W.
Ray Hickman
The
late W. Ray Hickman, a 1915 graduate of Wayne State, has
the distiction of winning more conference titles than any
other coach in Wayne State history. He returned to his alma
mater in 1924 to teach biology and assist in the athletic
department. In 1928, he became the head football, basketball,
and track coach plus director of athletics. During his tenure,
WSC won at least one football crown, plus NIAA (Nebraska
Intercollegiate Athletic Association) basketball titles
in 1930, 1936 and 1937 and NIAA track titles in 1929, 1935,
1937 and 1938. In addition, the 1931 football team was undefeated
(7-0-1), shut out the opposition six of eight games and
only allowed 13 points that season - by far the fewest allowed
by any WSC team in history.
While
a student at WSC from 1912-1915, Hickman participated on
the football and basketball teams, plus played baseball.
Not long after graduation, he joined the military, becoming
a second lieutenant with the field artillery (1917-18).
After leaving WSC in 1938 he was a coach and teacher at
Longmont, Colo., High School, then worked for a sporting
goods store and later as a Skelly Oil distributor. He was
also active in his community as a member of the Kiwanis
Club, the Boy Scouts, and the Longmont Chamber of Commerce.
He died in 1957.
Hickman
was inducted into the WSC Athletics Hall of Fame October
6, 1979.
