Guy Wicks

Guy Plumb Wicks (June 8, 1902 – January 16, 1968) was a college basketball coach and university administrator, and also coached baseball and football.[1][2]

Guy Wicks
Biographical details
Born(1902-06-08)June 8, 1902
Eustis, Nebraska
DiedJanuary 16, 1968(1968-01-16) (aged 65)
Atlanta, Georgia
Playing career
Baseball
1922–1924Idaho
Position(s)Infielder
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1935–1940Idaho–Southern Branch
Basketball
1925–1927Genesee HS (ID)
1927–1930Moscow HS (ID)
1930–1931North Central HS (WA)
1931–1941Idaho–Southern Branch
1941–1942Idaho
1946–1947Idaho
Baseball
1942Idaho
1946–1947Idaho
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1931–1935Idaho–Southern Branch
(assistant AD)
1935–1941Idaho–Southern Branch
Head coaching record
Overall29–17–1 (college football)
184–111 (college basketball)
22–55 (college baseball)
Guy Wicks
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service1942–1946
Rank Lieutenant Commander
UnitTraining
Battles/warsWorld War II

Early years

Born in Eustis, Nebraska, Wicks moved with his family to the Palouse region of northern Idaho. He graduated from Moscow High School and the University of Idaho, also in Moscow, where he played baseball for the Vandals,[3][4][5] and was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity.[6][7]

Coaching and administration

After receiving his bachelor's degree in 1925,[6] Wicks coached multiple sports at the high school level in nearby Genesee for two years, back at Moscow for three, and up at North Central in Spokane for one.[8]

He moved to Pocatello in southeastern Idaho in 1931 to become assistant athletic director[9] and head basketball coach at the University of Idaho's Southern Branch (today's Idaho State University), then a two-year school. With the departure of Felix Plastina, Wicks became its athletic director in 1935[10] and also head football coach, posting a 29–17–1 (.628) record in six seasons with the Bengals.

After a decade, Wicks returned to Moscow in 1941 to coach basketball and baseball for the Vandals.[3][11][12][13] During World War II, he served as an officer in the U.S. Navy,[14] then returned to coach at Idaho in 1946.[15] Wicks later worked in the athletic department and then in university administration, as the associate dean of students.[1][16]

Death

Following his retirement from the university in 1966,[17] Wicks worked for the Sigma Nu fraternity.[6][7] While in Atlanta to visit the chapter at Emory University, he fell ill and died in early 1968 at the university hospital; he had battled chronic lymphatic leukemia since 1960.[1][18]

Personal

Wicks married Lela Grace Jain (1906–1997) of Genesee in 1929.[19] She outlived her husband by nearly three decades, and was a leading citizen in Moscow. Grace entered UI in 1925 and was a member of Pi Sigma Rho sorority,[20][21][22] which became Alpha Phi in 1928.[23][24][25] Illness from influenza delayed her graduation until 1933,[19] majoring in English with a minor in music.[2] With two older brothers having served in World War I,[26] she assisted in the promotion of the Memorial Gymnasium, which opened in 1928.

Grace was a financial advisor in the 1950s, elected a county commissioner in the early 1960s (both very uncommon for a woman at the time),[27] and later the local chair of the Republican Party.[2] A major contributor to the county historical society, she had a long run as a newspaper columnist as a senior for the Moscow-Pullman Daily News,[28][29] writing right up until her death,[30][31][32][33] which came a day shy of age 91.[34][35][36]

The couple is buried together at the city cemetery in Genesee;[37] they had two children, Grace Jain[38] and Donald, and eight grandchildren.[34]

Legacy

A year after his death, Idaho's recently relocated baseball field (46.7316°N 117.0195°W / 46.7316; -117.0195) was named for Wicks during the 1969 postseason.[39][40] In the vast open area at the northwest corner of the campus which includes multiple intramural fields, the name "Guy Wicks Field" is now primarily attached to the women's soccer field at the western edge.[41] Baseball was dropped as a varsity sport after 1980,[42][43] and women's soccer was added in the fall of 1998.

