Tuesday night at Buckeye High School, the town and school honored a local legend with a first-time honor – the retirement of his football and basketball jersey numbers. Darrell Hicks made a deep impact in his hometown and his alma mater, and made his mark in college for the LSU Tigers.
Buckeye High School provided the following tribute to commemorate the Panthers’ first-ever jersey retirement ceremony, held during a home basketball doubleheader:
“Buckeye, Louisiana is a small town built of good people, who work together to create a strong spirit of community. Here, there is no greater excitement than watching young people excel in their high school sports programs, which help develop strong character, teamwork, and perseverance. These experiences are remembered for a lifetime.
“Darrell Hicks was once one of these young athletes – although his days as a student began when the grade school still utilized outdoor toilets. By high school, he was a three-season athlete, competing in football, basketball and track.
“In 1962, during Darrell’s freshman year, the Buckeye football team was founded by Coach Jim Lanier and Assistant Coach Charles Walker. Darrell started as both tight end and defensive end, plus assumed the duties of place kicker and punter. That year, with quarterback E.L. Paulk, Darrell scored the first touchdown in Buckeye history.
“At this time, basketball was already a popular sport in the Buckeye community and Coach Earl Lynn Aymond didn’t waste any time before gathering in athletes from the football team. Hicks was rebounding force for the Panthers during those early years and started every game. The 1962 basketball team had a successful season reaching the Top 20 playoffs for the first time in Buckeye High School history.
“Track season followed the next spring when Coach Walker began to teach and emphasize proper running techniques. The Buckeye track team excelled under Coach Walker’s guidance, winning district and sub-district titles with their strong relay teams. Darrell specialized in the hop, step and jump, the long jump, and various relays teams.
“Over the years, all three teams continued to improve thanks to guidance of coaches Lanier, Walker, and Aymond. By Darrell’s junior year, the football team was seeing more and more success and gaining the attention of college coaches. Many players received all district, southwest, and state honors. That year the basketball team also found themselves winning most games, going on to participate in the Top 20 tournament.
“It was in his junior year that Darrell began to attract the interest of both college basketball and college football coaches. That year he was honored with district, southwest district, and sub-state honors for his role on the basketball team. In his senior year, Darrell received even wider recognition in both football and basketball. He was recognized with All-State honors in football. In basketball he was named to the All-American team and named the Player of the Year for the State of Louisiana, averaging 28 points and 17 rebounds per game.
“After graduating, Darrell went on to play football at Louisiana State University. He had a successful Freshman year as the starting wide receiver and backup kicker, scoring several touchdowns. While Darrell planned to play basketball alongside ‘Pistol Pete’ Maravich that year, he was redshirted for the season.
“Shortly into his sophomore year, a loaded log truck ran a stop sign and tragically ended Darrell’s college athletic career. Despite this life changing accident, Darrell’s “boy like” enthusiasm for life and a genuine love for people platformed him as a true “character” in any crowd.
“After hanging the cleats up he met Miss Ann Hicks, affectionately referred to as “Shorty.” The couple has been now been married for over 50 years and share a son, Darron.
“Darrell’s ‘Louisiana Style’ gift of BBQ hospitality was apparent wherever he went. From Missouri to Arkansas to Tennessee and beyond, Darrell and Miss Ann’s table was always open. It was always a place to share the incredible childhood stories and life lessons learned from the little town near Alexandria, Louisiana called Buckeye.
“Eventually, Darrell became famous in front of the local grocery store, church fundraisers, and small catering events thanks to pairing Buckeye-style cooking with a family seasoning recipe that his dad, J.B. Hicks, developed at the local meat market. Darrell was almost as good at cooking as he was basketball, and in 1985 with the encouragement of one of his colleagues at John Deere, took his Cajun-style cooking to a BBQ competition.
“In 1987, Darrell and his team won the coveted title of Grand Champion in May at the Memphis World BBQ Contest, cooking a cochon de lait style hog. This was a great accomplishment, but in the words of Darrell ‘Big Un’ Hicks, ‘we can’t eat trophies,’ and so his catering company was born.
“The company covered events from local benefits to some of the most powerful companies in the United States – Walmart, John Deere Corporate, Arkansas Rock Sand & Gravel, and more. Eventually they expanded to a precooked vacuumed packed BBQ product line under the Hicks Smoked Meats label. His pre-cooked high-end BBQ packages were enthusiastically accepted into the food world and are used throughout the national restaurant scene.
“Darrell has managed to find success in unexpected opportunities – even when faced with life-changing accidents. However, it is not success that drives him, rather he centers his life around God, family, friends, and fun. Darrell has never forgotten where he is from and what life is truly about. Today, his greatest joys come from spending time with his son Darron and grandson Dillon – teaching him how to hunt from the duck blind, as well as reaching out to help those less fortunate than him. As his son has shared, he’s a better dad than he ever was a ball player.”