Originally published Oct. 4, 2006
Several years ago I wrote a Cameo on Fred Haynes. It told of his illustrious career as an athlete, not only in Minden but also at LSU. Recently he has been very ill, and in fact, it was uncertain if he could survive all that he had wrong in his health.
He has been unable to get on disability, and he has no hospitalization insurance. Some of his friends have established an account at the Minden Building and Loan to help with some of his expenses. He was hospitalized for several weeks and is now at the Community Speciality Rehabilitation Hospital at Evergreen, attempting to be rehabilitated.
It seems that he now has a severe kidney infection. To those who never knew of his expertise on the football field, I am printing the Cameo once again. To those who do remember, please add him to your prayer list, along with his mother who loves him so much and grieves to see his suffering.
This is a reprint of a Cameo printed in the Middle nineties. Please read it again and remember with me his “glory” days.
He’s only 5’9″ or 10″
Statistics tell us all;
But Mr. Freddie plays to win
Like he is ten feet tall.
No man is ever measure by
The feet or inches part;
But by the spirit that the “guy”
Has in his fighting heart —
And if he isn’t tall enough
To touch the moon, afar;
He may become, when things get rough
A most outstanding star
This poem was printed in the Baton Rouge paper along with a picture of our Cameo of this week. Fred Haynes from Minden (better known as Freddie Lynn) was an outstanding athlete here in Minden as well as at LSU. He is the son of Freddie Louise “Sug” and O.H. Haynes, Jr.
MHS
There are four Haynes sons, all of them almost as handsome as their Dad, and all were athletes like their Dad. Fred said he did not care for the praise from newspapers, coaches or teammates; the only one he wanted to please was his Dad. One of the pictures is of Fred and his Dad after the State Championship game of the ’63-’64 season.
At Minden High School Fred played both offense and defense, he returned kick offs and punts. His senior year he scored 16 touchdowns. For three years he started at Quarterback and Defensive Back. He was All-District his junior year and All-District and All-State his senior year. He quarterbacked the team that went undefeated and won the State Championship his senior year. He received the Joe Oliphant Award for the years 1963-1964. He was selected as the Most Valuable Back for 3 years, and he was the La. State Football All-Star his senior year.
Other Sports
Not only did Fred excel in football, but he also lettered four years in baseball, with a .400 batting average. He was All-District his freshman year. He started playing American Legion Baseball at 14 years of age. He hit a consistent .400 plus for 4 years.
In basketball, he lettered for two years, and lettered three years in track. He was All-State in track for two years. The Minden High School Track Team won its first State Championship that year, 1964. Fred won numerous awards, and received many track scholarships.
In high school he warned a total of 12 letter in various sports. He received offers of scholarships from many universities, but accepted a scholarship to LSU.
College Ball
An article in the LSU Alumni News calls him LSU’s “Mini-brute from MInden.” The article continued with the statement that he wasn’t the kind of guy who titilates the scouts because he is too short, too light. But ask about Fred over in the Southwest Conference and you will get a different story, because the “Little General Fred Haynes” was the top gun as the LSU Bayou Bengals led off their 1968 season with consecutive victories over Texas A&M, Rice and Baylor.
What had been “cat-calls” when the little guy went out on the field, turned into “Haynes for President” as he made believers of them all. The article said Fred made his coach look like a genius because Fred led LSU in total offense, average 142.7 yards a game on 67 offensive plays, completed 20 of 30 passes for 249 yards and a touchdown. Against Baylor, he moved the Tigers in for touchdowns four of the five times he went in under the center. When all was said and done, the star and the hero of LSU Tigers was the “Littlest Tiger” Fred Haynes.
A Record Holder
Fred gained national attention when he was written up in Sports Illustrated, their article being titled “The Littlest Tiger.” Fred still holds the LSU record for the most rushing yards as a quarterback. He holds this record in spite of missing the last four games of his career due to injury. he played the Sugar Bowl and the Peach Bowl, and lettered all three years. He was on the All-SEC Sophomore team.
One of the papers in Baton Rouge described him as the quarterback who looks like a choir boy. Ever article in the papers gave him the greatest praise for LSU’s victories. He is so modest that he would not tell you any of these facts, but he has been an outstanding athlete in every sport and such an advertisement for Minden.
A Legacy
Fred is the father of three daughters, and he thinks one of them likes like his mother, who was such a beauty. There is such pride on his face as he talks of them, and the love that they share is special.
In the last few years, Fred’s health has been bad, but he came home to help with the last years of his Dad’s life. He was such a blessing to his mother as he patiently and gently helped with the care of his father. His health has further deteriorated and he is under the constant care of doctors, with frequent trips to the hospital and for tests.
I am not an authority on anything, and certainly not on sports, but I do believe that any other athlete from Minden has excelled in so many sports, and brought home so many honors. He has every right to be conceited, but he is still the same sweet boy that they said looked like a choirboy. We, along with his family, are so proud that one of our own received the recognition that he has. There are still many Haynes grandchildren and great-grandchildren active in Minden sports. Keep watching; maybe one of them will beat Uncle Fred’s outstanding record. Thank you, Fred.
Juanita Agan submitted a weekly column to the Press-Herald for more than 15 years until her death in 2008. She was a resident of Minden since 1935. The Press-Herald is republishing select articles from Mrs. Agan’s Cameos column every Wednesday.