TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- When Alabama officials remember Robert Fraley, they think of the college quarterback overwhelmed with joy after leading the Crimson Tide to a win over Tennessee.
Other members of the sports world remember Fraley as the friendly agent who represented some of the biggest names, from NFL coaches to baseball players to golfers. Payne Stewart was one of them.Fraley, 46, was aboard Stewart's Learjet 35 when it crashed Monday. They were killed along with at least three others, including Van Ardan, an agent from Fraley's firm, and two pilots.
The group was en route to Texas, where Stewart was scheduled to play in the PGA Tour Championship this weekend in Houston. The plane crashed in South Dakota after flying uncontrolled and off course for several hours.
Fraley's father, Charles, said his son and Stewart were good friends who often golfed together and at one time lived near each other in the same Orlando, Fla., subdivision.
"They were real close. In fact, Robert was godfather to his children," Charles Fraley said in a phone interview from his Winchester, Tenn., home.
The elder Fraley knew his son was traveling Monday to Texas, and when he heard news reports, he immediately called Fraley's wife.
"We just figured it out," he said.
Among Fraley's clients were NFL coaches Bill Parcells, Bill Cowher, Dan Reeves and Tom Coughlin. There was also Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy and New York Mets pitcher Orel Hershiser.
Parcells declined comment on Fraley's death. They had been friends since 1983, when Parcells became Fraley's client.
Cowher took time to remember Fraley before the Steelers' Monday night game against the Atlanta Falcons.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of Robert Fraley," Cowher said. "Not only was Robert a business associate, he was a friend."
As an athlete, Fraley was nicknamed the "Winchester Rifle" during his career as a quarterback at Franklin County High School in Tennessee. He was heavily recruited by Alabama and enrolled there in 1971.
But shortly after Fraley arrived, coach Bear Bryant switched to the run-oriented wishbone offense. That, combined with a shoulder injury that required three surgeries, hindered his Alabama career.
"He was always a real competitor, and very smart," said Mal Moore, Fraley's position coach at Alabama. "He would have had a great career, if not for the injuries."
As the fourth-string quarterback in 1974, Fraley saw game action against Tennessee when the other three Tide quarterbacks were injured. Gary Rutledge and Richard Todd were on the sidelines in street clothes and Jack O'Rear was injured in the first quarter.
Fraley took over and led the Crimson Tide to a 28-6 win in front of a hometown crowd.
"My memories of him will be of our friendship and of seeing him coming off the field after that Tennessee game," Moore said. "How happy and proud he was. I'll always remember it."
He started the next week against TCU, throwing for two touchdowns and running for another in a 41-3 win.
Alabama coach Mike DuBose, a teammate of Fraley's, said he also remembered the Tennessee game.
"I vividly remember that game in Knoxville when he led us to victory," DuBose said. "I can still see him smiling in the locker room with his victory cigar."
After earning his law degree from Alabama, Fraley moved to Orlando to start a sports agent business, eventually becoming chief executive officer of Leader Enterprises Inc.
He also represented several Alabama coaches, including Ray Perkins, Bill Curry, Steve Sloan and Wimp Sanderson.
"He was a tremendously bright, talented young man," said Alabama interim athletic director Finus Gaston, who was a football manager when Fraley played. "It's a tragedy both personally and in the world of athletics."