Photo Credit: Bob HicksFew people leave a mark on one place as distinct as Coach Bob Hicks did at Pembroke Hill, or Pembroke Country-Day, as the school was known when he arrived in 1967. As an assistant coach on GKCFCA Hall of Fame Class of 2019 Lee Flappan’s staff, Bob also taught math and prepared himself to take over the program nine years later. From 1975-1998 Coach Hicks led the Raiders to eight conference championships, two state runner-up appearances and a school record 143 victories.
His former players also remain devoted to him and the mark he left on their lives. Floyd May recalled, “Coach Hicks used the game of football to teach life lessons and helped young boys become young men. On game day, Coach used to tell us that we were the luckiest kids in America because: “It’s Friday night, the lights are on.... and you’re playing high school football”. I’d say we were lucky because we played for Coach Hicks.”
Coach Hick’s legacy at Pembroke Hill is deep and his colleagues over the years also remember his influence on them as young teachers as formative. He was inducted into the Pembroke Hill Faculty and Staff Hall of Fame in 1992 and was inducted into the Missouri Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 2000.
