Fred Townsend

Who was Fred Townsend?

Frederick Townsend was an American football player, lawyer, and politician.

Townsend was born in 1862 at Albia, Iowa. He was the son of John Selby Townsend, a district judge and legislator in Iowa. Townsend received his early education in the public school of Albia, Iowa. In 1879, he enrolled at Ann Arbor High School, but he was forced to quit his studies in the spring of 1881 due to failing eyesight.

In the fall of 1881, Townsend entered the law department at the University of Michigan, and entered the freshman class of the literary department in the spring of 1882. He was again unable to complete his studies due to failing eyesight. He moved to El Paso, Texas, where he worked in the mercantile business and also part-time in the law office of his brother, Judge J. E. Townsend. He returned to Iowa in 1887 and was admitted to the Iowa bar in May 1887. In the fall of 1887, he resumed his studies at the law department of the University of Michigan. He played as a starting left tackle for the 1887 Michigan Wolverines football team while completing his legal studies. He graduated from Michigan in 1888 and returned to El Paso where he formed a law partnership with his brother under the name Townsend & Townsend.