There are two sounds I can never seem to forget.
One is the winter snow shovel scraping along the concrete basketball court I trudged to in the Petersburg Decembers of my youth, shovel in one hand, ball in the other.
The second is the chain-link net clanging on a Wrangell playground.
One is the reason for the other.
I, we — my future teammates and friends — loved the game and knew what awaited us in the high school gyms across southeast Alaska.
And in Wrangell, one of the best awaited. Fred Angerman Jr.
As a fifth grader, my lessons in basketball began as Vikings great Dave Ohmer took me under his wing and annihilated me on playground courts through each off-season he wasn’t leading Petersburg on the high school hardwoods of that time.
Basketball official Fred Angerman Jr watches as Vikings senior Trevor McCay shoots over Eielson’s Colten Growden in the 3A state championship game at Anchorage’s Sullivan Arena in 2007. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
As my grades increased and he prepared for his first year of college, I had honed my defensive skills as that is all I could seem to accomplish against the guard who had just set the state single-game scoring record, and I could set screens and rebound as that is what I did when we teamed up in our undefeated two-on-two sessions.
I remember one lesson. My idol, now about to start a second year at college, drove me to the end of the road where we could see Wrangell. Standing on the edge of the water he said, “Can you hear that?”
I wasn’t sure what I was listening for.
“That is Fred Angerman scoring,” he said pointing across the waters that flowed through Dry, Stikine and Sumner Strait. “That is Fred tearing up the playground…”
And he pointed like a compass scouring a map and added the names of players who would make my hopeful entry into high school hoops a rite of passage.
If the excitement could not build any higher, there was a skiff ride one day along the Wrangell Narrows to their docks. A walk through town to the outdoor court. The chance to see, to feel, to hear.
There were echo-like “bangs” or “bongs” when balls hit their mark, but the metal rims and chain nets make a perfect shrill “clink” when Fred Angerman shot and the ball would freeze dead in the center and slowly fall out.
My idol did not wear his letterman’s jacket or college colors that day and very few would know me at that age. I remember nothing else. Just the skiff ride home, my stomach in knots, the waves soothing my nervous energies.
The 1972-73 scorebooks came out. Nov. 16 at Petersburg – PHS 84, WHS 72. Ohmer (a senior) 35. WHS Harry Rinehart 18, Chet Maleski 16, Rob Luce 12, Rob Daly 9, sophomore Fred Angerman 7. Nov.17 – WHS 88, PHS 69. Ohmer 26 points. WHS’ Luce 23, Rinehart 20, Angerman 12. Jan. 26 at Wrangell – PHS 75, WHS 67. Ohmer 26. Angerman 21. Jan. 27 – PHS 79, WHS 78. Ohmer 34, Angerman 23.
“He was fearless,” Ohmer said. “They call him Fast Freddy but he was Fearless Freddy to me. He was confident, shot from anywhere… He was stocky, strong, played like a big guard…We Petersburg guys hated all the Wrangell guys we played against but we liked Freddy.”
Fast forward to my freshman season. I am a starting guard for Petersburg and coach Steve Eberly, God bless his basketball heart, makes me guard senior Fred Angerman Jr every game we face them that 1974-75 season. The season Angerman leads the Wolves to the Region V championship against Sitka, Juneau, Ketchikan, Haines, Mt. Edgecumbe and us — plus the top B schools of that time along the way. The season Fred Angerman Jr makes the All-State Tournament team against Anchorage and Fairbanks competitors. I am destroyed each night but with each handshake after he would add something he liked about my effort.
Basketball official Fred Angerman Jr listens during a pregame captains meeting during a homecoming game between Wrangell and Petersburg in 2008. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
When “Fast Freddy” passed last month, the day after his son Cody coached the Wolves from the regional tournament into the state, all those remembrances swirled slowly in my mind, much like the perfect backspin of a weathered ball floating in the winds of Wrangell and settling in the center of rusting metal or broken threads…I see his elbows tucked in before release, his running motion down court after the make, his hair somewhere between the look of the ‘70s and the cuts of our fathers, his teammates’ screens…He meant a lot to so many. Their memories are as important as mine.
“Dad definitely had a deep reach,” Cody Angerman said. “He was always the most reliable person, but kept his distance when it came to opinions. He was never a helicopter parent and never critiqued how I played or how I coached.”
When long-time Wrangell coach Ray Stokes first moved to Wrangell, Freddy, a game official and maintenance man at the school, made an impact. “He would let you tell him what you thought… he didn’t let it change the way he called the game but it made you feel better…I always felt I got a game when Fred was blowing the whistle, not an advantage but a fair shake for sure… He could come into the gym before my practice with his leatherman and flashlight strapped to his belt, go to the corner and tell the boys, ‘feed me,’ and they were always amazed how a maintenance guy could grab a ball in his work clothes and shoot it high into the air and see the consistent results day after day…It always impressed me how wicked smart he was, he could have been a star on Jeopardy, he knew a lot about a lot of things…Something that I always admired about Fred was how he treated me as a coach who coached his boys. Never one single time do I remember him blaming me, a ref, a player, or anyone else for anything that happened that didn’t go favorably for his kids or our team. He was honest and he was fair. I think this contributed to his kids being among the best. He supported them to the max but also he was honest.”
