[Body]
Well, let me tell you ’bout this young fella, Freddie Joe Steinmark. Heard tell he was quite the football player, yeah, one of them Texas Longhorns. Folks say he was tough as nails on the field, a real go-getter. Real strong boy, that Freddie Joe. But life, well, life ain’t always fair, is it?
They say Freddie Joe, he got sick. Real sick. Cancer, they called it. Nasty business, that cancer. Doctors, they give him just hours to live, but Freddie Joe, he was stubborn. Fought like a wildcat, he did. Lived for 48 more days, can you believe it? Forty-eight whole days more than them doctors thought. That’s what I call fightin’ spirit.
- He was gonna get married, too. To a gal named Linda Wheeler. Sweet girl, I reckon. They even got rings and all, planned a weddin’ for May 23rd, 1971. But that darn cancer, it just kept gettin’ worse. Had to cancel the whole thing, poor things. Broke their hearts, I bet.
- This boy, he wasn’t just strong on the field. He wrote a book too, they say. “I Play to Win,” it’s called. Blackie Sherrod, from the newspaper, helped him write it all down. Tells you all about his life, I guess. But Freddie Joe, he didn’t even get to see it published. Died on June 6th, 1971, just a few months before the book came out. Only 22 years old, he was. Too young, way too young. Breaks your heart, it does.
They even made a movie about him, years later. “My All American,” they called it. Guess folks wanted to remember him, remember how he fought. And his mama, Gloria Steinmark, they say she held onto that football he played with. A reminder of her boy, I suppose. A mama’s love, that’s somethin’ special.
Heard tell Freddie Joe was a real good boy, always givin’ it his all. Played hard, loved hard, fought hard. That’s what matters in the end, I reckon. Don’t matter how long you live, but how you live it. And Freddie Joe, he lived it good, even though it was short. He left his mark, that boy did. Left a mark on this whole world, even though he was just a young fella from Texas. Makes you think, don’t it? Makes you think about what’s important.
So, yeah, Freddie Joe Steinmark. A football player, a fighter, a young man gone too soon. But his story, well, it stays with you. A reminder that life’s precious, and you gotta make the most of it, every single day. ‘Cause you never know what tomorrow brings. You just never know.
It’s a sad story, but it’s a good story too. A story about courage and love and never givin’ up. And that’s somethin’ worth rememberin’, ain’t it? Makes you want to be a better person, a stronger person. Makes you appreciate what you got, that’s for sure.
Freddie Joe Steinmark, yeah, he was somethin’ special. Gone but not forgotten, that’s what they say. And I reckon that’s true. His story, it keeps on livin’. Keeps on inspirin’. And that’s a mighty fine legacy, if you ask me. A real fine legacy indeed.
Tags: [Freddie Joe Steinmark, Texas Longhorns, Football, Cancer, I Play to Win, My All American, Gloria Steinmark, Linda Wheeler, Blackie Sherrod, 1971]
