Rocky Freitas obit

First Native Hawaiian NFL All-Pro player Rockne Freitas dies

 

He was not on the list.

HONOLULU (KHON2) — On Wednesday night friends and family mourn the death of football legend Rockne Freitas — the first Native Hawaiian All-Pro player in the National Football League.

Freitas played a role in the lives of many both on and off the field as he had a career in football and education.

The Kamehameha Schools graduate was recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus of both the University of Hawaii and Oregon State University. In addition to his many honors, Freitas was also inducted into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.

After he retired from his football career, Freitas turned to education and spent nearly 23 years in UH leadership roles.

“Rockne’s heart was as big as the rest of him,” said UH President David Lassner. “Regardless of his job, he was always ready to step in and help with whatever needed doing.”

He was an offensive tackle for the Detroit Lions and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an eleven-year career that lasted from 1968 to 1978 in the National Football League (NFL).

Freitas played college football at Oregon State University and was drafted in the third round of the 1967 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was selected to the Pro Bowl after the 1972 season. His son Makoa was selected in the 2003 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts.

Following his NFL career, Freitas served in various leadership roles in education, including at Ke Aliʻi Pauahi Foundation, Kamehameha Schools, and GRG Enterprises. He also served as the chancellor of Hawaiʻi Community College for six years, as vice president for university relations for the University of Hawaiʻi System, and as associate athletic director for the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. As a vice president of the University of Hawaii System, Freitas was instrumental in negotiating a move of the UH football team from the Western Athletic Conference to the Mountain West Conference in 2010 during the 2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment. Freitas served as the chancellor for the University of Hawaii at West Oahu from 2013 until his retirement in 2015.

Freitas attended Oregon State University to play football. He was selected in the third round of the 1967 NFL draft by the Steelers before signing with the Lions.

At Tampa Bay he played for coach John McKay and owner Hugh Culverhouse, with teammates such as Lee Roy Selmon, Dewey Selmon, Dave Pear, Doug Williams, Ricky Bell and Charley Hannah.