Fred Mulvey

Coach, Western HS (1941-1962)

Red Raiders Coach Fred Mulvey (1910-1998): A Biographic Remembrance
by
James D. Calder, Ph .D., C.P.P. Western Class of 1961
Professor, Department of Political Science and Geography, The University of Texas at San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas 78249 james.calder@utsa.edu

Isn’t it funny how the brighter moments of our youth show up much later in life when we recall events and people who most influenced our lives? High school days are commonly memorable. We tend to focus on favorite teachers, coaches, and spe­cial moments that etched their inspirational marks. High school memories seem to occupy a separate region of memory clearly dis­tinguishable from other major circumstances in life, such as college days, family, and even the bosses who praised our work from time to time.
In my mind coaches have a special place in memory and one of my favorite athletic mentors was Red Raiders coach Fred Mulvey, although if he were alive today I doubt that I would remain registered in his memory. At the time my energies were split between several competing priorities. But for that percentage of time devoted to sports, “Mr. Mulvey ,” as he was known formally, has attracted a large number of recall “hits.”
Recently in one of those tedious faculty meetings I was taken back to the late 1950s and to the upbeat atmosphere in which coach Mulvey added so much to my high school education. Western High School and its football field a few blocks away were truly special places and on several occasions through the years I have returned to momentarily recapture the spirit of those class­rooms, practice sessions, game days, and all the other events held there. As the insufferable faculty meeting ended I was impatient to trace Mulvey’s life through several computer-based newspaper and magazine archives. Such devices were not available in the early 1960s. Just think how easy it would have been to write those papers for English teachers Margaret Dorsey and Dorothy Weaver. I gathered more than 160 historical newspaper articles about Mulvey’s college days and his coaching experiences before coming to Western. 141 hits came from the Washington Post, ranging from his heroics at right end on the George Washington Co­lonials football team (1931-1933), football coaching resignation in 1962, and a retirement fete held in his honor in 1968. Addi­tional archival resources filled in other dimensions of his life, his family, and his work. Lots of straight facts helped me build the layers of this bio-remembrance while Stan Shaper and Myles Johnson located pictures to link words with the visual images of this dedicated icon of Western’s history. As my research evolved I was struck by how odd it was to dig around in the life of a person who had inspired so many but who was so nearly unknown to me. This remembrance of Mulvey’s life, therefore, serves two main purposes: first, it shares the details of what was known only by Mulvey and few others at the time; and second, it offers a personal dedication to someone who influenced my perspectives in a career of inquiry and teaching.

When I walked onto the Western football field on that hot day in September 1958 I had no illusions about playing on the varsity team. That was my sophomore year and with few exceptions Mulvey rarely picked 10th graders when much better juniors and seniors were available. I did see some action on the team and a varsity slot evolved from that experience in the next two years. Mine was not a first string berth on the varsity but from time to time Coach Mulvey sent me in to relieve Fred Massey or to fill a hole in the defensive line. A couple of years earlier I earned my stripes playing ball under Coach Wade Hubbard (’49), another one of Mulvey’s proteges, at Palisades Playground. Joe Fletcher will not recall but he held that monstrous side-body bag the day I broke my arm while “Hubbard,” as he was more commonly known, looked on. Anyway, knocking around at middle guard seemed to be my place in the game and that experience served me well in college ball at Montgomery Junior College under Coach Lou Chacos. I did not know it then but Chacos and Mulvey had been peer coaches when the former worked at Central and Roose­velt High Schools. From the Western teams in ’60 and ’61 we remember the Lewis brothers, big Joe Fletcher, Dick Frye (who joined me at MJC), Dave Chen, Langston (“Trey”) Coleman, Buddy Humphries, and many others. Our win-loss ratio was about 50-50 in those years but this was relatively common for Mulvey’s learns with the exception of division championships in 1945 and 1952. Most other D.C. high schools benefitted from larger enrollments and thus they averaged heavier and larger teams. Size and speed mattered in the same ways they do today but Mulvey compensated for these shortcomings with the use of the “T” formation, the quick kick, and other strategies. When we lost a game on Friday, the Monday practice session started on a down note, but Mul­vey did not allow us to dwell on negative history. Imperatives of the next game were more important to him.
Coach Mulvey was a serious man who walked rock straight and rarely cracked a smile — at least that’s my recollection.
Surely he knew how to smile since his Post pictures captured faint expressions of a slightly upturned lip. He always seemed deep in thought. My bet is that he was consistently imagining the next season’s hopefuls and plans for a strong season finish. Lest this observation appear negative, I always believed that he was approachable when I had a question but I also understood that he ex­pected us to maintain the same level of professional and businesslike demeanor. But this was true for most of our teachers and coaches at Western. They didn’t try to impose an atmosphere of friendships or to manipulate our admiration. Ours was not a gen­eration of educational popularity contests so common in the current K-12 setting. High school was a place to learn standards and to mature beyond the years of hormonal rage and the silliness of childish pranks. I speak from experience and from what I have ob­served for many years in university life!

