OUR TOWN
The year was 1967, Jan. 15 to be exact. The location was Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. The opposing teams were the Green Bay Packers versus the Kansas City Chiefs.
The annual event would later come to be known as the Super Bowl. But this was the very first one, and at the time it was called the American Football League-National Football League World Championship Game.
A notable fact for locals about this historic event is the very first player to be announced at the very first Super Bowl has family members who are longtime Taylor Ducks.
Wayne “Cotton” Frazier, No. 66, was starting center for the Kansas City Chiefs at that game, now referred to as Super Bowl I.
Frazier was the brother of veteran Taylor Independent School District coach and resident, Shirl Frazier. Shirl and his wife, Beth, put down deep roots in Taylor. Their children Abby, Brad and Bobby all graduated from Taylor High School.
Known by the nickname “Cotton” because of his naturally whiteblonde hair, Wayne was born on March 5, 1939, in Evergreen, Alabama, to Ellis S. and Cora Frazier. His two big brothers were Ellis Jr. (Shirl) and James (Jimmy).
Two sisters, Naomi and Ramona, came along later.
All three brothers excelled in sports.
Shirl, Beth and their family moved to Taylor around 1970. Brad remembers when his football-star uncle would occasionally come for a visit and stop by Taylor High during football practice.
“When you saw him, you knew he played in the NFL,” Brad said. “He was big, burly and had big, thick forearms. He would visit us over the summers, and he would come out to the practice field. It was unbelievable to have him as an uncle.”
After a standout highschool athletic career at Evergreen High School in Alabama, Wayne attended Auburn University where he earned Academic All-Southeastern Conference recognition and was named to the third-team All-American Academic Team, maintaining an A average in
education.
He played four seasons in the AFL from 1962-1967. He started with the San Diego Chargers, was traded to the Houston Oilers, then to the Buffalo Bills and finally to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1966.
After winning the AFL championship with the Chiefs that year, he started for them in the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The 6-foot-3-inch tall, 245-pound player from a small town in rural Alabama made history as the first announced player at the first Super Bowl.
Although the final score, 35-10, was not in the Chiefs’ favor, players from both teams received a nice souvenir from the historic event. While the practice has long been for the winning team to receive championship rings to commemorate the game, for this first Super Bowl, both teams received rings.
Brad confirmed his Uncle Wayne’s ring was lost years ago, but he carried many memories from the game for the rest of his life. He retired from pro ball after the 1968 season. He then went on to coach at Troy State University in Alabama for a couple of years, and later he led the W. S. Neal High School Eagles in the same state for several years.
Brad reports his uncle also worked in insurance for 36 years and was a volunteer with hospice.
“He was a great guy, a lot of fun to be around,” Brad said. “He was mean as a snake on the field, the toughest guy you’d ever meet. But he was my uncle and when he would come to visit us, he would hang out at the football field. It was huge for this NFL guy to show up in Taylor, Texas.”
Wayne Frazier passed away on March 11, 2012, at age 73. Taylor lost our legendary Coach Shirl Frazier on Nov. 9 of last year. Both have certainly left an impressive legacy their families and communities can be proud of.
And that is Taylor’s connection to the very first Super Bowl.
Fast forward to this Sunday, Feb. 8, and Super Bowl LX (60). I hope you enjoy cheering on your favorite team, and you might even share the story of the Frazier family and Super Bowl I with friends and family during the big weekend.
Join me here next week as we explore another tale from Taylor. Until then, make it a great week and be proud of where you’re from.
Crow is a longtime Taylor resident and retired from the Taylor Independent School District after 40 years of service. For a topic or suggestion, reach out to Crow via jason.chlapek@granite mediapartners.com.
