LE ROY — There wasn’t a big secret to his success as a coach, according Bill Freeman.
“I always had good players. They had talent and I was able to get them to work for me,” Freeman told the Register in a telephone interview Wednesday from his Le Roy home.
Work for him they did. Freeman guided football teams to eight state titles at three different schools in three different classifications. His 36-year career record of 242-81-3 included head coaching stints at Baxter Springs, Parker Rural, Nickerson, Le Roy, Osawatomie and Lawrence high schools.
On Friday night, Freeman will be presented with the State of Kansas Sports Hall of Fame’s Pride of Kansas Award. Freeman is recognized as one of the most successful high school football coaches in Kansas history.
Freeman will receive the highest honor given to a coach or athlete by the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame other than induction in the Hall of Fame. The Pride of Kansas Award will be presented to Freeman prior to the Southern Coffey County High football game in Le Roy.
The award presentation is at 6:45 p.m. The SCCH Titans play Lebo with kickoff at 7 o’clock.
“Each time I moved to a different school there were good players with talent. I liked the kids but I was pretty tough on them. They responded and we were successful together,” Freeman said.
Freeman won six state football championships on the field — five were coaching Lawrence High from 1974 to 1990 as the Lions complied a 134-38 record under his guidance. The Lions won Class 6A titles in 1979, 1984, 1986, 1987 and 1989. He also guided the Lions track team to back-to-back Class 6A state titles in 1989 and 1990.
Freeman, who is a Burlington native, spent nine years coaching at Osawatomie High School and won a state football championship in 1973. Before the Kansas State High School Activities Association came up with a playoff system, the Trojans won a “mythical” state football champions in 1966 under Freeman.
Freeman also guided Le Roy High School to a “mythical” state football title in 1963.
“When I graduated I really enjoyed sports and decided coaching and teaching was what I wanted to do. I enjoyed the students and the athletes wherever we were,” Freeman said.
Freeman graduated from Burlington High School in 1949. He was a four-year letterman at offensive guard for Emporia State University, 1949-1953. He was inducted into the ESU Hall of Fame in 1996. Freeman still is a member of the ESU Foundation board of directors.
Also in 1996, Freeman was elected to the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame by the Jayhawk Chapter in Lawrence. He was inducted into the KSHSAA Hall of Fame as well.
Freeman coached several players who went on to play in the National Football League, including Lynn Dickey, Derrick Jensen, Jeff Wright, Bucky Scribner and Keith DeLong. Dickey and Jensen played at Osawatomie High and the others played at Lawrence.
Freeman and his wife, Joan, live in Le Roy. They owned the First National Bank of Le Roy for 32 years. They sold the bank in 2010.