Mr. Mulvey’s early life remains elusive but his record of accomplishments pre-dated his Western years. He was a high school football star in East Providence, Rhode Island from 1927 to 1929. The story of how he arrived in D.C. and why he selected George Washington for his college work are also unknown but my bet is that he was recruited heavily by the Colonials. At GW he participated in three sports (football, basketball, and baseball) while achieving honor student accolades. The GW years are detailed in many Post articles, including the circumstances of his best games and the injuries he suffered from time to time (’31 — ’33). Injuries did not halt participation on the GW basketball and baseball teams, however. Consistently he attracted the attention of sports writers. For interested fans, a youthful picture of Fred appears along with his teammates in the December 4, 1932 issue of the Washington Post (p. 18). Two months earlier his team faced off against Alabama’s Crimson Tide in Griffith Stadium before a near record crowd of nearly 20,000 people. GW lost 28-6. Earlier that year a writer even uncovered the fact that Mulvey met and mar­ried an emergency room nurse, Katheryn Platt. A year later on graduation day at GW he informed his mother of the nuptial event. Considering the times, that must have been a big surprise for mom. One can only speculate that the bride’s parents were also com­pletely unaware of the situation. During 1933 and 1934 Mulvey secured a position directing local playground sports. His family grew by two more members in the late 1930s with births of daughters Monica and Patricia. From 1934 to 1941 he coached several sports at Gordon Junior High School and in 1939 he was featured again in a Post article demonstrating how young basketball “cagers” should toss free throws.
In 1940, the year before Mulvey came to Western, Red Raiders’ coach Dan Ahern (assisted voluntarily by Mulvey) achieved a championship season, a record not experienced in 34 years. Think about that: Football had been ongoing at Western for decades by the time our class passed through the same hallways! Ahern transferred to Industrial Home School in 1941 thus leaving Mulvey a relatively new team with few returning veterans. The Western Breeze reported in September that Mulvey brought to West­ern a significant amount of coaching experience and that he knew many of the boys he had coached at Gordon. Three months later the nation marched to world war in Europe and the South Pacific and many of the men Mulvey coached during his seven years at Gordon left home for uncertain futures in military service. I suspect he read the obituaries of some of them.
Wartime took its toll on the number of available high school coaches. Beginning in 1942 military service absorbed lots of men in their mid to late 20s. The military draft did not reach up to the 30-year-olds for several months thereafter. Although the war­time and post-wartime football seasons were challenging in several ways, many of Mulvey’s men moved on to great achievements. The late Ray F. Krouse (’44), for example, starred in college ball and then with the New York Giants (’51-’55), Detroit Lions (’56- ’57), Baltimore Colts (’58-’59), and finally with the Washington Redskins (’60-’61). Wade Hubbard was one of Mulvey’s most memorable quarterbacks in the period of 1946 to 1948. After coaching at Palisades he later was a well known figure in organizing the D.C. Roving Leader program in 1956 to organize sports for delinquent or potentially delinquent youth. Fullback Jim Bakhtiar, later Dr. Bakhtiar, was named Washington Post player-of-the-week in fall 1952 and later went on to All-American fame at the Uni­versity of Virginia in 1957. Hal Dyer and Walt Jenkins received All-High recognition in 1953 and both advanced to careers in coaching and managing. And there was Joe Trilling at halfback in 1958 (my parents had rented an apartment in the Trilling house during the war) who had a successful career in D.C. area businesses. Gemini astronaut Edward H. White was more comfortable in outer space but sadly in 1967 he died in the tragic Apollo 1 launch pad fire at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Many others too numerous to mention here were also part of Mulvey ‘s record of successful students.

