Frazier joined Oregon State’s Horticulture Department in 1949, coming from the University of Hawaii. At Oregon State, he worked on breeding new varieties of vegetables with his student and fellow faculty member Jim Baggett. They are known for the developing a bush variety of the Blue Lake green bean, which enabled farmers to mechanically harvest this popular variety. Frazier also developed the Willamette tomato, one of the first varieties developed for the Willamette Valley and still popular with home gardeners.
William A. Frazier was born in Carrizo Springs, Texas, and attended Texas A & M College (BS, 1930) and the University of Maryland (MS, 1931 and Ph.D., 1933). He was on the faculty of the University of Maryland (1934-37), University of Arizona (1937-39), and the University of Hawaii (1940-1949). As professor of horticulture at OSU from 1949-1973, Frazier did pioneering work in developing improved varieties of bush beans and tomatoes. He was a member of the American Society for Horticultural Science and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.