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Chuck Fairbanks
Chuck Fairbanks
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Chuck Fairbanks Obituary
Oklahoma said in a news release that Fairbanks died in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale.
"He was a special coach, he was a special friend," said Owens, one of five Heisman winners for Oklahoma after rushing for 1,523 yards and 23 touchdowns in 1969. "As a player, he made me better on the field. He was a tough coach, but he was a fair coach."
Fairbanks was 52-15-1 in six years with the Sooners, including an Orange Bowl victory his first season and consecutive Sugar Bowls wins in 1971-72 before taking over the Patriots. He won 46 games for New England, a franchise record at the time.
The Patriots made the playoffs in their fourth season under Fairbanks in 1976 and two years later were on their way to their first outright AFC East title when owner Billy Sullivan angrily suspended him for the final regular-season game because he had agreed to go to Colorado. Fairbanks returned for the playoffs, but New England lost to Houston. He was 0-2 in the playoffs with New England.
Colorado hired Fairbanks away from the Patriots, but he was just 7-26 in three seasons, including an 82-42 loss at home to the Sooners and his replacement, Barry Switzer.
Fairbanks left the Buffs to become coach and general manager of the New Jersey Generals of the USFL. He was fired after one season.
The Sooners went 10-1 and beat Tennessee in the Orange Bowl in Fairbanks' first year in 1967. He won 11 games each of last two seasons with OU, beating Auburn and Penn State in the Sugar Bowl.
Fairbanks agreed with the suggestion of Switzer, his offensive coordinator, to install the wishbone at OU after Texas used it to win a national championship in 1969. After becoming head coach, Switzer used the wishbon e to win three national titles, matching the number Bud Wilkinson won from 1947 to 1963, a tenure that included a record 47-game winning streak.
"His squads won three Big Eight championships and helped lay the foundation for the program's ongoing success with the installation of the wishbone-T offense," current Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said in a statement. "I was fortunate to have many opportunities to get to know Chuck over the years."
Fairbanks played for Michigan State's 1952 national title team and was an assistant at Arizona State and Houston before joining the OU staff in 1966. Owens said he stayed in touch with Fairbanks because his former coach would often visit his daughter in Norman.
"Not just during football, but after football, we just loved him," Owens said. "He was like a second father to me."
Fairbanks worked in real estate and golf-course development after his coaching career. He occasionally worked as a consultant for NFL teams in tra ining camp, including with the Dallas Cowboys when Bill Parcells was coach.
___
AP Sports Writer Schuyler Dixon in Dallas contributed to this story.
KEN MILLER
Associated Press
Copyright © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
66 Entries
Jonathan Lowder
April 21, 2013
May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.
April 13, 2013
condolence to you,God has said I-I myself am the One that is comforting you people."...isah51:12....~~
jim scott
April 12, 2013
you brought the PATS to the top. thank you.
How you can show support
April 11, 2013
Chuck, you will always be a part of the Patriots legacy. Thank you for your contributions to the organization. Rest in peace coach
Edmundo Ramirez
April 11, 2013
Mr : Fairbank, thanks you I have a team and new guide to my life , you allways be in our memories
Dick
April 10, 2013
Chuck ~~ I'll always remember your days as Coach of the Patriots. May you Rest in Peace !
Leo Casamento
April 10, 2013
Growing up as a teenager I loved the Pats. Chuck brought a style and class to the organization that was needed at the time. a Real man among men. Rip Chuck Thanks
Mike Gargano
April 10, 2013
Chuck, thanks for putting the Patriots on the map. You should have had a Super Bowl in 1976. Rest in peace, to a great coach and even greater human being.
David Samudio
April 9, 2013
Thanks for a super 1976 and 1978 season... he started a great team
Dan Arturi
April 8, 2013
Thanks for the great games, Coach... rest in peace! You will always be loved by the Patriots fans!
Mike Shefrin
April 8, 2013
To great man who led many men to many great lives off the fields and golf courses. Thank you for sharing your great wisdom Coach.
April 8, 2013
My condolences to Tyler and family. I remember coach sitting up in the stands with the rest of the parents watching our games. God Bless
Beth Figo
April 8, 2013
Thanks for being a damn good coach and hanging in there. God Speed. And rest in Peace with all the famous football greats up there.
