Winning a valley championship is no easy feat. The playoff environment is high stakes and it takes ice in your veins to succeed. However, some athletes appear built for these environments. In the case of Russ Letlow, the high stakes playoff environment is all he knew. As a graduate in the class of 1932, Letlow had the opportunity to play in four different valley championships. Three in baseball and one in football. At the time Letlow was in high school, Kern County High School (now known as BHS) was the big rival for the Wildcats. They were the only high school in Bakersfield and the matchups between the Drillers and the Wildcats were massive. However, in those days, Letlow lived in the Driller’s nightmares. In 1930, he led Taft to their first ever Valley Championship against the Drillers with fellow standouts Monty Reedy, Carl Stone, and Walter Tedrow. On the Diamond, he continued to plague the Drillers. Including Letlow’s time in high school from 1928-1932, he was a part of a winning streak against the Drillers that lasted over a decade. However, the baseball Valley Championships didn’t come as easy. After losing in the title game in 1930 and 1931, Letlow broke through in 1932 to win the baseball program’s first Valley Championship.
Despite the impressive high school achievements, Letlow’s athletic career was just getting started. Upon graduation in 1932, he spent his freshman year at football powerhouse University of San Francisco. However, he ultimately came back to Taft College for his sophomore year before heading back to San Francisco for the rest of his collegiate career. At 6’ 214 lbs, Letlow was hard-nosed and unusually fast for a lineman. He played tackle at USF, but played left guard in the pros. During his senior year, he was an All-Coast Tackle, an All-American Honorable Mention, and selected to play in the East-West Shrine Game in 1936. At this game is where he caught the eye of Packer’s Head Coach, Curly Lambeau. Lambeau immediately sent a telegram back to Green Bay to inform management that he was extremely impressed with Letlow. So impressed, in fact, that he convinced the Packers to draft Letlow in the first round, seventh overall of the 1936 NFL Draft. This was a very special moment because 1936 was the first year the NFL draft was implemented, making Letlow the first player the Packers ever drafted.
Upon graduation, Letlow immediately had success and helped lead the Packers to the NFL championship in 1936. From 1936 to 1942, he was All-Pro four times, chosen to the 1938 and 1939 All-Star Games, and named to the 1930s All-Decade Team. In 1943, Letlow was drafted into the Navy and played Armed Forces football at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station and at Camp Peary Naval Training Station in 1944. He was selected for the All-Service team in 1943 and in 1944. After his military service, Letlow returned to the Packers for a final season in 1946. He played a total of 71 games, and started in 30 of them as a guard, at a time when players often played both offense and defense. He also played tackle, and received kickoffs.
In addition to being inducted into the Taft Baseball Hall of Fame, Letlow is also a member of the Taft Union High School Hall of Fame, the University of San Francisco Hall of Fame and the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. Russ Letlow serves as a great inspiration for the accomplishments all Taft Baseball players can achieve in life outside of the diamond.
Hall of Fame
Class of 2023
Russ Letlow
Class of 1932
Bill Endicott
Class of 1936
William Franklin Endicott was born on September 4th, 1918 in the town of Acorn, Missouri. Shortly after his birth his family moved to Sulphur, Oklahoma where his father continued farming. However, the Dust Bowl forced the family further west where they eventually ended up in Fellows. Luckily for Endicott, the move would be great for his ball career. The third of four children, Bill had an older brother Everett that was also a great ballplayer. As a graduate in 1933, Everett had the opportunity to play in three consecutive valley championships where his team finally broke through in 1932 to beat Livingston 5-4 for Taft’s first baseball Valley Championship. This level of dominance had a lasting impact on Endicott. Although he would not have the opportunity to win a Valley Championship of his own, he was a part of several dominant ball teams. In 1933, he played on the Indoor Baseball team, which was a transitional sport that would eventually evolve into men’s fastpitch. Although the sport was very popular, Endicott would move onto the traditional team for the rest of his high school career where he would see considerable success. Much like his brother’s career, Endicott and the Wildcats would beat Kern County High School every year for the Kern County championship. This was a part of a dominant era of Taft Baseball that led to over a decade straight of league championships. In addition to his team’s successes, he also was recognized for successes of his own. He was a two time selection to the Kern County League All-Star team with fellow Wildcat (and Coach Davis’ great uncle) Ernie Woods.
At the completion of his high school career in 1936, Endicott played briefly for Taft College before being picked up during the season by the St. Louis Cardinals farm system in 1937. Upon being chosen by the Cardinals, Endicott met with historic general manager Branch Rickey who sent him to Albuquerque in the Class D Arizona-Texas League. As early as training camp, Endicott impressed observers with his speed; one story described him as “one of the fastest runners on the squad,” and predicted that it would not take him long to move up beyond D ball. Endicott hit from the start, averaging .383 through the first 14 games, so well that The Sporting News characterized him as “showing the way” for league batters.
