Bridgeport High School teacher Fred Wilhelm loves the game of golf. He loves coaching the game of golf. He loves playing the game of golf and he certainly loves talking about the game and his Indians team that have annually competed for a state title since he took over the program.

 

For those knowing him away from the course, he's engaging, well spoken and has a great sense of humor. To most, Fred Wilhelm is an open book with few if any secrets.

 

Here’s a secret you don’t know. Okay, so some of you know, but a lot of you don’t when it comes to Coach Fred Wilhelm.

 

Not only was Wilhelm an incredibly gifted athlete, he was good enough to get a look professionally. And here’s the thing, it wasn’t in the sport of golf that he still professes love for to this day.

 

Fred Wilhelm was one of the all-time greats in Salem College football history. In fact, he not only was a scholarship football player at the school that was – when he played there – about to be in the discussion as one of the top small college football programs in the country, but also managed to play as a scholarship basketball player.

 

Not a lot of people know that. Not a lot of Wilhelm’s students do either, but some, he said, are aware of his past.

 

“I’ve had some of my students and some on the golf team ask about it. I think maybe they saw something on the walls down at Salem (now International University),” said Wilhelm. “That was a long time ago. That was a slower era of college football and, today, I’m certainly much slower.”

 

For those that think Wilhelm just played for the Tigers and did okay, well, you would be wrong. You would be dead wrong.

 

Wilhelm played at the western Harrison County school from 1982 through 1985. During the 1984 and 1985 seasons, when he played for a coach many may have heard of named Terry Bowden, Wilhelm was an All-West Virginia Conference wide receiver. His senior year, he was so good he was named a Little College All-American.

 

Getting honors may seem standard today, but for a wide receiver in the 1980s, getting recognized wasn’t as easy as it is in the pass happy era that now permeates the game. Wilhelm played at a time when it was still run, run, pass if necessary on every series. The one benefit he had was that when Bowden arrived he brought a lot of his father Bobby’s more open-ended offensive schemes that were prevalent at Florida State.

 

“Terry brought a lot of the passing game to Salem. It wasn’t run and shoot that eventually came out and all type of shotgun formations, but he was 50-50 with run and pass in an era where that wasn’t really heard of,” said Wilhelm. “I guess he liked what he saw in me because he turned me from a tight end into a split end. He took advantage of the skill set I had.”

 

Along with being tall, Wilhelm was pretty quick with good hand. Wilhelm said his best 40 time was a 4.65.

 

“I thought it was fast, but then I went to the next level and you find out that’s really not the speed they’re looking for,” said Wilhelm, who actually was asked to join the hoops team by former legendary SC coach Ray Barnhart when one of the team’s top players left.

 

The next level, just in case anyone isn’t sure, was the National Football League. Fred Wilhelm, from the tiny institution of Salem College in Harrison County, West Virginia, had earned a tryout with the Cleveland Browns.

 

While that’s the biggest secret, the fact that many had no idea he was such a skilled athlete in his college years and earned a shot in the NFL leads you to a non-secret. Wilhelm didn’t make it because if he did, everyone would know that.

 

Here’s the thing: Wilhelm doesn’t look back with regret.

 

“You know what, I got a tryout and I enjoyed it. I had a chance and made the most of it and came up short,” said Wilhelm. “I walked away satisfied because when I was there I was in a totally different atmosphere that was so much faster. Just to have a chance is something I’m proud of; even to this day.”

 

When he left the NFL, the game still wasn’t out of his system. He returned to Salem and coached with former coach Dana “Corky” Griffith and then became the offensive coordinator for one year with a guy named Rich Rodriguez who was the nation’s youngest head coach during a really short stint with Salem.

 

“I don’t know if I would have done coaching or not, but everything changed when they dropped football,” said Wilhelm.

 

Wilhelm is referring to Salem suddenly – and without notice to players, staff and others – eliminated the program. Although he’s been on the sidelines since, the sport never really called back to him again. Golf, however, is a different situation.

 

“I’ve always enjoyed golf, even growing up. I still remember when I played basketball and football at Salem when I was finished playing, I was done for the day,” said Wilhelm. “When I would play nine holes of golf or 18 holes, I wanted to play nine or 18 more. It’s still that way to this day. I’ve always loved football, but I’ve got a passion for golf that just won’t go away.”

 

Those that have been around Wilhelm during his double digit years as Bridgeport’s golf coach know all about that passion. What many may not have known is that he once was good enough to get a shot at the NFL. And now, hopefully, you read closely enough to know that was the case.