 Cone on a 1952 Bowman football card | |||||||||||||
| No. 66, 31 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positions | Fullback Placekicker | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1926-06-21)June 21, 1926 Pine Apple, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Died | December 31, 2021(2021-12-31) (aged 95) Seneca, South Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 199 lb (90 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Moore Academy(Pine Apple) | ||||||||||||
| College | Clemson | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1951: 3rd round, 27th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Fred Cone (June 21, 1926 – December 31, 2021) was an American professionalfootball player who was afullback andplacekicker in theNational Football League (NFL) for theGreen Bay Packers andDallas Cowboys. He playedcollege football for theClemson Tigers. He was inducted into theGreen Bay Packers Hall of Fame.
Cone grew up inPine Apple, Alabama, with a population around 100. He attendedMoore Academy, a rural school from primary school through high school. He did not play football because there were not enough people to field a team.
Before going to college, he enlisted in theU.S. Army to take part ofWorld War II, where he served in thePacific as part of the11th Airborne Division.
When he returned to the United States] in the summer of 1946, he read a newspaper advertisement about tryouts atAuburn University and decided to attend. His participation was cut short with an ankle injury that forced him to return home.
During his recovery, a family friend turned out to be the sister ofFrank Howard, thehead coach atClemson College. She helped Cone get a tryout and eventually he was able to make the team and receive a scholarship.[1]
As a sophomore with theTigers, Cone was the startingfullback in a backfield that includedRay Mathews. The1948 team accomplished a 10–0 undefeated season and beat theUniversity of Missouri, 24–23, in the1949 Gator Bowl. He scored two first-quarter touchdowns and had a critical fourth down conversion late in the game.[2] He finished as the team's leading rusher with 635 yards and 7 touchdowns. Cone was mentioned in theJerry Clower 1974 albumCountry Ham which mentioned Clower's 1948Mississippi State Bulldogs football team (then Maroons) playing Clemson in which Clower was assigned to tackle Cone and missed.
As a junior, he registered 703 rushing yards and 9touchdowns.
As a senior, his 184 carries for 845 rushing yards, 15 touchdowns and 92 points at the time were all school season records. He also was a part of another undefeated season and againstAuburn University, he rushed for 163 yards and scored 4 touchdowns. He played in the1951 Orange Bowl, beating theUniversity of Miami 15–14. He gained 81 rushing yards, scored one of the touchdowns, returned one kickoff and had 4 punts.[3]
Cone finished his college career with eight 100-yard career rushing games, 31 touchdowns and 189 points. He also was a kickoff specialist.
In 1973, he was inducted into the State ofSouth Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame and the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame.[4] He is a member of Clemson's Ring of Honor.
Cone was selected by theGreen Bay Packers in the third round (27th overall) of the1951 NFL draft. He was used as afullback andplacekicker.[5]
As a rookie, he led the team with 50 points, and was the second-leading rusher with 56 carries for 190 yards (3.4-yard average). He also made 5 of 7 field goal attempts and 29 of 35 extra points.
Cone led the Packers in scoring in five of the next six seasons, including leading the league with 16 field goals made in1955. In1956, he announced his retirement, but was convinced by the team to return to play.
In1957, he was a part of the inaugural game atLambeau Field, then known as City Stadium, contributing to an upset of theChicago Bears 21–17, before a crowd of 32,132 people. He finished the season by leading his team in scoring with 74 points.
Cone played for the Packers during a low point in the franchise history, never experiencing a winning season, which cost him the opportunity to earn more accolades for his play.
In 1974, he was inducted into theGreen Bay Packers Hall of Fame.[6]
On May 12,1960, he was signed as afree agent by theDallas Cowboys after being out of football for two years, while coaching atUniversity Military School inMobile, Alabama. He became the first starter atplacekicker in franchise history. He also was a backupfullback and reunited with former college teammateRay Mathews. He retired after the season.
In his first two years in theNFL, he worked for the Packers during the offseason promoting season-ticket sales. He later accepted a job promoting beer with theMiller Brewing Company. He was an assistant football coach at the University Military School inMobile, Alabama.
In 1961, he joined the Clemson football coaching staff. He also worked for the Clemson athletic department as their chief football recruiter in the 1960s.[7]
Country comedianJerry Clower, who played football atMississippi State University, recounted his experience facing Cone on the field in his story "The Time We Played Clemson".[8]
Cone died of complications from a broken hip inSeneca, South Carolina, on December 31, 2021, at the age of 95.[9]