Forrest Ingram "Frosty" Peters (April 22, 1904 – April 17, 1980) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player who played three seasons in 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) with the

Providence Steam Roller The Providence Steam Rollers (also referred to as the Providence Steam Roller, the Providence Steamroller and the Providence Steamrollers) were a professional American football team based in Providence, Rhode Island in the National Football Leag ...

Portsmouth Spartans The Portsmouth Spartans were a professional American football team that played in Portsmouth, Ohio, from their founding in 1928 to their relocation to Detroit in 1934. Originally drawing players from defunct independent professional and semi-prof ...

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

and

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

. 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 ...

Montana State Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana, United States. It enrolls more students than any other college or university in the state. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's d ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. He was known for his

drop kick A drop kick is a type of kick in various codes of football. It involves a player intentionally dropping the ball onto the ground and then kicking it either (different sports have different definitions) 'as it rises from the first bounce' ( rugby ...

ing ability.

College career

Peters played for the

Montana State Bobcats The Montana State Bobcats are the varsity athletic teams representing Montana State University in Bozeman in intercollegiate athletics. The university sponsors thirteen teams including men and women's basketball, cross country, skiing, tennis, an ...

Montana State College Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana, United States. It enrolls more students than any other college or university in the state. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's d ...

in 1924. He converted 17

s into field goals in a game between the Bobcats' freshman team and Billings Polytechnic Institute. The Bobcats won the game by a score of 64–0. The Bobcats helped him set up his drop kicks by falling short of the goal line instead of scoring. Peters also made 15 drop kicks in a game once. Montana State athletic director Schubert Dyche said that "We agreed that every time we got inside the 30-yard line. Frosty would drop kick one." He transferred to play for the

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the College athletics, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's Varsity team, varsity sports. The university op ...

of the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

in 1925, where he was a part of the Illini freshman football team. He was heralded by some to be a potential successor to

Red Grange Harold Edward "Red" Grange (June 13, 1903 – January 28, 1991), nicknamed "the Galloping Ghost" and "the Wheaton Iceman", was an American professional American football, football Halfback (American football), halfback who played for the Chicag ...

. Peters lettered in football for the Illini in 1926, 1928 and 1929. He sat out the 1927 season due to a knee injury. He helped lead the Illini to the outdoor national championship as a member of the 1927

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

team. Peters played in the 1930

East–West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

Professional football career

Peters played for the

and

of the NFL in 1930. He then played for the NFL's

in 1931 and the

of the NFL in 1932. He played for the Memphis Tigers from 1932 to 1934. Peters was also coach of the Tigers from 1933 to 1934, serving as a

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

. He was named second-team all-league by the coaches while playing for the Tigers of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

in 1934. He was also later a player-coach with the

St. Louis Gunners The St. Louis Gunners were an independent professional football team based in St. Louis, Missouri, that played the last three games of the 1934 National Football League season, replacing the Cincinnati Reds on the league schedule after the Reds ...

Professional baseball career

Peters spent time playing professional baseball in the 1930s. He attended George Barr umpire school in

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County, Arkansas, Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs ...

. He spent time as a baseball umpire, serving in the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

and then the American Association (AA). Peters's stint in the AA was interrupted by service in World War II. He was a sergeant during World War II and spent time instructing trainees at an army air forces technical training command detachment at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. He was assaulted by an AA manager in 1946. Peters then resigned, stating that "when an umpire gets socked and they fine the guy only $100 and five days, it's an open invitation for everybody in the league to start punching you around."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Frosty 1904 births 1980 deaths American football defensive backs American football punters American football quarterbacks American football running backs Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) players Chicago Cardinals players Portsmouth Spartans players Montana State Bobcats football players Illinois Fighting Illini football players Providence Steam Roller players St. Louis Gunners coaches Minor league baseball players Minor league baseball umpires Baseball players from Iowa Player-coaches United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Players of American football from Iowa People from Creston, Iowa United States Army Air Forces soldiers 20th-century American sportsmen American Football League (1934) players