Brad Kirtley, Austin Peay's sports information director from 1984-2016, will provide an in-depth look at each of the 2019 Austin Peay Athletics Hall of Fame induction class.

Austin Peay had just dropped a 36-34 decision to Southeast Missouri in the 2013 season's final home game, another disappointing loss in a long season. It also was the final game for old Governors Stadium.

After the final horn, former Governors football player Hendricks Fox (1947-50) took a sledgehammer swing at the stadium where he played seven and a half decades earlier. After making a dent in the old stadium, he then was ushered over to meet then-freshman football Gov Rashaan Coleman. The 5-7 running back/wide receiver had tears in his eyes. Although he had rushed for 109 yards and three TDs in his first game at running back and was disappointed with the excruciating loss, Coleman's tears were not being shed regarding the defeat to the Redhawks; no, they were for finally getting introduced to Fox and his wife, Michele.

Yes, Coleman, a Portage, Indiana, native, finally had the opportunity to meet the man whose named adorned his scholarship—the Fox Endowed Scholarship. In fact, Coleman and his parents, Earl and Tish, also met the Foxes that day. The Foxes served as mentors to Coleman and have remained close since, including Coleman being invited to family events. Over his four APSU years, Coleman heard many of the stories of Fox's days on campus and as a Governors football player.

So understand Coleman's excitement when he found out Fox will be inducted into APSU Athletics Hall of Fame, Friday, Jan. 26.

"I just can't put into words what Mr. and Mrs. Fox mean to me," said Coleman, who parlayed his scholarship and education (bachelor's degree in finance) to working for Fidelity Investments as a financial representative. "A lot of scholarship recipients don't get the opportunity to meet their donors or just get to meet them at a donor dinner. But I am very fortunate to still have a great relationship with Mr. and Mrs. Fox—they have just been incredible to me. I can go on for days talking about them and what they have meant to me and my family. They even gave me a graduation party when I graduated (Spring 2017).

"What they have done had a compound effect. When I was playing, I knew I also was representing them. It was so inspirational; they are so inspirational to me to this day."

You see, Fox seemingly always has been in the middle of things. Whether as an all-conference center for Austin Peay during the late 1940/early 1950s, as a First Lieutenant in the Marines, as a football coach and later athletic administrator in the Nashville school system, as a former football Govs who fought for the return to scholarship football at Austin Peay, and as an APSU football supporter who endowed a football scholarship in his name, Fox always has loved his alma mater and respected what it did for him.

A Franklin native, Fox visited Austin Peay in the Spring of 1947 with his high school coach Flip McGlocklin in hopes of following in the footsteps of his brother Charlie Jr. and brother-in-law Reedy Sears, who was a Hall of Fame receiver in 1939-40 and became Fox's brother-in-law--both attended the school. He met head coach Dave Aaron and was offered an opportunity to try out for the football team. After a week of rigorous training and workouts—several players left during the camp, Fox, who arrived at 180 pounds (he played at as high as 197 pounds) on his 5-10 frame, survived and was offered a scholarship.

He proceeded to start at center for three of the best seasons in Austin Peay history as the Governors went a combined 21-6-1 from 1948-50, including back-to-back 8-2 marks. He was named to the All-Volunteer State Athletic Conference as a senior. He was teammates with Hall of Fame inductees Homer Bell, L.E. Oakley, Julius Sneed, Dickie Hays, Tom Lincoln, Ben Fendley and Bob Swope along with other fellow standouts such as Chigger Rubel, Ray Darnell and Glen Broome, Jimmy Drye, Melton Self and Phil Krug.

After graduating from APSU in 1951 with a bachelor's degree in health and physical education, Fox served 27 months with the U.S. Marine Corps, where he was commissioned a First Lieutenant. He led troops in the Korean War and was awarded the Bronze Star for heroism.

When he returned to civilian life, Fox taught health, physical education, mathematics and social studies and coached football for seven years at Nashville's now-defunct North High School. He later moved to East High School and to Stratford, serving 29 total years as assistant principal before retiring in 1989.

Fox was among a group of former Aaron players, called the Dave Aaron Founding Fathers, who started reuniting several years ago during Homecoming to raise funds for a scholarship endowment in Aaron's memory. The Dave Aaron Endowment is one of APSU's largest endowments.

He also was instrumental in Austin Peay's return to scholarship football in 2006. During that 10-year window, he spent countless hours calling, writing notes to former players and students, especially of his era, helping raise necessary scholarship funds to reverse the decision to go non-scholarship. Admittedly at the time he ran up $200 phone bills—before the number of phone carriers was high and charges were low.

Fox always has never been to put his money where his mouth is. His appreciation for the University and his education led Fox to establish as part of his estate planning a large financial commitment to the University.

"Without the scholarship I received to Austin Peay in 1947, I could not have done what I've done," Fox said. "I've had a successful life, and I want to give back to help someone else.

"Since I already was planning on giving back through my estate, my wife, Michele, convinced me to do something where I could enjoy it now while I was still living,"

In 2007, he issued APSU a check of $500,000 to establish the Fox Endowed Football Scholarship, which now has totaled five recipients. And one of those was Coleman, who literally became a part of the Fox family.  

For his philanthropic efforts, Fox received the Chancellor's for Excellence in Philanthropy Award in 2009. He also was named to the APSU Foundation Board.

As a result of his Governors football support, the "Walk of History" was named in his honor in Fall 2014. The Hendricks Fox Walk of History – located at the southwest entrance of Governors Stadium adjacent to Black Jenkins Plaza. This area catalogs 70-plus years of Governors football history, listing the name of each player from that decade.

After scholarship football was dropped, Fox was a leader in making sure those names and their legacy would never be forgotten. Out of this struggle and fight for the future, came New Governors Stadium (now Fortera Stadium) and APSU's commitment to building a new future, and respecting the football student-athletes that are important to its past.

That same year—that same day, Sept. 13, 2014—Fox was inducted into The Red Coat Society, which serves as a Hall of Fame of service for the Governors Club, APSU's Athletics booster club.

Yes, Hendricks Fox has been in the middle of many things over the years, but especially those regarding his alma mater. 

Fox, Bachman, Doyle and Reynolds will become the 122nd, 123rd, 124th and 125th members of the Hall of Fame during the annual ceremony. This year's event will be a 6 p.m. dinner on Friday, Jan. 25 at the Morgan University Center ballroom; the honorees will be recognized during the following night's men's basketball contest against Belmont. For more information about the Hall of Fame dinner and to make reservations to attend, call Tara Pfeifler, 931-221-6119 or email pfeiflert@apsu.edu. and Fox will become the 122nd, 123rd, 124th and 125th members of the Hall of Fame during the annual ceremony. This year's event will be a 6 p.m. dinner on Friday, Jan. 25 at the Morgan University Center ballroom; the honorees will be recognized during the following night's men's basketball contest against Belmont. For more information about the Hall of Fame dinner and to make reservations to attend, call Tara Pfeifler, 931-221-6119 or email pfeiflert@apsu.edu.