Hall of Fame
In terms any good car salesman would appreciate, Coe College sure got good mileage out of Bill Fletcher. In golf parlance, Barron Bremner hit a hole-in-one in 1971 when the young athletics director accepted Bill's offer to coach the men's golf team—: for free. When Bill retired from coaching last year, I wasn't as fortunate as my predecessor to have a willing volunteer for the job. Then again, people like Bill are few and far between. For 34 years, this dedicated and focused golf coach was a vital part of our athletics program by recruiting student-athletes - with an emphasis on the student and providing a memorable experience for his teams -- all without a single dollar of remuneration. Pure enjoyment and passion for the game is what drives Bill Fletcher, and it is those traits that he instilled in each of his players. Bill quickly learned that his coaching counterparts had only rudimentary knowledge of the rules of golf, so he set out to become an expert. On his own initiative, he attended a handful of PGA rules schools until he became a certified official, working tournaments in the Midwest Conference, throughout the Midwest and, from time to time, on the Ben Hogan, Nike and Buy.com tours. Bill scored 97 out of 100 on his first test and a perfect 100 to get recertified every four years. Similarly, he honed his coaching skills by attending seminars, again on his own initiative. When his 1974 squad won the Midwest Conference championship by a remarkable 42 strokes, they lacked the shirts and Coe-emblazoned golf bags required for their participation in the national tournament. Bill made sure his players were properly equipped by soliciting funds from the Board of Trustees. Bill volunteered countless hours and contributed his own resources to provide a first-rate experience for his teams. More than "just" a coach, he also taught his golfers manners, professionalism and even English. Bill received his bachelor's from Iowa State in 1947 and earned his MBA from Harvard in 1950 before returning to Cedar Rapids in 1954 to work with his dad at Rapids Chevrolet, a company that Bill owned for 35 years. He saved his best sales tactics for recruiting visits on behalf of Coe. And he serviced what he sold - maintaining close contact with his players throughout their college careers and even making wake-up calls to make sure they went to class and were ready for trips. For his years of service to men's golf, Bill was made an honorary member of C-Club in 1994 and, in 1998, The Fletcher Endowment Fund was created in his honor to support the golf program. For his outstanding contributions over three decades as a coach, official, recruiter, mentor and volunteer, Bill Fletcher is a most-deserving inductee into the Coe College Athletic Hall of Fame.
