Quick Facts
Biography
Frederick William Enke (December 15, 1924 – April 13, 2014) was a professional American football quarterback who played in seven National Football League (NFL) seasons from 1948 to 1954 for the Detroit Lions, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Baltimore Colts. He started for the Lions for two years. Enke played college football at the University of Arizona and was drafted in the seventh round of the 1948 NFL Draft.
Enke was inducted into the Arizona High School Sports Hall of Fame as an inaugural member in 2007. He graduated from Tucson High School as a three-sport star (football, baseball, basketball) in 1943 after starting a 52-game winning streak for the school as quarterback. He was a two-time All State quarterback leading the Badgers to the State Championship in all three sports during the 1942–43 school year. He was the first Arizonan to start as a quarterback in the NFL.
After leaving the NFL, Enke retired to Casa Grande, Arizona to become a cotton farmer.
His father, Fred August Enke, was a college basketball coach. He died in 2014 of dementia at the age of 89.