Former Mt. Edgecumbe coach and Wrangell Wolves star Archie Young said, “Growing up as a kid in Wrangell, Fred Angerman was a barometer, if not the barometer, for where you ranked in the hierarchy of Wrangell basketball. Wrangell holds an annual three-on-three Fourth of July Tournament and for years, if you wanted to win you had to beat some combination of Jeff Jabusch and Fred Angerman. Freddy was the standard you measured yourself up to. I can still recall the first time I was part of a team who beat him. I was playing with my cousins Rick and Dino. It was such a feeling of, ‘Damn it, I finally beat Freddy!’… As I became a coach, and traveled to Wrangell I knew he would be officiating. I loved the way he would say, ‘Oh NO,’ when I would argue a call and he was certain I was wrong. LOL Little moments like that, not specific moments, are what I will remember. He was always willing to talk about the game and the rules. I called him a few times over the years for some rules interpretation. Fred was always willing to listen and teach, cause I dang sure didn’t know all the rules like I thought… Fred was a big part of who I became as a player, and a coach. He loved the game…He loved Wrangell.”
Life-long friend Jeff Jaybusch was a senior when Fred was in eighth grade. They grew up in the same neighborhood.
“I even sold him his first bike which I had outgrown,” Jaybusch said. “Fred was my best friend.”
Fred stayed with Jeff and his wife Kay when she was studying at Seattle University. Fred has just finished a year playing at Skagit Valley Community College and the “boys” were often told to leave her alone to study so they frequented pick-up games at the university.
Said Jaybusch, “Pick-up games at SU were interesting because Fred doesn’t fit the profile of a basketball player, more like a running back. For a while the worst player from the other team would guard him and of course Fred would score at will against him. It didn’t take long before word got around and Fred was the guy to pay attention to, but he still scored at will. Fast, strong, smart and could shoot…Over the last 45 years Fred and I have played over 1,000 games of tennis, countless BB games, officiated hundred of games, coached little kids BB together and he has helped me with the Elks Hoop ShootThinking about all of the great BB players Wrangell has had, three come to mind as pretty special and were difference makers almost every night. Kip Larson in the early to mid-‘60s (West Point grad), Fred Angerman and Archie Young…One thing to remember is when Fred was playing there weren’t classes like 1A, 2A, etc, he played Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka and at the state level against the Anchorage and Fairbanks schools and was still great.”
Long-time and former officials Jim Dybdahl, Bill Steinbach and Keith Perkins had decades of officiating high school basketball seasons, Region V and state tournaments together.
“If I had a critical game to be on the court for, Freddy was that partner I would want to be with in those days of two-man officiating crews,” Perkins said. “I knew this, if we took the floor together in a critical game, the coaches would see him walk on to the court, and they knew that he would give the game his best effort and they knew the game would be taken care of. That’s what we want as officials – to do that. He was that unwavering, consistent, approachable, game manager as a referee. Consistent, calm, respectful, rules knowledge-based arbiter that earned the respect of coaches, players and fans because of his calm focused manner on the court. I loved being a partner with him and would want him in any big game as a partner – and I believe that coaches, players, and fans in our days saw the same… When sitting on the couch with Freddy in Wrangell, I enjoyed listening to a proud dad. He loved being that husband to his Sumi. He loved being that dad to his sons. I loved listening to that passionate love that he had for Family…”
1996 Haines graduate and current Mt. Edgecumbe coach Andrew Friske said, “I knew Fred from the players’ perspective growing up in Haines and traveling to Wrangell…I didn’t think much about the officiating and focused on playing hard. However, I remembered feeling that the games were always crazy competitive but also controlled and fair due to Fred’s expertise and game management skills as a referee. Fred was one of the best officials that Region V has had and probably in the state of Alaska. Fred was a professional on the court and he was a great guy off the court as well.”
Ketchikan coach Kelly Smith said, “When I became the head coach I remember making a fool of myself in Wrangell and Fred was reffing. He talked to me in the stern father voice to let me know I was being out of control. The next day I walked into his store and he treated me with respect and told me Southeast stories for a couple hours. Great guy, great ambassador for Southeast.”
Rick Brock, a former Wolves graduate who now teaches and coaches in Petersburg said, “The state of Alaska’s basketball community has lost an icon. I cherish my memories of him as a player, ref and friend. He meant so much to so many. Fred was my basketball hero when I was a kid. His 1975 championship team was incredible to watch, they would get into triple digits without the three-point line! We used to go before the JV game started so we could get a seat in the front row in the bleachers on the stage. Back then the programs had a place for you to keep track of how many points the players scored. Freddy’s column was always full! Can still see his jump shot in my mind, perfect form.”
I too remember. My freshman points in the back of those Wrangell programs topped eight just once. After Friday night games I tried to hide as long as possible Saturday morning where I and another teammate were housed as the second games were seldom any reprieve. They were giants of the game. Senior laden and battle-tested. In biblical times I might have stood a chance with sling and rock… but Davids who love the game don’t always defeat bigger Goliaths who possess that same virtue sanctified from more years of hallowed court grounds. They were men of integrity and stature who earned respect.
Months earlier, in my final eighth-grade summer, my father drove me out to the end of the road when he and mother went beachcombing, and then later in early August I hitched a ride out to the “100 Feet to end of road” sign with future high school teammates as they ended their summers with a gathering.
Both times I walked along the rocks, looking across the water to the community that housed Fred Angerman Jr… listening… straining to hear… willing my ears to the sound of that chain-link hoop taking swish after swish from the senior Wolves guard I feared, respected and longed to meet.
(Frederick “Fred” Clarence Angerman Jr. 11/16/56-3/9/25)
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.
