Bob Fronk, Pauley Buzzer Beater and one-time UW QB, dies at 62

The Portland athlete made his mark for the Huskies as a basketball player, but flirted with football.

Bob Fronk shared a backcourt with Lorenzo Romar. 

His 25-footer at the buzzer in 1980 made the University of Washington a basketball winner over UCLA at Pauley Pavilion for the first time. 

Switching gears significantly, Fronk took part in 1978 spring football practice, competing for the starting quarterback job for Don James' fourth Husky team. 

One of the more versatile and trailblazing athletes to come through the UW, Fronk died in Portland on March 18 from complications of lung cancer. He was 62.

For Portland's Sunset High School, the exceptional 6-foot-4, 195-pound athlete shared in a state basketball championship in 1975 and quarterbacked the school to state football titles in 1975 and 1976.

The Huskies were able to land this all-everything athlete because they said he could pursue both basketball and football if he wanted. For a moment, he did.

"He was an athlete, there was no question about it," said Vince Coby, a UW running back and Rose Bowl starter in 1978-81. "He went out there and made things happen."

Fronk concentrated mostly on basketball and became a three-year starting guard for Marv Harshman teams from 1978-81. He averaged 16.7 points per game to lead the team in scoring as a senior. He shot 60 percent from the floor as a junior. 

And then there was that shot at UCLA in 1980 that reverberated through the hallowed arena that Johnny Wooden built.

The Huskies had never won at Pauley before until Romar drove the middle and kicked a pass out to Fronk, who calmly drained one from the outer reaches as the game ended, providing the UW with a stunning 72-70 upset.

Earlier in 1978, Fronk decided on the spur of the moment to turn out for spring football, declaring his intentions publicly the day before practices began.

As an option quarterback, he had plenty of football suitors coming out of high school, even taking a recruiting visit to Nebraska.

A year and a half removed from the game, he decided to join the Huskies following their 27-20 victory over Michigan in the Rose Bowl and the graduation of starting quarterback Warren Moon. 

"First of all, he was a competitor," Coby said. "To come from the basketball court to the football field, not a lot of people can do that."

He entered into the competition with senior back-up Duane Akina, junior-college transfer Tom Porras and redshirt sophomore Tom Flick, taking part in five weeks of practice.

"If I didn't think I had a chance to beat out the other guys, I wouldn't be here," Fronk said at the time.

In the spring game, Porras and Fronk shared plays for the Purple team, which won 20-17, going against Akina and Flick. While Fronk didn't attempt any passes, he led his guys on a 48-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter and capped it by scoring himself from 1 yard out.

However, his flirtation with Husky football went no further than that. Realizing how difficult it would have been to play two sports, likely taking him a full year to comprehend what James demanded from his quarterbacks, he settled on basketball only, 

Still, he drew deep respect within the athletic department for giving football a serious shot.

"Once I looked at what my position was on the depth chart, I was way down there," he said. "I like basketball better."

Fronk was a sixth-round draft pick for the Indiana Pacers, but didn't make it out of training camp. He played in Germany for a few years before returning to the Northwest and doing a variety of things, some involving teaching and coaching at the college and high school levels.

At North Kitsap High School in Poulsbo, Washington, he coached six seasons through 2003, compiling a 53-65 record. His teams compiled a 15-game win streak one season and 17-game losing streak the next, the latter making him resign.

At the time of his death, he had been in contact with the UW athletic department while researching a book about Dick Crews, one of the Huskies' first African-American players. 

"The cool thing about Bob is Bob would get you in a conversation and you would end up doing all the talking," Coby said. "And he would listen."

Long-time Portland sportswriter Kerry Eggers wrote a moving tribute to Fronk that you can read here.Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven

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