WHY DONATE?

In honor of my mom, dad, sister, brother, and grandfather, Fowlkes Baseball, Inc. has been established.  Your generous donation will be used to provide support for young student-athletes, especially those lacking most in resources. 

I'm passionate about motivating today's players to enjoy the game of baseball! If you feel the same way, please donate today!

You can donate online using the button to the right or mail a donation to:

Fowlkes Baseball, Inc.
1095 Brenton Dr.
Kennesaw, GA 30144

Fowlkes Family Memorial Fund

Doc Fowlkes "Doc" 1925 - 2015

W.D. Fowlkes, Sr. (Doc)    1925 - 2015


Everyone knows that my father was an avid supporter of DHS athletics for the 17 years his children attended high school at Decatur.  While he was revitalizing the football booster club in the mid 1960’s, he also was instrumental in the development of youth programs at Glenwood Hills, Oakhurst, and Medlock.  Doc was president of Glenwood Hills in the 60’s and North Decatur for most of the 70’s. He started the Thoroughbred League at Medlock Park, which was an extension of Pony/Colt, to allow players from age 17-20 to continue playing baseball.


 While most families moved to the suburbs during integration, my dad’s decision to stay in the city of Decatur was based on a love for his community and his desire to make it better.

     After coaching his 4 sons baseball teams for many years to numerous championships, he started the DeKalb Senior Softball League and continued to play actively until he was 75.  He also was a popular baseball and girls softball instructor in his later years.


My father served in the Navy Air Corp and graduated from Georgia Tech in 1948 with a degree in Industrial Management.  He worked for Mead Packaging until he retired in 1983.  For years, he headed up the youth group at Decatur First United Methodist Church along with various other committees.  His popularity helped him get elected as a Decatur City Commissioner.


After retiring, Doc enjoyed tutoring math students for many years at Renfroe Middle School and Decatur High School.  He supported all sports at Decatur, especially my brother Eddie’s baseball and cross country teams, which he coached for almost 30 years.


My dad passed away in the stands during a girls historical home state tournament basketball game in February of 2015.  He was 89.  The Bulldogs won the game and dedicated the next game, which was the quarter-finals, to my father by writing “Doc” on their shoes.


The name Doc is not a nickname.  Will Doc is a traditional family name.  My father was born Will Doc Fowlkes, and named his first child Will Doc Fowlkes, Jr. The name Doc was also carried on to his oldest grandson, Will Doc Fowlkes, III.


The Decatur Sports History Museum dedicated a special place for Doc Fowlkes for his over 50 years of support to Decatur athletics.

Gwen Fowlkes "Momma" 1930 - 2016

Gwen Fowlkes (Momma)    1930 - 2016

 


From 1958-2016, my mother was a devoted supporter of Decatur High School athletics.  As the mother of four boys and one daughter who all attended and graduated from DHS, she never passed up an opportunity to help.  


From youth sports to high school teams, she always went above and beyond with her dedication to the children.  For years, she hauled around elementary, middle school and high school players to practices or games.  My mom was known as the local bus driver, loading up as many kids as she could to reach their destination.  Not only that, she always offered to clean and sew the uniforms of all these Decatur elementary, middle school, and high school teams.


Gwen was in charge of ballpark concession stands over the years at Glenwood Hills, Oakhurst, McKoy Park, Medlock, and the Decatur Recreation Center.  


For over 50 years, she never missed the annual homecoming parade through downtown Decatur.  Because of her unsurpassed devotion to her home town, she was once the proud Grand Marshall for the opening ceremonies parade at Oakhurst Little League.


My mom hosted so many Decatur athletes and friends of ours for 40 years at the Fowlkes home on Columbia Drive.  She always made people feel like part of the family, baking cookies and making lemonade.  This is why everyone in Decatur called her “Momma”.  


Even after having a child attending Decatur High School or teaching there for over 50 consecutive years, “Momma” continued to attend all home sporting events at DHS until she passed away at the age of 86.


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Eddie Fowlkes "CoFo" 1953 - 2016

Eddie Fowlkes (CoFo)    1953 - 2016


Coach Fowlkes was a mainstay at Decatur High School from the late 70’s until the turn of the century.  A 1971 graduate of Decatur with a degree in Art Education from Georgia State University, Eddie soon became the school’s Graphic Arts teacher and remained there for the next 28 years.  


For many years, he headed the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA).  His baseball coaching career began at Medlock Park, competing against my dad in the Thoroughbred League.  After coaching the DHS junior varsity baseball team for a few years, he took over the varsity program for the next 26 years.  Not only that, he started back the high school cross country program and turned it into a state contender.

    

During the summers, Eddie ran youth baseball camps at Glenlake Park for the City of Decatur.  He was a deacon at North Avenue Presbyterian Church.  After retiring, he became a tour guide at Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves, and mostly enjoyed meeting “baseball” people from all over the world.

     

Eddie started the Decatur Sports History Project and was instrumental in personally locating and repairing old trophies and memorabilia.  His hard work resulted in an outstanding display of Decatur Bulldog history in and around the new high school gymnasium.

     

During his long coaching career, he became affectionately known as “CoFo”, a condensed nickname for Coach Fowlkes. CoFo left us way too soon after a battle with brain cancer.  But in memory of his timeless dedication to preserving history at Decatur and touching so many lives, a large Bulldog statue stands on campus with a simple statement – “Teacher, Coach, Friend”.

Lynne Fowlkes Brady "Sis" 1951 - 2004

Lynne Fowlkes Brady (Sis)   1951 - 2004

     

Lynne was a 1969 graduate of Decatur High School with a degree in Deaf Education from Georgia State University.  Our only sister was an ever present supporter of her four brothers athletic careers.  A DHS cheerleader all 5 years of high school, she was remembered as the most enthusiastic with a beautiful smile!

