Charles Wayne Hicks, student-athlete in the graduating class of 1973. A lifelong Houstonian, he attended R. L. Isaacs Elementary, Lamar Fleming Middle School, and Kashmere High School. As a young child, Charles enjoyed playing baseball and joined a neighborhood little league team and fell in love with the game. There is a gap between Pony League and high school baseball because there is no baseball team in middle schools, so you had to be very disciple to stay baseball-ready until reaching high school.
When Charles arrived at Kashmere he would play junior varsity because that year the varsity team was dominated by senior players. It enabled Charles to tutor as a pitcher under the late Joe “Shoes” Pittman of the (Houston Astro) who was a senior on the Kashmere baseball team. Hick’s entered his junior season prime to go as he became a two-year varsity starter. Coach Major Abram witnessed Charles’s leadership qualities and his ability to lead. He was selected Baseball Captain by Coach Abram in his senior year. Hick’s most memorable game was when they defeated their district rival Sam Houston, one of the city’s top teams in 1973 as Charles was able to handicap the bats of Sam Houston Tigers.
His love for baseball continued after graduating from Kashmere, playing with several semi-pro teams in the Houston Community as Charles’s love for baseball continued. Charles worked for the Houston Independent School District for more than twenty years. Charles has been blessed with five children and twelve grandchildren, and he loves spending time with them.