Yep, I know Pittsburgh’s Dan Marino and Tennessee’s Reggie White have been inducted into college football’s prestigious Hall of Fame. There were others, but that’s not to say they were

more deserving than Marino and White.

Know what I mean?

Well, here it is &045; Willie Richardson caught so many touchdown passes for Jackson State, and Marino Casem notched so many victories that they had to be remembered.

In South Bend, Ind., about a week ago football’s Hall of Fame actually remembered a mere coach in Casem. The salute came for a man who coached college football for 42 years, and he was humbled.

&8220;After 42 years of involvement in college football, the greatest thing to every happen to me is happening here today,&8221; Casem said. The man who coached Alcorn to 160 wins and seven SWAC titles certainly deserves all the accolades, and there’s no telling how many years it’ll be before someone does better or as well.

All the acclaim came in South Bend, Ind., but this part of the country has been abuzz since the announcement of Coach Casem and Willie Richardson pending induction at South Bend.

Coach Casem is a living legend to begin with, and his HOF reward was a long time coming. But what matters is that he wasn’t completely by-passed.

However, this is a tale of a great athlete of the late 1940s. It could be someone else, but it just so happens it’s Fred Foster.

Fred was a legitimate five-sport athlete at Natchez High who went on to Delta State and did it again. Name ’em &045; football, baseball, basketball, track and even softball. Fred just loved to compete.

Throw him a crumb, and he would go for the biscuit. He was sure-enough a competitor.

Fred was so versatile he even starred in the Natchez City Softball League program. Right out of high school, too.

Foster was a freshman at Ole Miss on scholarship following his first season of stardom in the Natchez Men’s Softball League. He ran second-team quarterback behind Jimmy Lear of Greenwood at Ole Miss as a freshman.

That was 1949 &045; by the spring of 1950 he had transferred to Delta State and was starting quarterback on the varsity.

Back to his Ole Miss stay, Fred actually hit a record 19 of 26 passes thrown against Alabama. That was varsity now. By that time in his collegiate football career he was making fans stand up and notice Delta State. And him.

And basketball? Well, he starred &045; that’s all! Even with the great Nick Revon in the lineup, USM beat Delta State with Fred 56-55 and 57-55. Revon was one of basketball’s hottest items back about that time, but Foster held him to his lowest-scoring total in college &045; 12 points.

This is fun because I just have to get this in &045; by the spring of 1952 Fred was starting at shortstop in baseball for DSU, and knee surgery in the summer of 1952 never slowed him as he was baseball’s best shortstop and showed his agility playing basketball again following surgery.

That was Fred Foster for you.

Glenvall Estes is a longtime columnist for The Natchez Democrat.