Freddie S. Summers (February 16, 1947 – December 7, 1994) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for three seasons with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Wake Forest Demon Deacons The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Wake Forest University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

as a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

. He was selected by the Browns in the fourth round of the

1969 NFL/AFL draft The 1969 NFL/AFL draft was part of the common draft, the third and final year in which the NFL and AFL held a joint draft of college players. The draft took place January 28–29, 1969. The draft began with first overall pick of O. J. Simpso ...

Early life

Freddie S. Summers was born on February 16, 1947, in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

. He attended Dorchester High School in

Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts Dorchester () is a neighborhood comprising more than in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Originally, Dorchester was a separate town, founded by Puritans who emigrated in 1630 from Dorchester, Dorset, England, to the Massachuse ...

College career

Summers first played

at McCook Junior College from 1965 to 1966. He transferred to play for the

from 1967 to 1968. In 1967, he became the first black quarterback to start for a major Southern university. He completed 77 of 159 passes (48.4%) for 909 yards, two touchdowns, and eight interceptions while also rushing for 510 yards and an

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC)-best ten touchdowns, earning first team All-ACC honors. He also led the ACC in total offense that season. In 1968, he completed 125 of 250 passes (50.0%) for 1,664 yards, nine touchdowns, and a conference-high 25 interceptions while rushing for 439 yards and seven touchdowns.

Professional career

Summers was selected by the

in the fourth round, with the 98th overall pick, of the

1969 NFL draft The 1969 NFL/AFL draft was part of the common draft, the third and final year in which the NFL and AFL held a joint draft of college players. The draft took place January 28–29, 1969. The draft began with first overall pick of O. J. Simpso ...

. He converted to defensive back with the Browns. He played in eight games, starting three, during his rookie year in 1969. He appeared in 12 games, no starts, in 1970 and made one fumble recovery. Summers played in three games, starting one, during his final season with the Browns in 1971. On June 15, 1972, he was traded to the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in exchange for the Giants second pick in the

1973 NFL draft The 1973 NFL draft was held January 30–31, 1973, at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Houston Oilers selected defensive end John Matuszak. Player selections Round one ...

. He was placed on injured waivers on August 30, 1972.

Death

Summers died on December 7, 1994, in

Randolph, Massachusetts Randolph is a suburban city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, the city population was 34,984. Randolph adopted a charter effective January 2010 providing for a council-manager form of government instead of the ...

References

External links

College stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Summers, Freddie 1947 births Players of American football from Columbia, South Carolina American football defensive backs American football quarterbacks Wake Forest Demon Deacons football players Cleveland Browns players New York Giants players 1994 deaths People from Dorchester, Boston 20th-century African-American sportsmen