Fred Frank Doelling (born September 27, 1938 in

Valparaiso, Indiana Valparaiso ( ), colloquially Valpo, is a city and the county seat of Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 34,151 at the 2020 census. History The site of present-day Valparaiso was included in the purchase of land from the ...

) 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 ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Early years

Doelling attended

Valparaiso High School Valparaiso High School is a public high school in Valparaiso, Indiana. History Valparaiso High School opened in 1871 as Valparaiso City Public Graded School in a facility that had been built in 1861 by the local Presbyterian members as the Val ...

. He accepted a football scholarship from the

. He was a two-way player, who also played on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. Known for his speed, he was a starter and the leading team rusher in three consecutive seasons. As a sophomore, he recorded 97 carries for 511 yards and one touchdown. As a junior, he was limited with leg injuries, recording 78 carries for 340 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns. As a senior, he tallied 133 carries for 707 yards (5.3-yard avg.) and 7 touchdowns. He registered 3 interceptions on defense, while helping lead his school to its first-ever

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...

title. He ended his college eligibility with school records of 1,558 rushing yards on 305 carries for an average of 5 yards per carry. He played in the

Chicago College All-Star Game The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League (NFL) champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year. It was also known as the C ...

. In 2003, he was inducted into the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Doelling was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

after the

1960 NFL Draft The 1960 National Football League Draft in which NFL teams take turns selecting amateur college American football players and other first-time eligible players, was held at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia on November 30, 1959. Many players, in ...

in May. He was a part of the franchise's inaugural season and played in 2 games (2 starts) at

. He was waived on November 7.

References

External links

University of Pennsylvania bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doelling, Fred 1938 births Living people People from Valparaiso, Indiana Players of American football from Indiana American football safeties Penn Quakers football players Dallas Cowboys players