Steve Frederick was one of the Tigers best athletes in the 60’s, a decade that produced a great many college and professional athletes from the Dayton Public League.
Steve earned a total of 10 varsity letters, 4 in football, 2 for baseball, 2 in basketball and 1 for track. He earned All-City Honorable Mention his junior year in football and was Second Team All-City at fullback and linebacker his senior year. In the win against Kiser, Steve scored 3 touchdowns in 94 seconds and was named “Player of the Week” by the Dayton Daily News on Sept.16, 1964, for his outstanding game in the win over Kiser.
He was a starter at forward his junior and senior basketball seasons. The Tigers finished 3rd in the city his senior year, beating both Dunbar and Roosevelt which were co-champions of the league. They also beat Belmont which was the defending state champion. His junior year the Tigers beat Stebbins which at the time was rated 3rd in the state. He was named to the All-City Honorable Mention Team. Steve and Larry Harris were co-captains of the football and basketball teams their senior years. Steve decided not to play baseball his senior year, but ran track for Coach Dick Landis. One thing he is most proud of is finishing 3rd in the city in the high jump behind outstanding athletes Henry Burlong of Dunbar and Mike Pratt of Meadowdale.
After high school, Steve played one year on the Central State football team. He then joined the Army and is a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War. He received the “Soldiers Medal” for Heroism. A jeep caught fire while his platoon was clearing a forest. Steve jumped in, removed 6 grenades and 400 M-60 rounds, kicked it out of gear, and pushed the jeep in a ditch. The citation recognized his actions as being “responsible for saving the lives of or preventing serious injury to other members of his platoon and civilian personnel nearby.”
Steve was an outstanding Flag football player, both locally and nationally, and was inducted into The Ohio Flag Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
Steve has been married to his wife Mary Jo for 29 years and lives in Tennessee, where he enjoys fishing and golfing. He is the proud father of a son and a daughter with 3 grandchildren