The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Longhorns legend Fondren passes away
02.01.2010 | Football
Feb. 1, 2010
Walter Fondren, a pivotal figure in the transition of Texas Longhorns football in the mid-1950s, passed away late last week (Thursday, January 28) after a long struggle with congestive heart disease. He was 73.
Fondren earned all-Southwest Conference honors as a halfback at Texas in 1955, but his greatest claim to fame came in 1957, when he became the starting quarterback and leader of Darrell Royal's first season as head coach of the Texas Longhorns.
A 1985 inductee into the Texas High School Sports Hall of Fame, Fondren was named all-state when he led his Houston Lamar team to the state championship in 1953.
As a Longhorn, he was a phenomenal player both offensively and defensively. He led the Longhorns in rushing and all-purpose yards and scoring in both 1955 and 1956, the final two years of the Ed Price regime at Texas. Then, he led the team in passing in 1957, as Royal and his young team surprised the country with one of the greatest turn-arounds in school history—going from a 1-9 season in 1956 to a 6-4-1 season and a Sugar Bowl berth in 1957. He was also the team's leading punter all three seasons.
In a time when players usually played on both offense and defense, Fondren logged more minutes than any player in UT history at the time. He was a co-captain of the 1957 team and was inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1983.
The grandson of one of the founders of Humble Oil and Refining Company, Fondren received his degree in geology. He was picked in the 1958 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams, but opted to return to Houston and enter the oil business.
There, he served on the board of the Fondren Foudation, and became a leader of the Coastal Conservation Association (CC). He also transferred his competitiveness from football to golf. A scratch golfer, he qualified and played in the British Amateur Golf Tournament in 1971, served as director of the Trans Pacific Golf Association and won five consecutive Golf Crest Four Ball Championships.
He was an avid outdoorsman who participated in numerous charities and civic endeavors.
A remembrance gathering will be held Tuesday (February 2) from 5 until 8 p. m. at the Geo. H. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home in Houston. A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p. m. Wednesday (Feb. 3) at St. Martin's Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Road in Houston.
