Education
University of Detroit Mercy.
University of Detroit Mercy.
A gifted athlete, Fromhart played varsity baseball and football for Moundsville High School from 1929-1931. Following high school graduation, he worked at the local United States Stamping plant until 1932 when he was offered, and accepted, an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Notre Dame and play for the university"s baseball team His athletic prowess also landed him the starting quarterback position on the Fighting Irish football team during his Junior academic year (1935-1936).
Fromhart played Notre Dame Fighting Irish football under coach Elmer Layden (of the famed Four Horsemen) who ran an offensive scheme in which the quarterback had a limited role in the passing game.
Fromhart"s primary responsibilities on offense were as a blocker for the halfback, Bill Shakespeare (who actually received the bulk of the snaps and passed the ball most often), as well as a key receiver, a place kicker and a punt returner. On defense, he played the safety position (Against arch-rivals University of Southern California, in 1935, he returned an interception for 82 yards, a statistic that still appears in the annual Notre Dame Football Media Guide).
As a point of historical reference for college football aficionados, Fromhart was starting quarterback for Notre Dame in the 18-13 victory against undefeated Ohio State in 1935. Though he was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 1936, Fromhart chose instead to remain an additional year at Notre Dame to obtain teaching certification, during which time he also served as graduate assistant coach of the Fighting Irish freshman football team
Upon graduating Notre Dame, Fromhart accepted a position as head football coach for Mountain.
Carmel High School in Chicago (1937-1946), posting a 56-17-10 record, a Catholic League title and two city championships. During his coaching tenure at Mountain. Carmel, Fromhart was called to serve in the United States Navy as an armed guard officer in the United States Merchant Marine (1944-1945) in the Atlantic Theater of World World War World War II A year after returning from the war, Fromhart accepted a head football coach position at Loras College (1947-1950), in Dubuque, Iowa, where he posted a 29-9 record, including an undefeated season in 1947.
During his coaching years at Loras, he also managed the Dubuque minor league baseball team
In 1951, he accepted a position as assistant coach at the University of Detroit under Earl "Dutch" Clark (1951-1953), and succeeded Clark as head coach (1954-1958). Fromhart ended his football coaching career in 1961 as head coach of the Sarnia, Ontario-based Sarnia Golden Bears, a semi-professional football team in the upstart American Football Conference for one season (the conference lasted only one year).
In the latter position, he posted an overall record of 19-25, won the Missouri Valley Conference title, and was named Catholic Coach of the Year. With his eldest son (also Wally Fromhart) as assistant coach, he led the team to an undefeated 10-0 regular season record and one post-season win to claim the American Football Conference championship.
