Frederick Naumetz; Former Rams Linebacker

Former Los Angeles Rams linebacker Frederick Naumetz died Jan. 2 at his Thousand Oaks home following a long bout with cancer. He was 75.

Naumetz, who also worked as an FBI agent, was born March 28, 1922, in Newbury Port, Mass. He lived in Ventura County for 20 years.

He played football at Boston College, where he was a member of the Hall of Fame. Under Coach Frank Lahey, Naumetz went to play in the Cotton, Orange and Sugar bowls, said his wife, Yvonne.

Naumetz joined the service in 1942 and was discharged in 1945 as a Navy lieutenant.

He joined the Rams in 1946, and played for four seasons. “He was center and linebacker, and was captain of the Rams during that period,” Yvonne Naumetz said.

During his football career, Naumetz won all-pro honors in 1948-49.

Fred Petersen of Thousand Oaks, a retired FBI agent and longtime neighbor of Naumetz, said the football player-turned-G-man “was a great fellow and good guy.”

“He enjoyed being a Rams football player, and he made many friends there,” Petersen said.

Naumetz joined the FBI in 1950, and worked as an agent until 1955. “He worked the Seattle waterfront alone,” said Yvonne Naumetz. He left when the federal government imposed a salary freeze.

“Fred was a hard-working agent who loved it and didn’t get paid enough,” said Yvonne Naumetz.

Upon leaving the FBI, Naumetz became president of the Homebuilders Assn. in Phoenix. In 1960 he went to work for Phoenix Cement Co., and soon after was transferred to the firm’s Los Angeles office, where he stayed until his retirement in 1987.

Naumetz and his first wife, Ethel, had four children. The family moved to Thousand Oaks in 1965. Ethel Naumetz died in 1972.

In 1973, Naumetz married Yvonne and they moved to Riverside, where they lived until 1986, when they returned to Thousand Oaks.

Naumetz fought courageously against his cancer, said Yvonne Naumetz. One of his goals was to celebrate his 75th birthday, and in March 1997, he did, she said.

In addition to his wife, Naumetz is survived by daughters Gaylor Phillips of West Los Angeles, Meredith McMackin of Newport Beach and Yvonne Erickson of North Bend, Wash.; sons Frederick of Phoenix and Rex of Simi Valley; and 10 grandchildren.

Interment will be held at 1 p.m. Monday at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Mortuary, Westlake Village.