University of Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame
Frederick S. Harris 1922 - Baseball, Basketball, Football
Frederick 'Red' Harris, a 1972 UVM Hall of Fame inductee, was truly a top scholar-athlete who brought honor to himself both in the classroom and on the athletic field. Harris played three years of baseball and two years of basketball at UVM serving as the hoop captain in 1921-22. In addition, Harris, as he recalls, "filled in at quarterback in 1920 when the Cats lost all of their quarterbacks because of injuries."
Although only 5-9, 132 pounds, he was a competitor and team leader in all three sports. Old-time baseball followers in his home state of Connecticut remember him as Red Harris, bespectacled infielder with a batting average three times his normal weight.
In addition to his brilliance on the playing field, Harris also excelled in academics. He was voted captain of the UVM debating club and elected to Tau Kappa Alpha, the national debating society. He graduated from Vermont Phi Beta Kappa in 1922 and went on to earn is law degree at the Yale Law School. Harris was awarded Vermont's Alumni Distinguished Service Award in 1960, after serving as the Alumni Council's President for eight years, 1942-50 The inscription on the plaque reads: "An outstanding member of the legal profession, a champion of the cause of the serviceman at both local and national levels, and one whose devotion to his University has been untiring and significant".
Harris is a former National Commander of the Jewish American War Veterans. Meriden (Conn.) Journal Sports Columnist Frank Corkin once said: "Only athletic royalty enters this (Vermont's) exclusive Hall of Fame. And Fred Harris has the credentials to prove that he belongs, as an athlete, scholar and gentleman".
