16 Facts About Jerry Frei

Gerald L Frei was an American football player and coach.

Jerry Frei later worked in the National Football League as an assistant coach and scout, mostly with the Denver Broncos.

Jerry Frei graduated from Stoughton High School in 1941, shortly before his 17th birthday, and was a classmate of Marian Benson, whom he married in 1945.

Jerry Frei was inducted into the Stoughton Hall of Fame after his death.

Jerry Frei played college football at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and was a guard for the Badgers as a sophomore in 1942.

Jerry Frei was only age 18, but like most of his teammates, he went on active duty in early 1943.

Jerry Frei served as a pilot in the US Army Air Forces, after training flying 67 reconnaissance missions in the Pacific theater for the 26th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron of the Fifth Air Force's 6th Photographic Group.

Jerry Frei was awarded the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf clusters, meaning he in essence earned the medal three times.

Jerry Frei became head coach at Lincoln High School in 1950, then line coach at Willamette University in Salem in 1952.

Jerry Frei joined the popular, respected, and successful Len Casanova's football staff at the University of Oregon in Eugene as freshman coach in 1955 and became offensive line coach the next year.

When Casanova became athletic director, Jerry Frei was named UO's 25th head coach in January 1967, the first year at the new Autzen Stadium, north of campus.

Jerry Frei was named UPI's national coach of the week twice that season, following the wins over USC and Air Force.

Jerry Frei himself was known to be conservative, but his philosophy was that especially because he had flown in combat when younger than many of his players and had been forced to grow up fast; he wasn't going to try to control his young players' lives, dictate their hairstyles, or attempt to censor their political views away from the field.

Jerry Frei was on the staff at Oregon for 17 seasons, twelve as an assistant and five as head coach.

Jerry Frei was an assistant coach with the Broncos, expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Chicago Bears, returning to the Broncos in 1981.

Jerry Frei was a Broncos offensive line coach under John Ralston and Dan Reeves before going into scouting and administration, and he wound down his full-time career as the team's director of college scouting.