Fritsch: Torn between two teams

Highlights from previous segment

• Fritsch capped his rookie season as the Packers’ leading rusher.
• Despite draft calls in January 1943 and press speculation that his football career was over, Fritsch was rejected for military service.

“Throughout the war, [Packers Head Coach Curly Lambeau] was an outspoken proponent of conducting business as usual whenever others suggested it might be better to suspend operations,” Cliff Christl wrote in The Greatest Story in Sports.

“He never wavered from that position, even as the Packers Board of Directors met in a special session before that April (1943) meeting to discuss the consequences of fielding a team as the war continued.

“On April 1, 1943, Lambeau was one of 14 board members who voted to yield authority to the Packers’ officers when it came time to decide whether to play that season or not.
“The sentiment seemed to be if other clubs were going to forge ahead, then the Packers probably should, too, even if it meant sustaining losses of $25,000 to $30,000.”

Even though a punctured eardrum kept Fritsch from serving his country, he and other Packers players joined in the war effort back home, assisting with rations at the Green Bay Food company during the night shift.

But as fall drew closer in 1943, Fritsch was contemplating another move.

“It’s almost certain that Ted Fritsch, a star as a freshman fullback with the Green Bay Packers last season, will perform in the University of Wisconsin backfield this fall much to the delight of Badger followers…,” the Aug. 2, 1943, Wisconsin State Journal stated.

“Fritsch, currently starring in the Madison Industrial Baseball League with Bowman Dairy’s team, is all but set to enroll at Wisconsin this fall to continue studies toward obtaining a masters degree preparatory to entering the coaching field.

“Changes in the Western Conference rules for the duration permit Fritsch to play at Wisconsin if he chooses despite his one year of professional competition.”

And despite a 40-minute telephone conversation with Lambeau the previous weekend, Fritsch was still interested in returning to school in Madison that fall.

As the days droned on, Fritsch had still not decided whether to return to school or the Green Bay Packers.

But, finally, the night before the Packers’ first practice of the 1943 season, he committed.

“Kotal, Fritsch’s coach at Stevens Point, and Lambeau worked on Fritsch diligently during the past month in an effort to sign him, and their work paid dividends Saturday night when Fritsch affixed his name to a contract for ‘a healthy sum.’”

To be continued