Former Wheelers coach Frazier dies

Font Size:

By Craig DeVrieze | Monday, November 19, 2007 | No comments posted

Former Quad-City Steamwheelers coach Rick Frazier was remembered Sunday as a player’s coach, a fan-friendly and “easy-going guy’’ and as a loyal friend and a “class act through and through.’’

Frazier, who led the Steamwheelers in 2005 and 2006, died Friday in Wisconsin from complications related to a fungal virus. He was 53.

“It is a big, hurting loss,’’ said Jack Walker Jr., a third-year Steamwheelers standout who followed Frazier to the Quad-Cities after playing a partial Arena Football League season under Frazier the previous spring In Grand Rapids, Mich. “He was my ticket here.

“He was an excellent coach to play for. He was player’s coach and a great person to be around on and off the field.”

Gary Stibolt, the former Steamwheelers booster club president who befriended Frazier during his time in the Quad-Cities, said the Texas native died near Heartland, Wis., on Friday after having been placed in a medically induced coma.

Stibolt said Frazier’s longtime live-in girlfriend told him the coach had been bothered for some time by what he thought was a spider bite on his leg, but said he was told Frazier had put off seeing a doctor because he was out of coaching and without medical insurance.

He said the coach finally sought medical help Monday and was given antibiotics for what was determined to be a fungal infection he was thought to have contracted while fishing months before.

On Wednesday, feeling much worse, Frazier went to a hospital and immediately was placed under emergency care for a severe case of pneumonia resulting from the virus, Stibolt said. He died while in an induced coma.

Stibolt said doctors said the original virus might have been easily remedied had Frazier sought medical treatment sooner.

Stibolt said Frazier was working a part-time job in Wisconsin after being part of a coaching staff purge midway through the season last year in Bakersfield, Calif.

Frazier had landed there as defensive coordinator months after being relieved of his duties as Steamwheelers head coach after a 7-9 Q-C season in 2006.

“My hat goes off to these guys who try to coach and play with no certainty,” Stibolt said.

Frazier, who came to the Quad-Cities with a 32-45 record over six previous af2 and AFL seasons, was the third head coach in Steamwheelers history.

His 2005 team went 9-7 before losing in the opening round of the playoffs on the road. His 2006 team started slowly and finished with only losing record in franchise history.

Sean Ponder, who came to the Quad-Cities to serve as Frazier’s 2006 offensive coordinator, said it speaks volumes about Frazier that he recommended Ponder to succeed him as head coach after being fired in the fall of 2006.

“He was a class act through and through,” Ponder said Sunday. “A lot of guys really respected him. He is going to be missed, no doubt about it.”

Walker said he has sent and received numerous text messages from fellow former Frazier players in the last couple of days.

“He was a very good man,” Walker said. “I enjoyed his company, as a coach and as a man.”

Frazier will be buried Wednesday in Tyler, Texas. A memorial and visitation will take place from 5-7 p.m. tonight at Luco-Evert Funeral Home in Heartland, Wis.

Stibolt said persons wishing to donate to the family to help defray funeral and medical costs can do so at Web site steamwheelersfans.com.

Craig DeVrieze can be contacted at (563) 333-2610 or cdevrieze@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com