Fred Harrison Cook III (born April 15, 1952) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player. He played

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

from 1974 through 1980.

High School and college

Cook played high school football for Our Lady of Victory in Mississippi, and to date is the only player from that school to make it to the pro level. Cook played college football for

Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to a ...

. Upon entering the university, Cook was one of the first African-Americans to play for the football program. After playing well on the freshman team, Cook was promoted to the varsity football team. He was a starter as a sophomore, ending the season with 68 tackles and 18 quarterback sacks, both school records. Graduation took apart the front line, as Cook was the lone returning starter for the 1972 season. The team only managed three wins, but Cook was still a dominant force, recording 19 sacks and 122 tackles. In 1974, his senior season, his tackles diminished, but he still lead the team in quarterback sacks. Cook was third-team All-American and played in both the senior bowl and Blue-Gray games.

Pro career

Cook was selected by the

in the second round of the 1972 National Football League draft. The Colts had fallen on hard times. In 1974, under head coach

Howard Schnellenberger Howard Leslie Schnellenberger (March 16, 1934 – March 27, 2021) was an American football coach with long service at both the professional and college levels. He held head coaching positions with the National Football League's Baltimore Colts a ...

the team was terrible, going 2-12, only getting wins versus the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

and

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

. In 1975, the Colts had a new head coach in

Ted Marchibroda Theodore Joseph Marchibroda (March 15, 1931 – January 16, 2016) was an American football quarterback and head coach in the National Football League (NFL). He spent his four years as an active player with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1953, 1955&nd ...

and improved to 10–4. Cook started all 14 games, just as he did as a rookie the previous season. Cook picked off a

Steve Grogan Steven James Grogan (born July 24, 1953) is a former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for sixteen seasons with the New England Patriots. He played college football at Kansas State University and was sel ...

pass for his first career interception in the Colts 34–21 over the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. Cook also scored the only touchdown of his career when he returned a fumble recovery for a score in another game that season. The Colts qualified for the playoffs three times during Cook's career, but they lost in each appearance. One of those was the "Ghost To The Post" game in which

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

quarterback

Ken Stabler Kenneth Michael Stabler (December 25, 1945 – July 8, 2015) was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders. Nicknamed "Snake", he played col ...

hit tight end

Dave Casper David John Casper (born February 2, 1952) nicknamed "the Ghost", is an American former football player best known for being a prominent member of the Oakland Raiders in the National Football League (NFL). He was a tight end and also played as ...

for the winning touchdown in the final minutes of the game. Oakland won 37–31. Cook was a full-time starter in each of his seasons with the Colts, playing in 104 games for the franchise. On July 19, 1981, the Colts traded Cook, who was pending to be a free agent, to the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

for a few draft picks. However, Cook was dealing injuries and never played for Washington.

Personal life

In 2009, Southern Mississippi inducted Cook into their legends club. The club consist of former players, many of whom went on to careers in the NFL.

Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 20 ...

Ray Guy William Ray Guy (December 22, 1949 – November 3, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a punter for the Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). Guy was a first-team All-American selection ...

Reggie Collier Reginald C. Collier (born May 14, 1961) is a former professional American football quarterback. Best known as a dynamic college football star, he had a short-lived professional career in both the United States Football League and National Footbal ...

, and

Sammy Winder Sammy Winder (born July 15, 1959) is a former professional American football running back who spent his entire professional career playing for the Denver Broncos, from 1982 to 1990. The son of a farmer, Winder played his high school football at M ...

are among the players in the club. When

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

struck Mississippi, Cook's elementary school was completely destroyed, and he himself lost two cars. He also lost the son of a friend to suicide not long after the storm. Though the losses left him battling depression, Cook vowed to not let it get him down. Not long after the storm, he returned to Baltimore for an alumni reunion.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Fred 1952 births Living people Sportspeople from Pascagoula, Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi American football defensive linemen Southern Miss Golden Eagles football players Baltimore Colts players