May 2003, "Kewpie of the Month" Kent Fewell - Class of 1968


Kent graduated from Hickman in 1968
and returned to Hickman as Baseball Coach in 1978.


                                                  Mark Schiefelbein photo
Veteran Hickman baseball Coach Kent Fewell was recently
inducted into the 2002 class of the Missouri High School
Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
See Story
Retires November 10, 2004

The Baseball Kewpies just played their best baseball of the 2003 season to sweep three games in the
Sells Development/Red Weir Classic for their second straight tournament championship.
Click here for complete story in "The Columbia Daily Tribune."
The Man Behind The Title of The 2005 State Championship












Fewell reflects on career

By RUS BAER of the Tribune’s staff
Published Sunday, January 27, 2002
 

When Kent Fewell took over as Hickman’s head baseball coach in 1978, he never envisioned making a career out of it.

"Even when I first started, it was a year-to-year deal," Fewell said. "I never said I’m going to go 25 years or 30 years."

Fewell, who has taught and coached in the Columbia school district for 29 years, will be entering his 25th season as the Kewpies head baseball coach this spring.

It will also be his first season as a hall of famer.On Jan. 19 in Jefferson City, Fewell was one of four coaches inducted into the 2002 class of the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

"As a coach, it’s the highest honor you can get other than a state championship," Fewell said. "It’s not just an individual honor. It also has a lot to do with the players you have, and your assistant coaches play a part in this."

Only 27 coaches have been inducted into the hall of fame since it started inducting members in 1990. All baseball coaches with 15 years of experience are eligible for the honor, but the Kewpies 52-year-old coach offered some pretty impressive numbers that the 200 voting members were unable to ignore.

Fewell is a charter member of the MHSBCA, which started in 1986. Over his coaching career, his teams have compiled a record of 335-171, with nine district championships, four sectional titles and one state championship.

Fewell said Hickman’s Class 4A state championship in 1990 was a major highlight of his career along with the Kewpies’ first district championship in 1979.

But a four-year stretch from 1995-98, when his son Wes attended Hickman, also marked a memorable time in his career.

"Coaching my son," he said, "that would rank right up there at the top."

Wes, who will be a senior outfielder for Missouri this spring, introduced his father at the induction ceremony.

"It was neat to have him up there," Coach Fewell said.

Joining Fewell on the 2002 induction class: North Kansas City’s Tom Bradley, Branson’s Steve Lael and Francis Howell’s Tony Perkins.

Bradley and Fewell are both 1968 graduates of Hickman.
 
 

COURTESY OF "THE COLUMBIA DAILY TRIBUNE"

Back to "Kewpie of the Month" page
Back to Homepage
Back to Top of Page