Fred Patrick

Football player infobox
playername= Fred Patrick
fullname = Frederik Arnold Patrick
nickname = "Stevie"


dateofbirth = July 25, 1965
cityofbirth = Paramaribo
countryofbirth = Suriname
dateofdeath = death date and age|1989|6|7|1965|7|25
cityofdeath = Zanderij Airport, Paramaribo
countryofdeath = Suriname
position = Attacking Midfielder
height = 1.79m
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = -1987
1987-1989
clubs = AZ Alkmaar
PEC Zwolle
caps(goals) = ? (?)
? (?)

Frederik Arnold ("Fred") Patrick (July 25, 1965 in Paramaribo – June 7, 1989 in Paramaribo) was a Dutch-Suriname footballer. During his career he served AZ Alkmaar and PEC Zwolle. He died at the age of 23, when on June 7, 1989 he was killed in the Surinam Airways Flight PY764 air crash in Paramaribo. He was nicknamed "Stevie" for his well-known imitations of Stevie Wonder.

Patrick made his professional debut at AZ Alkmaar where he was part of the magic Surinamese trio existing of Patrick, Paul Nortan and Sigi Lens. In 1987 he decided to make a switch and signed for PEC Zwolle. This turned out to be no successful move as they were battling against relegation the whole season long. Eventually, on the last matchday in a match against FC Den Bosch they were officially relegated from the Eredivisie to the Eerste Divisie. Still Patrick's performances were notified and AFC Ajax was known to have interest in the player.

He was invited by Sonny Hasnoe, the founder of the Colourful 11 to be part of the team and travel to Suriname to play in the "Boxel Kleurrijk Tournament" with three Surinamese teams. The Surinam Airways Flight PY764 crashed during approach to Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport, killing 176 of the 187 on-board, including Patrick, making it the worst ever aviation disaster in Suriname's history. Among the deads were a total of 15 members of the Colourful 11, only three of them survived.

On June 15, 2007 it was announced that one of the stands in the new FC Zwolle stadium would be named after Fred Patrick. The other stands were named after Henk Timmer, Klaas Drost and Marten Eibrink.

References

* [http://www.androknel.nl/elftal/patrick/index.htm Patrick at AndroKnel.nl] nl
* [http://www.fczwolle.org/content/view/293/110/ Fred Patrick stand] nl
* [http://www.ajax-usa.com/history/fifteen-years/1989/june-1989.html Crash report]
* Iwan Tol: Eindbesteming Zanderij; het vergeten verhaal van het Kleurrijk Elftal (ISBN 9020403664) nl