Newark Baseball Field Renamed For Bill Hicks, Youth Sports 'Father Figure'

Newark, NJ – If you played baseball in Newark over the past decades, there’s a good chance that you encountered the late Bill Hicks, the decorated city police officer and youth sports guru.

Now, future Essex County youth athletes will be able to keep his legacy alive.

Earlier this month, Essex County and Newark officials – along with Atlanta Braves Third Base Coach Bo Porter - gathered in Weequahic Park in honor of longtime Weequahic High School Baseball Coach and South Ward Little League organizer Wilbur “Bill” Hicks.

Hicks, who passed away in December, “served as a mentor and father figure to generations of young ball players from Newark,” county officials stated in a news release.

On May 5, officials dedicated the field adjacent to Building 92 as the “Essex County Bill Hicks Baseball Field.”

According to officials, the field is also scheduled to receive a “comprehensive renovation,” which includes the installation of a synthetic grass playing surface, new backstop and fencing, a scoreboard, dugouts, spectators’ bleachers and a landscaped entrance.

The field improvements were designed by French and Parrello from Wall, which received a $60,000 engineering contract. Shauger Property Services from East Orange was awarded a publicly bid contract for $901,717 to perform the construction work.

Work is scheduled to begin later this month and be completed before the end of 2016.

“When Bill touched your heart, he instilled something inside of you that was permanent,” Hicks’ wife Betty said. “When Bill saw a need and knew that he could do something to make a difference, he did.”

“Bill Hicks’ life was baseball,” Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo said during the naming ceremony. “He loved the game and used it to mold generations of boys and young men. While he was teaching his players the fundamentals of the game, he also was instilling within them a strong work ethic and preparing them for life and their future. This field is where Bill molded his players and it’s the perfect site to remember someone who had such a positive impact on the lives of so many.”

“This is an incredible day for the county and the city,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said. “If you played baseball in Newark, Bill Hicks was a legend for many generations.”

WHO WAS BILL HICKS?

The following biography comes courtesy of Essex County:

“After taking courses at Essex County College and enlisting in the Army, Mr. Hicks returned to Newark to serve his community. He was a police officer and Division Detective with the City of Newark for 32 years, where he received over 50 Valor Awards and was named Policeman of the Year several times. He also was a teacher at Weequahic High School during the day. But he made the largest impact on generations of young people as the coach of the baseball team at Weequahic High School and as a coach with the South Ward Little League.

“Mr. Hicks was the head baseball coach at Weequahic High School for 19 years, during which he amassed a career record of 172-62. His Weequahic Indians won a city championship in 1988 and one of his star players – Marquis “Bo” Porter – would go on to play professional baseball and is currently the third base coach for the Atlanta Braves. In addition to high school, Mr. Hicks coached two teams in the South Ward Little League – the four-time Division Champs Cubs and the three-time Senior League Champs Corotans – and was the Head Coach for the Project Pride Little League All Star Team. Wherever he coached, Mr. Hicks believed in lining up the best competition for his players, and often took his team outside of Newark to play games and expose them to life outside of the city. With Project Pride, he brought several teams to compete in tournaments in Puerto Rico.

“When he retired in 2000 and relocated to Florida, Mr. Hicks re-created his life by coaching the Fort Pierce Central High School baseball team and the the Fort Pierce Little League and becoming an Ordained Minister and Police Chaplin at the Fort Pierce Police Department.”

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