Former Braintree head coach and staple of the Massachusetts high school sports community, Don Fredericks, passed away Monday morning at the age of 79 after a battle with cancer.

Fredericks was trusted, passionate, honest, and invested in the growth of student-athletes and coaches across the region for decades.
A lifetime native of Stoughton, Fredericks went to Stoughton High School before attending and continuing his baseball playing career at Springfield College.

Upon graduating from Springfield College, Fredericks began his baseball coaching career at Braintree High School in the late 1960s under Tom ‘Lefty’ O’Connell before taking over the reins in 1972.

Over the span of two decades, Fredericks galvanized Braintree’s baseball program turning the Wamps into perennial contenders. His charisma, intensity, and knowledge carried Braintree to a 337-98 record, 11 Bay State League championships, four Eastern Mass championships, and three state titles. Fredericks carried his skills as a mentor on the diamond into the summer as Braintree’s American Legion coach where he posted a 430-135 mark and coached the 1989 group to the national championships. His accomplishments earned him a spot in the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1995.

Fredericks impact on the Braintree community stretched beyond the baseball field as he manned the sidelines as the Wamps’ varsity basketball coach from 1981-1989. In the years after his coaching career on Town Street ended, Fredericks remained as a faculty manager serving as a guiding force for Braintree’s athletics programs.

His skills as a master motivator and his devout loyalty made Fredericks the consummate ‘Coach’ whose players deemed him as such for decades long after their playing days were over.

No one more synonymous with Massachusetts high school baseball, Fredericks remained a mainstay on the diamond after he left coaching in 1992. He transitioned to officiating where he spent decades as an umpire and helped coordinate umpires for the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association’s state baseball tournament. He spent a summer assigning officials for the Cape Cod Baseball League and for decades oversaw umpires in the Patriot League, South Shore League, Mayflower League, Hockomock League, and most notably the Bay State League. His presence on the field as an umpire mirrored those from his times atop the dugout, generating the aura of one present for only the sport’s most marquee games.

Fredericks standing as the patriarch of Massachusetts high school baseball was an extension of the figure he was at home. He raised four children, Kirk, Keith, Kyle, and Keri alongside his wife Donna. Under the tutelage of his father, Kirk propelled himself to his own playing and baseball career.

In his most recent years, Don maintained his status as a leader in the state’s most prominent baseball circles. From 2014-2019 he served as the Division 1A ‘Super Eight’ Tournament Director, was as an assistant to the state tournament from 2021-2023, and remained on the field as an umpire. He maintained a hand in being a teacher of the game, taking trips with Kirk who coached within the New England Ruffnecks club baseball program. Most notably, however, Don found the greatest source of wealth in spending time with his 10 grandchildren enjoying time in the yard with them and as a fervent supporter at their athletic events and activities.

Visiting hours will be held in the Farley Funeral Home Visiting Hours will be held in the Farley Funeral Home, 358 Park St. (Rte. 27) Stoughton on Thursday from 4-7 with Funeral Prayers to follow at 7.