HAVE A BLAST WITH OUR PAST
Freitas paved path that son followed into NFL

Learn about Hawai'i sports history and those who figured prominently in it in this summer-time feature. We'll ask a question Wednesday and present the answer in an in-depth profile on Thursday.

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

Q: When this person's son was drafted by the NFL in April, they became the first father-son combination from Hawai'i to be drafted. Who is the player pictured?

A: Rockne Freitas, right, was drafted by Pittsburgh but spent most of his career with the Detroit Lions, where he made All-Pro in 1970 and 1972. His son, Makoa, was drafted in April by Indianapolis.

But in 1967, when there was no Mel Kiper Jr. analyzing hundreds of players and no ESPN televising every pick over a two-day stretch, Rockne Freitas learned from his roommate at Oregon State that he was picked in the third round by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"I was taking a final exam," recalled Freitas, an offensive tackle. "I still remember the exam. It was business statistics."

Some other notable picks in that draft included Michigan State defensive end Bubba Smith, the top pick to the then-Baltimore Colts; Steve Spurrier, the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback out of Florida who is the Washington Redskins coach; and Purdue quarterback Bob Griese, whose son Brian is a quarterback with the Miami Dolphins.

When Freitas' son Makoa, an offensive lineman from Arizona and a Kamehameha Schools graduate, was picked in the sixth round by the Indianapolis Colts, the Freitases became the first father and son from Hawai'i to be chosen in the NFL Draft. Another son, Makai, spent three seasons with the Arizona Cardinals after signing as an undrafted free agent.

Before Makoa reported to the Colts training camp in July, his father passed on this advice: "Tape your hands, tape your wrist all the time, so you don't come up with these small things, like a broken finger, dislocated finger. It's hard to block with those (injuries)."

Father should know best. Rockne Freitas' first training camp wasn't the smoothest. He reported a couple weeks late because he was on a college all-star team that played the Green Bay Packers in an exhibition. Back then, an exhibition season tradition pitted the NFL Super Bowl champions against the College All-Stars. When he finally reported, he saw the business side of the game.

"When I got to training camp, they handed me three thick books: one for center, one for tackle and one for defensive tackle that I had to memorize," Freitas said. "It was a daunting task."

But before camp ended, Freitas was traded to Detroit. He started the last game of his rookie season and was a starter for the rest of his career with the Lions, as well as his final year in 1978 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was named All-Pro in 1970 and 1972. In 1970, the Lions were a wild card after finishing 10-4 in the NFC Central, only to lose to the Dallas Cowboys, 5-0, in the playoffs.

Kamehameha grad Rockne Freitas was named All-Pro in 1970 and '72 as an offensive tackle with the Detroit Lions. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

At the time, Freitas was one of few players from Hawai'i in the NFL. Today, nearly 20 who played high school football here are on NFL rosters. The thought of so few NFL role models for boys growing up in Hawai'i brought back memories to Freitas, who graduated from Kamehameha in 1963.

As a sixth-grader, Freitas and his school buddies collected and traded football cards. During the mid-1950s, New York Giants quarterback Y.A. Tittle was the NFL's poster boy.

"At the time, the most valuable card was Y.A. Tittle," Freitas said. "Everyone wanted the Y.A. Tittle card. I was looking at a stack of my friend's cards and I came across Charlie Ane. 'A guy from Hawai'i, I thought.' I traded away my Y.A. Tittle for Charlie Ane."

(If you forget the fact that Ane was an offensive lineman and Tittle a quarterback, the trade wasn't really lopsided. Ane made the Pro Bowl in 1957 as a center and as a tackle in 1959 for the Detroit Lions, according to the Total Football II Web site. Ane, who was a fourth-round pick by the Lions in 1954, also had a son in the NFL. Current Punahou football coach Kale Ane played for the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent.)

By his fourth season in the NFL, Freitas had his own picture on a bubble gum card. He said he receives autograph requests through the mail on a weekly basis. Some of those letters include his football cards to sign.

Although a quarter of a century removed from the game, Freitas, now the vice president and executive director of Kamehameha Schools' Ke Ali'i Pauahi Foundation, said the opening of NFL training camps always brings back memories of his 12-year career.

"My first thoughts are: 'Wow, I'm glad I don't have to do that anymore,' " he said. "But as time has gone by, I really miss it. The camaraderie, the environment."