The university's "Guy and Grace Wicks Award" annually recognizes two outstanding seniors, based on academic success, campus activities, and service to the university and the community.[44][45]

Head coaching record

College football
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Idaho Southern Branch Bengals (Independent) (1935–1940)
1935 Idaho Southern Branch 7–0–1
1936 Idaho Southern Branch 4–4
1937 Idaho Southern Branch 6–3
1938 Idaho Southern Branch 4–3
1939 Idaho Southern Branch 5–2
1940 Idaho Southern Branch 3–5
Idaho Southern Branch: 29–17–1
Total:29–17–1

References
  1. "Guy Wicks, former Idaho coach, administrator, dies in Georgia". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. January 17, 1968. p. 14.
  2. Hadaway, Leigh A. (April 20, 1994). "Wicks, Grace - Oral History Interview, 1994". Washington State University Libraries. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  3. "Greene and Wicks named to vacant University of Idaho athletic jobs". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). March 18, 1941. p. 11.
  4. "Baseball (1923 season)". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1924. p. 137.
  5. "Baseball (1924 season)". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1925. p. 132.
  6. "Seniors". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1925. p. 35.
  7. "Sigma Nu". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1925. p. 288.
  8. "Wicks to coach North Central". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). August 13, 1930. p. 15.
  9. "Wicks to leave North Central". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). September 1, 1931. p. 11.
  10. "Wicks is Director in Southern Idaho". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). May 23, 1935. p. 16.
  11. "George Greene named athletic director at 'U'". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 18, 1941. p. 8.
  12. "Coach Guy Wicks visits his new post at Moscow". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. April 18, 1941. p. 10.
  13. "Vandal Coaches". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1942. p. 64.
  14. "Guy Wicks gets his Navy post". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). December 11, 1942. p. 13.
  15. "Wicks returns to Idaho courts after Navy service". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). (photo). November 19, 1946. p. 12.
  16. "Dean title back again". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). June 6, 1960. p. 3.
  17. "Student Affairs". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1966. p. 27.
  18. Wicks, Grace (August 21, 1993). "Acting presidential when there's little time left". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Idaho-Washington. p. 1C.
  19. "Grace Jain Wicks, 90, longtime Moscow columnist". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. (obituary). June 20, 1997. p. 2C.
  20. "Pi Sigma Rho". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1926. p. 304.
  21. "Pi Sigma Rho". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1927. p. 352.
  22. "Pi Sigma Rho". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1928. p. 354.
  23. "Alpha Phi". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1929. p. 394.
  24. Wicks, Grace (June 4, 1994). "Old-timers celebrate their youths in Genesee". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. p. 2C.
  25. "Ursa Major Award recipients - Grace Jain Wicks (1974)". Alpha Phi. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  26. Wicks, Grace (November 11, 1991). "Memories of the original Armistice Day on the Palouse". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Idaho-Washington. p. 8A.
  27. "Mrs. Wicks files for commission". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. April 19, 1962. p. 3.
  28. White, Vera (August 17, 1989). "Saving Grace". Idahonian. (Moscow). p. 1B.
  29. Dailey, Bette Ruth (November 29, 1997). "A farewell to Grace Wicks". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). (letter). p. 2C.
  30. Raquet, Murl (June 20, 1996). "Wicks' love of life still burning brightly". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 1A.
  31. Wicks, Grace (June 7, 1997). "Farewell to Kleffner; an honor to attend". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 2C.
  32. Wicks, Grace (June 14, 1997). "Window holds years' memories". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Idaho-Washington. p. 1C.
  33. Wicks, Grace (June 21, 1997). "UI speaker's father lived next door". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 2C.
  34. "Grace Wicks, longtime Republican activist dies at age 90". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). June 19, 1997. p. 1A.
  35. "Grace Jain Wicks, 90, longtime Moscow columnist". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). June 20, 1997. p. 2C.
  36. Frisch, R.C. (June 23, 1997). "Grace Wicks: above all, a woman of courage". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 6A.
  37. Wicks, Grace (October 3, 1987). "Care keeps resting places of our loved ones beautiful". Idahonian. Moscow. p. 2B.
  38. "Grace Wicks weds Stephen Moe". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. August 20, 1961. p. 3-sec 2.
  39. "Field named". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). May 24, 1969. p. 11.
  40. "Idaho shades Air Force in opener". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). May 24, 1969. p. 15.
  41. "Guy Wicks Field". University of Idaho Athletics. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  42. "UI drops baseball, but booster group mounts fund drive". Lewiston Monrning Tribune. (Idaho). May 13, 1980. p. C1.
  43. Goodwin, Dale (May 13, 1980). "Baseball's 'out' at Idaho". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 19.
  44. Wicks, Grace (April 11, 1992). "The joy in giving the Guy Wicks Memorial awards". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Idaho-Washington. p. 1C.
  45. "Guy and Grace Wicks Award". University of Idaho. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
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