Green was born in Manistee, Michigan, and grew up in Cadillac, son of Holden Nathaniel Green and his wife Adaline Green. His education was attained in Ypsilanti at Michigan State Normal School, where he graduated in 1893, and at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he earned a law degree in 1898. When Michigan State Normal joined the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1892, Green was selected as the school's first representative to the athletic conference. From 1893 to 1895, Green worked as a reporter in Ypsilanti. During this time, he continued his involvement in Michigan State Normal athletics, serving as "Manager of Foot Ball" for the Normal Athletic Association during the first term of 1893-94 academic year and as "Director of Sports" during the second term. In 1895, Green earned a varsity letter as a member of the Michigan State Normal football team. The following year, in 1896, he coached the football team to a 4-1 record. Michigan Normal was named the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association champions that season with a record of 2-0 in the conference. The team's sole loss came against the University of Michigan football team, the only team that scored against the Normalites that season. While a student at Michigan, Green was the "Class Athletic Manager" during the 1897-98 academic year.
Head coaching record
Military service and legal work
Green served in the U.S. Army during the Spanish–American War. He was a first lieutenant in the 31st Michigan Volunteer Infantry and later was promoted to battalion adjutant. After the war, he returned to Ypsilanti as the city attorney, as well as attorney for the Ypsilanti Reed Furniture Company, a business he later owned in a partnership. His furniture company in Ionia was "one of the largest industries of its kind in the country".
Politics
In 1904, he moved the business to Ionia, Michigan. He was a delegate to Republican National Convention from Michigan in 1912, where U.S. President William Howard Taft was renominated. Green served as Mayor of Ionia from 1913 to 1916 and was instrumental in the establishing the Ionia Free Fair in 1915, which, at one time, was the world's largest free admission event of its kind. From 1915 to 1919, he was treasurer of the Michigan Republican Party. In 1920, he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention that nominated Warren G. Harding for U.S. President. On November 2, 1926, Green was elected Governor of Michigan. He was re-elected to a second two-year term in 1928. On May 18, 1927, the afternoon of the Bath School disaster, Green assisted in the relief work, carting bricks away from the scene. In 1928, he served as a delegate to the RNC which nominated Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover for president. Howard C. Lawrence was Green's secretary and business partner. During his administration, Green expanded a fish planting program and took part in the acquisition of seven state parks. He initiated a comprehensive budget system, authorized a new code of criminal practices, secured appropriations for a state hospital building program, and improved workmen's compensation. The Green administration was notably important in modernizing Michigan's highways. He is touted as the "inventor of the no passing lane", which was adopted as an important safety improvement throughout the country. He was also an early proponent of the Mackinac Bridge. On October 22, 1927, Governor Green participated in the dedication of the new University of Michigan Football Stadium: "Michigan Governor Fred W. Green and his Ohio counterpart Vince Donahey, and Presidents C. C. Little of Michigan and George W. Rightmire of Ohio, led the massed bands of the two universities onto the field from the east tunnel. The bands paraded to the flag pole where the national ensign was raised and the vast throng stood bareheaded during the playing of the 'Star Spangled Banner' and 'The Yellow and Blue.'" In 1927, he appointed Arthur Hendrick Vandenberg, who was editor of the Grand Rapids Herald, to the U.S. Senate to replace as the late Senator Woodbridge N. Ferris. He chose Vandenberg only when pressured to do so by the state Republican organization. In 1928, Green's campaign created the slogan "Keep Michigan Green" as a part of a fire prevention program.
Retirement and death
After leaving office, Green returned to his favorite pastime of hunting and fishing. In 1932, Green served as a delegate to the RNC which nominated Herbert Hoover for re-election, who was defeated by Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1936, he again served as a delegate to the RNC which nominated Alf Landon for U.S. President, who was also unsuccessful at unseating Roosevelt. He was a Presbyterian and a member of the Freemasons, Elks and Rotary. Fred Green died in Munising Hospital in Munising, Michigan, on November 30, 1936, ten days after suffering a heart attack while on a deer hunting trip. He is entombed in a mausoleum at the Highland Park Cemetery in Ionia, Michigan. His accumulated papers, two linear feet and five volumes, are at the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan.
