As a young man in the nineteen-thirties, Fred made his mark locally as a quarter miler. After serving in the Canadian Army throughout the war, Fred returned to his beloved track in East York, not as a competitor, but as a coach. It was, as was often the case in those days, an unpaid job that Fred worked in his spare time as a pure labour of love, allowed for as he earned his liveli­hood as a civilian employee in the accounts department of the police force.

Fred started as a sprint coach in 1946, coaching at the East York Track Club, University of Toronto, and York University. Over his 50 years coaching, Fred put many Olympians on the rack, including the 1956 relay team of Jack Parrington, Dick Harding, Joe Foreman, and Stan Levinson; sprinter Mary MacDonald; Bruce Kidd; Bill Crothers; Dave Bailey; Tiny O’Halloran; George Shepherd; and Sue Bradley. He also coached many Olympians that were members of eight different Olympic teams and was the Olympic team head track coach in 1952 (Helsinki, Finland) and 1956 (Melbourne, Australia).

On the administrative side, Fred was the very first President of the OTFA, serving in the role from 1974 to 1975.