frederick fiddmont Platinum Most people know Freddie Fiddmont only by his performances on the football field. Exceptions are those who shared his classes, his Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., brothers who saw another aspect of his leadership skills, his major professors, and a few scattered others who were given a glimpse of his more serious side. Otherwise, he tended to be a loner, to be found on the periphery of groups rather than in the mix of active participation. For those who got to know him, he was introspective and thoughtful. All agreed that he was different after his stint in Korea. He never expected to be drafted. After all, he was a graduating senior in good standing. Yet, even after appeals from college leadership including Prexy (Dr. Lawrence A. Davis, Sr., then president of the college), Freddie, along with three other young men, was mandated to report to the induction center at Little Rock. When they arrived at the induction center, they were marched into the rear entrance to be dispatched to a country about which they knew little, to fight for a cause not well-defined, in an undeclared war. Of Freddie’s twenty-three months of military service, twenty were spent in combat in Korea. Freddie was especially fortunate in that he wanted to return to complete his college education and he was able do so with a
year of eligibility left for college football. He participated with a vengeance generally unmatched, and he experienced a great final year. Not only did he love football, but he also loved the institution. Early in his dementia, Freddie was able to discuss football, watch weekend games and agonize over the success, and lack of it, of the Golden Lions. Sadly, by the time the SWAC championship was won, he was no longer able to follow games and rarely showed interest. However, he was provided several mementos commemorating this event by the Development and Alumni Offices, including a football autographed by the team and a DVD of the game. Months later on a spring afternoon when he appeared to be more alert, the second half of the game was played for him. And while it was necessary to explain many times who was playing whom and where, he finally connected. It was at this point that he explained to a worker that was HIS TEAM from HIS SCHOOL, and they were playing in the championship game. It did not matter that it was April and no one was playing football. For Fred Fiddmont it was real, it was current. He was back. His son and daughter, became professional musicians who have traveled the world. Together they gave him six grandchildren, five boys and one daughter.
Fall 2014
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