There are other interesting dimensions of Mr. Mulvey’s life. Let’s not overlook the fact that his wife was quoted in Life Magazine for June 26, 1939 offering a testimonial for her new refrigerator: “No one could have sold us anything but a Servel Electrolux this time! We had experience with another refrigerator so [we] knew what it would mean to have one that never made noise.” Wow. Fred must have chuckled when he read that item. The decade of the ’40s wrapped up with 610 young men showing up for the first day practice at several D.C. high schools. In those years coaching after class hours was not rewarded in a teacher’s pay. In 1947 school system coaches began to express divided opinions about the matter and the fact that their time and dedication for years had been freely contributed. Many coaches took extra jobs in those years to make ends meet. Mulvey was one of them and at one point he indicated that he would not continue with after school coaching unless forced to do so if something was not done about the remuneration problem.
But controversy was rarely part of Fred Mulvey’s career. There was one other issue, however, on which he took a clear stand. In late 1945 a citywide debate stirred when a school system policy concerning teenage drinking and smoking at football games was raised. The issue attracted the attention of the D.C. congressional delegation, the Alcohol Beverage Control Board, school principals, parents, and students. Apparently several of these groups were concerned that the problem had gotten out of hand thus the need for some sort of crackdown. Gambling on high school football games, by the way, had also become a problem. Pro­posals to solve these problems ran wild. The harshest of the measures was offered by one of Mulvey’s peer coaches at Roosevelt High School. Stewart argued that games at which violations were observed should be closed down. Mulvey was vigorously opposed to Stewart’s solution and was quoted in the Post.”…if drinking does happen in the stands it can be recognized and stopped much easier than if stadia are closed and pupils repair to taverns.” The matter seemed to have had its origins in the frequency of returning military veterans who were attending games side by side with young and impressionable students. The issue simply faded from concern in succeeding weeks.
Mulvey, like any other public figure with a reputation, was also subject to scrutiny by the press. One particular incident could not have pleased Fred. In 1948 his 10-year-old daughter, Monica, was sued by a Justice Department attorney. It seems that the attorney’s daughter, a classmate of Monica, alleged that Monica caused her to have a chipped tooth, a result of an accidental schoolyard encounter. The plaintiff demanded $5,000 to repair his daughter’s injury alleging that Monica struck her classmate with a lunch box. Ouch! Post articles covered the story three days in March and April 1948. Monica was required to testify in District Court along with her “star witness” and friend — jury and all. They explained to the jury that it was all a simple accident whereupon the jury ruled in only twenty minutes in Monica’s favor. More drama followed when the court deferred a decision on who should pay the court costs and the attorney’s fees. Days later the wisdom of the hearing judge shined: the Justice Department attorney was required to pay court expenses and attorneys’ fees. Clearly he was not a happy camper, later filing a new suit in the amount of $10,000 without any apparent success. That summer high school coaches voted 43-2 in opposition to a school system proposal that they volunteer time to coach after 3 p.m. without compensation. The coaches threatened to walk out of fall high school sports activi­ties. All of this must have made for a less-than-memorable year in the Mulvey household. By September, however, the ever-hopeful Fred bounced back when he participated in the opening dedication of the Boys’ Club of Washington Football Conference with sev­eral Redskins football players, including star Joe Tereshinski. The ’48 football season opened as usual with Wade Hubbard at quar­terback, Dick Casey at fullback, and a 15-year old walk-on named Dale Larson who surprised Mulvey with a 65-yard touchdown against Washington and Lee.

Mulvey’s teams typically opened their seasons with practice sessions beginning a week later than other teams. By opening day in ’51 Mulvey told the press that he would have a “light team” and a “tough time” against heavier teams in the league, but optimism was always part of his public expressions, “We’ll outscore them.” Western was truly fortunate to keep Mulvey in ’52 when a bidding war broke out over selection of a head coach for the GW football team. Fred had plenty of experience and thus was in the running, as were several other local coaches, although the target of GW’s interest was primarily Alphonse (“Tuffy”) Leemans who had refused the job in ’46 and ’48. Remaining at Western, apparently Mulvey craved a return to actual competition on the basketball court. In 1953 — and we can do the math here — he joined other past GW lettermen in an exhibition match. His playing days ended in 1953! Aches and pains must have followed that game. Also in 1953, never shying away from more volunteer work, he served on the board of directors of the Country Club Amateur Swimming Association, and in 1955 he coached the Public High All-Stars. Let’s not forget that he had done this kind of work for many years. In the summer of 1944 he served as the temporary director of the Glen Echo athletics program, taking on supervision of all competitive athletics in western suburban Montgomery County.

“Mr. Mulvey” worked alongside Fred Lehr (the basketball and track coach) and Clifton Moore (the baseball coach with the classic grin, infectious twinkle in his eyes, and huge hands). One can only hope that veterans of the Lehr-Moore teams will write articles commemorating their service at Western. Other than a class with Lehr and Moore, I have only one significant memory.
Early one basketball season Lehr called me off the court. He had observed my lame shooting performance during an afternoon prac­tice: “Calder,” he quietly advised, “stick to football, this is not your game!” He was right. I didn’t really like the game anyway. In all honesty my efforts to make the team were purely aimed at avoiding springtime gym class. I earned my letters in football for two years and that was enough sports fun in light of other priorities. I was no match for the profoundly better athletes turned out by Lehr, Moore, and Mulvey.
Fred Mulvey retired from teaching in 1968 after stepping down as head football coach in 1962, replaced by his former assistant, Frank August. In December ’62, a dinner to mark 21 years of high school coaching was held in his honor at the Shoreham Hotel. 100 people attended, including peer high school coaches and former players, including Ray Krouse and Jim Bakhtiar. From ’63 to ’68 Fred turned his attention to coaching the golf team, teaching history, and assisting in other sports activities. We know little of his years in retirement after Western, but one can surmise that he remained an active mentor and adviser to many others. It was sim­ply in his nature. Sadly, his wife of fifty years preceded him death in 1984. Fred lived on for several more years in retirement, pass­ing on at age 89 in 1998. He was survived by his two daughters, 10 grandchildren, and 12 great grandchildren. As with so many of his generation, he lived through youthful years in the Teens, the roaring 20s, the Depression 30s, the wartime 40s, the sleepy 50s, the uproarious 60s, the politically turbulent 70s, the materialistic 80s, and the pre-millennium 90s. Fred, you were a special person to many of us; one of a kind! Coach, we hardly knew ye then. Thanks for a job well done.

Sources:
Providence Journal, unknown date, 1927
The Washington Post, Times Herald, 1954 to 1959
The Washington Post, 1930 to 1998
The Western Breeze, various years
Western High School yearbooks (various 1941 to 1961)