Bill Freeman, who coached Le Roy High School to a state football title in the 1960s, has been elected into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.
Hall organizers announced the 2014 inductees Wednesday.
The list of 10 includes Freeman, 83, who suffers from Alzheimer’s and lives in a nursing home in Burlington. His candidacy was championed by his daughter, Jennifer Nauertc.
She learned of her father’s induction via phone call a week ago.
“I just started bawling,” she said. “It was so overwhelming. I told Dad, and he smiled and said, ‘That’s good.’”
In 36 years, including a stint at Le Roy High School, Freeman’s teams had a 242-81-3 record, with eight state championships.
“Wild Bill” Freeman’s teams won titles in Osawatomie (2) and Le Roy (1) before the state playoff system was introduced in 1969. His heyday came as head coach at Lawrence High School, where his teams won five state championships between 1979 and 1989.
He coached future NFL players, including Lynn Dickey, a 1997 KSHOF inductee, Derrick Jensen, Jeff Wright, Bucky Scribner and Keith DeLong. Freeman also coached Lawrence High track and field teams to state titles in 1989 and 1990.
Freeman also was a recipient of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame’s Pride of Kansas Award in 2012, and is an inductee in the Emporia State Athletics Hall of Fame.
NAUERTC HAS started a Facebook page, “Coach Bill Freeman Induction Into The Kansas Sports Hall Of Fame,” to give updates on the upcoming induction ceremony in October.
“There were a lot more people than me who helped my father get inducted,” she said. “I’m forever grateful.”
In addition to coaching, Freeman owned the bank in Le Roy for several years and served as the town’s mayor. He gave up both as the early stages of Alzheimer’s set in.
Others in the Kansas Hall’s class of 2014 are:
— Smith Center High football coach and eight-time state champion Roger Barta;
— Riley native and University of Texas Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds;
— Stanford University All-American swimmer from Wichita, Caroline Bruce McAndrew;