Ken Pelletier
April 7, 2013
As a Pats season ticket holder from 1972 - 1975, you turned the team around and made us winners! Thank you for your service to our team - God has a great coach with him now!
Doug
April 7, 2013
We will miss you, Coach! Thanks for helping get the Patriots on the map
Paul Soares
April 7, 2013
Chuck was a great coach and leader and because of him I became a Pats fan for life.
Dwayne Bickham
April 6, 2013
rest in peace
April 6, 2013
It was a wonderful roping training and horse riding experience on Chuck's ranch in winter 2011. Chuck told me about his University of Houston football stories with his university Asian friends, hilarious! A great American Sport Legend in memory!
Jonathan Cheng
Houston, Texas
[email protected]
Robert Forsyth
April 6, 2013
I really became a Patriots Fan after you took over in 1973. You made the Patriots a true NFL caliber Team. We will always remember you Chuck.
Steve King
April 5, 2013
Having played for Chuck those six years he was Patriots coach,I truly admired his football coaching talent. What an outstanding job of building a team. My condolences to the family.
Michael Dee
April 5, 2013
Thank you gor getting me interested in the Patriots. Now you can rest in peace
April 5, 2013
Sorry for the loss
April 4, 2013
Puddy,
I'm sorry to hear about Chuck. There are no words to describe the impact he had on my life and so many others. He will be missed. My thoughts are with you and your family.
Love to all,
Joanie
Kj Jarrell
April 4, 2013
He was a very stand up person with a heart of GOLD! He' IS THE SON OF GOD! He went HOME
Greg and Vicki Abadie
April 4, 2013
Dear Puddy and Family,
So sorry to hear about Coach, our thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family. He was a great man, father and husband. Most important and inspiration to so many, including ourselves. We will forever cherish the friendship we had with Coach and forever remember the great times we all shared in La Quinta.
Sincerely,
April 4, 2013
Dear Puddy and family, I am so sorry to learn of
Chucks death. I remember so fondly those times at MSU's married housing watching Chuck Davies fights, times together in Charlevoix. He accomplished so much in his lifetime doing what he loved and having your support. So sorry we have lost contact. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Fondly, Lynn (Bob Carey) Murray
CONRAD KONTIO
April 4, 2013
SO SORRY TO HEAR OF COACHES PASSING..
REST IN PEACE CHUCK...GOD BLESS
WILL NEVER FORGET YOUR STEELY SQUINT CALLING MY NAME......
ALWAYS PUSHING US TO EXCEED OUR] OWN EXPECTATIONS
A NO RETREAT GUY...
CONRAD KONTIO,,,, [ ISHPEMING HEMATITE 56-57]
Gerry Harpel
April 4, 2013
Puddy--remember me? Thinking back fondly to our days in Foxboro, with Jim and Lo and the rest--My best to you in this sad time..Gerry Harpel
john
April 3, 2013
Love what he did for the Pats made this 11 year old kid when he arrived, become a life long fan.
John Broussard
April 3, 2013
Chuck, I'm sorry for the loss of your dad. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. I'm sure that you don't remember me, we played little league together on the Dodgers in Houston. Best wishes
April 3, 2013
May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.
Frances Spillane
April 3, 2013
Dear Puddy, Iam so sorry to hear about Chucks passing. Im praying for all of you and remembering what fun we had. Chuck was one nice guy. I will call you later. He and Marge and Garrett, too, are at a party and having fun and making sure everyone else does. My love to all, Frances Spillane, Foxboro, Mass.
April 3, 2013
It seems like only yeaterday, we played on a great chsrlevoix hi football team (1950) You will be missed by many. Greg & Beverly (Stroud) Bryan
Laissez le bons temps roullez
Kenneth Petta
April 3, 2013
My decision to attend the university of Oklahoma and leaving 2.5 years of studies at Osu was monumental in my career. I was an avid fan of innovation and collegiate excitement. Coach Fairbanks brought ou to national recognition. He was a game changer. And the quality of players he attracted to the campus was staggering. Chuck we love you miss you and our lives were amplified by your
Presence and judgement. I gave my bottom dollar to see your teams play! Ken Petta OU '75
Tim & Sue Zhulkie
April 3, 2013
A great coach and friend of the family, Chuck made a great impact on my life. Puddy and family, we grieve with you.
