Walter Fondren
| Texas Longhorns No. 24 | |
|---|---|
| Position | QB, HB, P, DB, K, PR, KR |
| Class | 1958 |
| Major | Geology |
| Career history | |
| College | Texas |
| Bowl games | |
| High school | Houston (Lamar) |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth | April 29, 1936 |
| Place of birth | Houston, TX |
| Date of death | January 28, 2010 (aged 73) |
| Place of death | Houston, TX |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Walter William Fondren III (April 29, 1936 – January 28, 2010) was an all-conference football player and conservation activist. He played halfback, quarterback and punter for the Texas Longhorns from 1955 to 1957 and was the first starting quarterback for Darrell Royal. He was later a founding member of the Coastal Conservation Association.
Fondren was the son of Doris Ledwidge and Walter William Fondren, Jr. and grandson of Humble Oil co-founder Walter William Fondren, Sr. He grew up with his three sisters in Houston, Texas and became a star athlete in high school. Playing tailback, he led Lamar High School to the 1953 High School State Championship, he first undisputed football championship for a Houston school in 33 years. He won the Texas Sportswriter's "Outstanding High School Football Player of the Year" Award, and received all-State, all-Southern and All-American high school honors, becoming one of the state's top high school recruits. He also ran track and played basketball and baseball.
Fondren was also an excellent golfer like his father, who played varsity golf at the University of Oklahoma.
Despite family ties to Rice and SMU, Fondren surprised many by choosing to attend Texas, in part due to what he viewed as a superior geology program. He started as a quarterback, but spent two years playing halfback before getting the chance to do so again. He was also the starting punter, played defensive back and returned kickoffs and punts. He played so much that he still holds the school record for minutes played in a season.
He played quarterback on the freshman team and started his sophomore season in 1955 playing that position as well. In fact he earned his first start at quarterback in the first game of the 1955 season, but by the second game that year he was moved to tailback to make room for Joe Clements after he threw for over 200 yards against Tulane. Despite the late change, he led the team in rushing, all-purpose yards, and scoring and was named "First Team All Southwest Conference" as a halfback. His success that year led to comparisons to SMU's Doak Walker because of his ability to run, pass and punt the football; and because his sophomore statistics exceeded Walker's. He was named a candidate for All-American during that year, but was not named one at the end. Despite Fondren's success, the team struggled to a 5-5 record, losing to #3 Oklahoma and #7 TCU before upsetting #8 Texas A&M to finish the season.
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