't believe he made into a major football league. It must've taken him a lot of hard work to get to the playing field.
RHam3