Al Fracassa

Al Fracassa

Michigan State Football Player (1951 – 1955)
Royal Oak Shrine Football Coach (1960 - 1968)
Birmingham Brother Rice Football Coach (1969 - 2013)

Al Fracassa was born in Detroit, Michigan and attended Northeastern High School where he was a three-sport star, earning All-State honors as a quarterback in his senior year. His talent and drive carried him to Michigan State University, where he played on the 1952 National Championship team and appeared in the 1954 Rose Bowl.  After graduation and a stint in the U.S. Army, Fracassa went into the coaching ranks, first as an assistant coach, then was named the head football and baseball coach at Royal Oak Shrine High School.

After nine successful seasons, Fracassa was named the head football coach at Birmingham Brother Rice in 1969, where he remained for 44 seasons until his retirement in 2013. During this time Fracassa was one of the most successful coaches in state history. He retired with 430 wins (at that time a Michigan record) and nine state championships, having sent over 300 players on to college, with 13 of them making it to the NFL. In 1997, Fracassa was named NFL High School Coach of the Year, in 2002 he was named National Coach of the Year and has been named Michigan coach of the year four times in his career. He was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. Al Fracassa passed away on September 7, 2025 at 92 years of age.