Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1965
Ask anyone that was around to watch Southern Miss play football in the 1920s who was one of the most talented and versatile players of that era and the consensus will be Fred (Coon) Leech. Over a four-year period from 1922 to 1926 Leech was one of the first real stars of the school's football program.
Although the teams that Leech played on during that time were not some of the best the school has ever produced, his play during that time had a great deal to do with establishing the solid foundation that the football program would be built on.
Leech during his career had the talent, mobility and knowledge of the game that would allow him to move around to several positions on both offense and defense for Southern Miss. Although a great deal of his playing time would occur at tackle and guard, it was not unusual to see him play end as well.
Leech's career at Southern Miss began under Coach O.V. Austin in 1922. Although that 1922 team would open up the season on a positive note with a 31-0 win over Jones County High School, they would drop their next six games, before winning the season finale 19-12 over the Mississippi State freshman team. While offensively the team had a tough time getting started that year, scoring only 63 points, the defense led by Leech was considerable better. In addition to the shutout on opening day, the defense held the opponents to 12 or less points four other times.
Leech would see more action at end in 1923 as the team added to its depth that season, and he would lead the team to a much better season. That year Leech and company would post a 3-3 record, with one of those losses coming by just a single point, 7-6 to Gulf Coast Military Academy. Leech, playing both in the line and at end, led a much-improved Southern Miss offense that year that averaged 15.0 points a game and defeated Seashore Camp Ground 52-0.
The 1924 season would see a coaching change as Hershel Bobo replaced Austin and the team posted a 3-3-2 record that year. Leech was seeing most of his time playing in the line again, although still seeing spot duty at end. It was one of the best Southern teams in recent years and the play of Leech upfront, both offensively and defensively, was one of the keys to the team’s success.
The 1925 season would be a disaster for Southern Miss, as they failed to win a game in six tries and offensively managed to score only three touchdowns all season long.
Among the many honors that Leech would receive during his four seasons of playing football at Southern Miss was being named the school's "Best Boy Athlete" in 1924.
Leech also played basketball from 1921 to 1925 and baseball in 1924 and 1925.
