Clare Frye
American football player (1899-1971)
Clare Alanson Frye (May 10, 1899 – October 16, 1971) was an American college football player who starred as a center for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets from 1920 to 1923. During his collegiate career, Frye earned recognition as a standout lineman, contributing to the team's efforts in the Southern Conference and receiving All-Southern honors in 1922 and 1923.
Frye's playing style was noted for its tenacity and skill in the trenches, helping anchor Georgia Tech's offensive and defensive lines during an era when the Yellow Jackets were a dominant force in Southern football under coach William Alexander. In 1923, he was involved in a publicized off-field incident in Atlanta alongside fellow Georgia Tech athletes, highlighting the scrutiny faced by prominent student-athletes of the time. Retrospective rankings place him at #377 among college football players of the 1920s.
Early life and education
Birth and family
Clare Alanson Frye was born on May 10, 1899, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. He was named after County Clare, a county in Munster in the Southern part of Ireland.
Pre-college education
Frye attended Oklahoma City High School. During his high school years, he played football on the school's team, though he was lightweight at the time. Prior to enrolling at Georgia Tech, Frye served two years in the U.S. Army, which helped build his physical strength.
Military service
Frye enlisted in the United States Army in 1915 at the age of 16, falsifying his records in order to serve ahead of the United States' official involvement in World War I. He volunteered for service amid the national mobilization, reflecting the widespread response to President Woodrow Wilson's call to arms following Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare.
“Clare Frye” enters the record as american football player (1899-1971). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Clare, Frye and American can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q18748990. The first chronological checks are 1899, 1971, 1920 and 1923.
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This entry incorporates text from “Clare Frye” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.