The Unlikely Football Pioneer- Fred Bednarski

By Larry Carlson for https://texaslsn.org

Don’t tell me you don’t remember Ivan Putski. He was all over your ’60s and ’70s TV “set,” back when you had rabbit ears or tin foil to get three channels.
He was a rough, tough “wrassler” in the mold of Fritz Von Erich, Wahoo McDaniel, Pepper Gomez and Johnny Valentine.
So in what way could Ivan Putski — who went on become a WWE Hall of Fame inductee –possibly be connected to the History of Longhorn Sports?
Glad you asked.

It was 67 years ago this fall that a Longhorn football player pioneered soccer style kicking in America. Yep, a rugged dude named Fred Bednarski etched his name in the archives during Darrell Royal’s first season as boss of the Horns.
He gave Texas an early 3-0 lead against tenth-ranked Arkansas in Fayetteville, hitting the pigskin with his instep. The 40-yard field goal was heartily thumped from a very foreign 45-degree angle. Texas went on to win, 17-0.Fred Bednarski

Bednarski and his family had survived a Nazi labor camp before making their way to America. Young Fred learned to play football and fared well at Travis High in Austin. Then he made history at Texas while also toiling as a backup fullback and linebacker for the Horns. He graduated from UT and had a very long and successful career as a small business owner. In a story written by Steve Wiener, DKR was quoted as very fondly remembering Bednarski. “Fred was bright, intense, always smiling and totally committed in everything he did,” Royal said.

When this photo was taken, John Henderson was the oldest living Longhorn athlete. Fred Bednarski is to the right of John.

So now, the week Texas resumes its conference rivalry with Arkansas after one-third of a century “off,” it’s fitting to salute Bednarski, who died last spring at the age of 87. He was a trendsetter ahead of his time. The Longhorns would not have another “soccer-style” kicker until John Goodson succeeded All-American Russell Erxleben more than two decades later. The Horns have never again had a placekicker who didn’t hit ’em with the instep.
Oh, yeah, the Ivan Putski connection. Fred’s little brother, Joe, a great admirer of his older sibling, is now 83 and resides in Austin. Like his idol, Joe would also play college ball, lettering three years and starring at fullback for Southwest Texas, now Texas State. But he really made a name for himself in another sport.
And that name was Ivan Putski.
“The Kicker” The Greatest Story of triumph in Longhorn Sports History.
Here is the link to Fred’s story https://texaslsn.org/jon-dasilva-the-fred-bednarski-story/
(TLSN’s Larry Carlson is a member of the Football Writers Association of America. He teaches sports media at Texas State University and lives in San Antonio.)