If it wasn’t for the persistence of his brother, Al, Ted Hicks might not have played major fast pitch softball. After injuring his right knee in college (Central Missouri University) playing football, Ted figured his major league baseball aspirations were over. He figured he would be labeled as “damaged goods.” In the ensuing years he continued to have problems with the knee resulting in four operations. Concerned about his brother, Al called Ted and asked him to play on a local softball team. He called him another day and said he had good news and bad news. The bad news was that the team Ted was going to play for had picked up a couple of players and didn’t need him. The good news was that Al quit the team and formed his own team and wanted Ted to play for him. The rest, as they say, is history as Ted played a couple of games and “loved it.” He went on to play 14 years (1975-1989) and establish himself as one of the top hitters in the game. From 1981-1989, he played for Decatur, IL and batted .318 with 121 homers and 841 RBIs. Seven times he was named an ASA All-American and in 1978 set the record for the highest batting average in a Men’s Major Fast Pitch National Tourney, .632 (12-for-19). That year Ted also was named co-MVP of the tourney.
