Larry Wolfe
A graduate of Royal Oak High School in Covina, California, Bob Wicks was a star wide receiver for the Romans, earning an athletic scholarship to Utah State. Bob was a three-year letterman for the Aggies, hauling in 124 passes and scoring 10 TDs in his collegiate career. His 58 receptions in his senior year led the team and ranked 5th in NCAA football. His 862 yards receiving ranked number 10 in the nation. His exploits helped the Aggies post an 8-3 record, fifth among independent teams, trailing only Penn State, Boston College, Houston and Notre Dame. (At the time there were over 30 independent teams in college football, compared to only six today.) Bob earned a BS in Recreational Administration (which he never used!) with a minor in Business, which he did use.
Bob was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals and played for the Cards, San Diego Chargers, Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints during his three plus years in the NFL. Although his NFL career wasn’t as long as he’d hoped, he had a great experience and still counts former players like quarterbacks Archie Manning and Jim Hart among the many friends he made along the way.
Bob and his wife Kitty met in high school, got married between his junior and senior years at Utah State and have a daughter and three sons. Their daughter and her husband live in Chandler and have contributed three granddaughters to the clan. The sons all live in California.
After his NFL career ended, Bob worked briefly for a bus company in Covina before joining a family-owned business, All Pack Company, Inc. The business was started over 50 years ago by Kitty’s parents and is still in business. The company provides a full range of packaging services, materials and machinery. Bob learned all aspects of the business, including sales and equipment servicing. He was with All Pack from 1978 until his “almost” retirement in 2015 and the Wicks’ move to Arizona. He’s still involved in servicing a handful of clients.
Bob played a lot of tournament softball in California before taking a hiatus at age 55. He joined our league last spring and, as you might guess, is one of our top players, hitting for average and power.
Besides softball, Bob likes traveling around in their motor home with Kitty. They usually do relatively short roads trips but have visited places such as Yellowstone, the Badlands and British Columbia, too. Kitty and Bob also delight in attending many of their granddaughters’ events and games. Bob enjoys woodworking and handyman projects as well and says that Kitty seems to have a never-ending list of honey-dos!
Even though Bob’s been retired for over three years, he says retirement is just now sinking in. He says, “I’ve learned to relish the little things and appreciate what I have. I’ve learned to treasure my friendships and family. Slowing down is a good thing, except in softball!”