     

She was very active in Sunday School and the Youth Ministry at Decatur First United Methodist Church.  Her many talents included being a swimming instructor and lifeguard at Glenlake Pool.  She was also the Aquatics Director for the Decatur Recreation Department.

     

Our sister worked with the Atlanta School for the Deaf & Blind.  For many years, she interpreted for both deaf students in college classes and congregations at church services.

     

She was uniquely qualified to teach swimming lessons to the handicapped.  One of her favorite jobs over the years was teaching a small group of multiple handicapped children.  She affectionately called them her “little rascals”. 

     

Lynne was the only sister in the Fowlkes family with 4 boys.  She was our rock and the glue that held us together.  Our parents called her “Sis”.  

Roy Fowlkes "Big Daddy" 1894 – 1966

Roy Fowlkes (Big Daddy)     1894 – 1966

     

My grandfather grew up in Dyersburg, TN and served in World War I.  He is the family member who started our baseball tradition.  

     

He quit school to pursue his dream and become a professional baseball player.   Because he was a 6’6” hard throwing pitcher, his career lasted 18 years.  My grandfather was known to his teammates as “High Pockets”, which was later shortened to “Hy”.

     

After retiring, he owned a team near Dyersburg with talented local baseball players.  The team included players from nearby Fowlkes, TN.

     

To his two sons, Doc & Dan, 11 grandchildren, and all his numerous great and great, great grandchildren, he was affectionately known as “Big Daddy”.
*Click the image for complete bio

Capital Campaign

     From 1960 to 2016 a member of the Fowlkes family was a student, teacher, or coach at Decatur High School in Decatur, Georgia. In honor of our family legacy (read bios), we have established the Fowlkes Family Memorial Fund Capital Campaign.  
     Decatur has a storied athletic tradition, and supporting this community has been a source of pride with our family. The wisdom gained by our experience has taught us the importance of commitment. We feel that instilling this attitude is vital to a successful athletic program.
       The Capital Campaign will allow us to fund the building of first class athletic facilities and develop a strong community feeder program.  Historically, good baseball programs have spacious dugouts, locker rooms, storage areas, and an indoor batting cage. Additionally, we would like to add coaches’ offices, umpires dressing room, and a unique baseball history museum.
     Our vision for success will also include what our traditional family values taught us; dedication to practice & training, teamwork, pride in your uniform, appreciate the history, have fun and respect the game.

     We are proposing a unique youth baseball training program. The culture of youth sports has evolved into a complete showcase environment that glorifies the individual, rather than teaching the values of a team concept. The rising cost of equipment and travel expenses has caused local community parks to close. Every child would be able to participate in our program simply for the love of the game!
         From the beginning, the game of baseball has always been a source of community pride. The culture of youth baseball today is not only splitting up communities, but it is limiting the opportunities for underprivileged families to participate. The ability to teach important values like teamwork, mutual respect, and sportsmanship are being lost. Our family has a long tradition of helping young athletes and communities. 
     Through extensive research, not only are families frustrated with a lack of an alternative, but national youth baseball executives are willing to meet with me to help change the culture in a positive way. If a model program can be developed, it would be easy to expand to any community in the world.
         As far as I know, no one else is addressing this issue. That's what makes it unique. I have been contacted by people all over the United States that are encouraging me to move forward with this pilot program. The responses have been 100% positive.
         Since February of 2015, my family has lost our father, mother, and brother, who were all respected community leaders. Read more about their inspiring life of dedication to children and their families in their bios (above). Growing up in a baseball family has allowed me to carry on this proud tradition. We have established over the years a large network of outstanding coaches, and former players that have become great mentors. 

         The main goal is to bring back a strong since of community, including low income families. Coaches will be trained to have a better knowledge of baseball. Players will be taught good sportsmanship and respect for the game. A 5 tool player can hit, field, throw hard, run fast, and hit for power. Our unique program will also stress the importance of being a 5 tool person. They would become spiritually grounded, physically fit, educated, community oriented, and civic minded. The success of this pilot program will establish a model that will allow us to expand into other communities.
          Because of the lack of options for youth baseball players, there is a strong desire to have a program that teaches, trains, and motivates young athletes. The idea is to have parents sign up children 8 and under to play in a sandlot baseball league. No adult coaches will be involved at this age. Only a trained supervisor. When enough kids sign up, they will play a sandlot baseball game. They will choose captains, pick teams, and make all decisions without an umpire. The purpose is to teach the kids to play for fun while learning the rules of the game. I've done this for years, and kids this age always have a blast. The main goal of the 9 thru 12 age division is to train all the parents that want to be coaches and teach the players how to play the game right and respect each other. Teams will train together, play controlled scrimmages against each other, and not play games until they're ready. A controlled scrimmage means playing a live game with coaches helping the players repeat a play to get it right, or stopping the game to explain what should be done. Once the league grows to enough teams that are ready, you will have a group of teams with knowledgeable players proudly representing the community. As the league grows, a since of family will develop within the teams as they stay together for several years with their teammates and coaches. At 13 years old, the players will begin participating in a feeder program to get them ready for high school. This will help strengthen the local high school programs by providing them with a 5 tool person that may also be a 5 tool player. The players coming out of this program will be encouraged to come back and mentor the younger players!

     The Capital Campaign will help fund a proposed athletic facility and the youth baseball training program.  Your contribution will help sponsor student-athletes and strengthen the overall athletic program.
     To make a contribution to the Memorial Fund and continue the Fowlkes Family tradition, please click the DONATE button. Thank you for your generous support! 



Artist Rendering by Jimmy Fowlkes
Architectural Design by Buddy Fowlkes