April 3, 2013
R.I.P Coach
Tony graham
April 3, 2013
To Chuck Fairbanks.
Thank you for so many great patriot teams you had in your short years here in New England.I was just 10 years old when you became the coach of the patriots in 73.I remember how fire up I was.I use to love your okc teams in collage.You where a great man. and a better family man.Im just so sad that you never got to see this threw the end.I dont care what anybody says,your 76 team will always be the best patriot team of all.Thanks for all the hard work you done.Im sure like all patriots fans my age and older.You will always love the tuck rule game against the raider!!!!!. REST IN PEACE CHUCK.
LOVE YOU ALWAYS
TONY E GRAHAM
John W. Garrett
April 3, 2013
Chuck Fairbanks was, to me, the first Sooner football head coach. The star players he recruited were my first heroes. His gift for recruiting great talent was proven by the back to back national championships the Sooners won soon after he left.
a b
April 3, 2013
May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.
April 3, 2013
Puddy, My heart goes out to you, your
children and grandchildren and to my
Thomson cousins on Chuck's passing. I
know how much he will be missed. May
God Bless You.
Donna Hale Sidwell
Harry Simpson
April 3, 2013
Thank you for sharing a part of your life with us.
April 3, 2013
Sympathy to family and friends and comfort.Eccl9:11.
eMc
April 3, 2013
......I will never forget you Chuck...
Cynthia
April 3, 2013
May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.
Jane Dowling
April 3, 2013
God bless you and your loved ones ~ Rest in peace.
Sam Hamilton
April 3, 2013
Puddy: Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family..For the last 61 years, we of the Class of 1951 of Charlevoix Michigan have bragged of having been a classmate of Chuck. Oh how we will miss him!
J. Brent Clark
April 3, 2013
Coach Fairbanks was a key member of the staff that came with Jim Mackenzie in 1966. That staff was an All-Star staff in every way, which will be remembered always in Sooner Football history. J. Brent Clark, Author, Sooner Century, 100 Glorious Years of Oklahoma Football
Anna hendon
April 3, 2013
I'm so sorry for your loss. May the god of comfort be with you and your family during your time of grief.
Troy and Kim
April 3, 2013
Great Patriots Coach. Of course I am partial. But to his family and special friend Mr. Owens I am so sorry for your loss. Please draw close to Jehovah and he will help you through the days ahead. James 4:8
April 3, 2013
To the family of Chuck Fairbanks, we are so sad to hear about Chuck he was a great coach and good friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Len and Sue St.Jean
Philip Scannell
April 3, 2013
Met Mr Fairbanks at NFL dinner in Boston and he was a gracious man also met his daughter at various racquetball tournaments in New England,a wonderful family thoughts and prayers
April 3, 2013
May you find comfort in the Hearer of prayer at this time. Psalm 65:2
Kenny
April 3, 2013
R.I.P You will be missed
Marty Conrad
April 2, 2013
Journey well Coach Fairbanks and Thanks for the SOONER football memories!!
Joe Herold
April 2, 2013
Rest In Peace Coach Fairbanks and thanks for the memories. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, former players and Coaches. May God be with you all.
Jon Lowder
April 2, 2013
May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.
FootballTopFan
April 2, 2013
FootballTopFan and football fans nationwide would like to offer our condolences and sympathy to the family and friends of Chuck Fairbanks.
Rest In Peace !!!
FootballTopFan
Paul Dietz
April 2, 2013
Met Coach Fairbanks by chance in 1970. Made a big impression on me. Godspeed sir...I think the angels are looking to implement an option attack for their team.
April 2, 2013
Coach was a great friend of ours for many years. I enjoyed working with him after his football days when we were developing some nice golf courses. He will be missed. Our condolences to Puddy and the family.
Mary Rose and Johnny Pott
Richard Owen
April 2, 2013
Thank You, Coach Fairbanks, For All Your Great Years Of Service, In The Name Of Championship Football. See You On The Other Side, Some Beautiful Day.
Cheryl Hurley-Wright
April 2, 2013
May God comfort your family and celebrate your life.
Fall weekends were made more fun watching Coach Fairbanks' winning teams.
George Haley
April 2, 2013
A remarkable man and a great coach. May the love of friends and family carry you through your grief.
keith berry
April 2, 2013
Boomer Sooners! RIP COACH
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