After Albuquerque, Endicott spent time in Albany in the Georgia-Florida League where he hit .297. He was assigned again to Albany the following year in 1938, where he led the league with a .354 batting average. His performance led his team to win the title and helped earn him a spot on his first professional all-star team. Not only did he help his team win, but his performance earned him a jump to Class C Houston of the Texas League briefly before he made another jump to the Class B Mobile of the Southeastern League. There he hit .314 in his first season and .320 in his second season. This impressive showing at the plate put him in the top 10 in the league in batting average and helped him earn his second All-Star selection. That year he also earned a watch as a prize for winning a poll the team conducted to select its “most popular player.”
Enidcott started the 1941 season with another promotion, joining Sacramento of the Pacific Coast League. At the time, the Pacific Coast League was the highest level of baseball on the West Coast. It would not be until 1958 when the Brooklyn Dodgers would move to Los Angeles and become the first major league baseball team on the west coast. Despite the elite status of the Pacific Coast League, Endicott thrived. During the 1941 season, he would place top five in the league in doubles and triples, which was good enough to earn him a place in the Pacific Coast League All-Star game. Not only did his performance earn him league honors, but it would also catch the eye of the Cardinals who decided to reward his outstanding play by promoting him to the big leagues.
However, the Cardinals would not be the only ones to promote Endicott. Shortly after receiving his news of officially becoming a big leaguer, he would be drafted by the Army during World War II. In October he entered the service as a private, assigned after basic training to the Signal Corps to work in cryptography. He spent 18 months in England, where he rose to the rank of technical sergeant before the Army sent him back to the United States for officer-candidate school, with the intention of shipping him out to Asia as a second lieutenant. However, World War II ended before his orders came through and he finished his military duty in California.
In the spring of 1946 Endicott came back to the Cardinals to try to revive his baseball career. Despite doing little more for four years than a few pickup baseball games, he was impressive in spring training. At the end of February, The Sporting News reported that he was “hitting power blows from the big batting cage” and that Cardinals manager Eddie Dyer said he could “could fill in the outfield.” Endicott, however, had broken his left shoulder during his stint in the Army and was never able to throw well again. He said that until team doctors examined his arm and took X-rays, he had no idea he had fractured a bone, only that his arm was sore. He compounded that injury when he crashed into the left-field fence making what a sportswriter described as “a great catch” on a long fly ball in an exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox.
Despite the injury to his arm, Endicott played the entire 1946 season with the Cardinals. That year, the Cardinals would have a very talented team that would end up going 96-58 and take on the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. The series would go all the way to game 7, before the Cardinals would take a 4-3 lead in the 8th inning to eventually win the game. The win would officially make the St. Louis Cardinals the 1946 World Series champions. However, most importantly, it would mark the first ever Taft Wildcat to win a World Series, an honor held by few.
Upon winning the World Series, Endicott would attempt to play the next year before retiring due to his arm injury. He would then move back to Taft to work in the oil fields before joining the California Highway Patrol. Endicott would enjoy nearly 30 years with the CHP before he would retire in 1975 in the Sacramento area. Bill Endicott’s career gives inspiration to all current and future Wildcats that dreams can come true, including becoming a World Series champion.
Les Clark
Class of 1961
Les developed a love for ball at a young age. However, growing up on the Twisselman Ranch as the son of a cowboy, the distance from town didn’t make it easy for Les to play as much as he wished. Unable to afford the gas into town, he would have to wait until Babe Ruth to play competitive ball. However, once Clark was given the opportunity to play competitively, he hit the ground running. Under the tutelage of Coach Monty Reedy, Clark and the ‘61 Wildcats would have a great year finishing second in the South Yosemite League to the North Stars. This was no easy feat considering the SYL consisted of all large schools and would be comparable to playing in the current South Yosemite River League of Liberty, Stockdale, Centennial, Frontier, and Garces. However, Clark’s individual accolades were equally impressive as his teams. He was named most improved by his team and was also selected to the All-SYL Team, which is no easy feat.
Upon graduation, Les would go on to Taft College where he was the ASB President and played three sports (football, basketball, and baseball). Although he was recruited by the likes of CSU Northridge and Santa Barbara, he chose to attend Fresno State to play baseball. However, after a successful Fall at Fresno State competing against the likes of Tom Seaver, Les decided to come back to Taft due to financial difficulties of paying for school. Despite this fact, Les would ultimately earn his B.A. in Education and a minor in Industrial Technology in 1970.
Now back in Taft, Les dove head first into playing and coaching. It was not uncommon for him to be playing ball every single night of the week in the summer either in the Kern County Baseball League or a local fastpitch softball league. Started in 1902, the Kern County Baseball League featured some of the best baseball players in the area. During the 60s and 70s, it was not uncommon to see many ex professional players and current collegiate stand-outs competing against each other. With a league so competitive, making the All-Star team was no easy feat. However, Les was talented enough to make the All-Star team several times including in the summer of ‘61 following his high school graduation and in 1968. The 1968 team, in particular, was extremely talented. In addition to Les, the team featured Steve Ontiveros who played in the big leagues from 1973 to 1980 with the Giants and the Cubs. The ‘68 All-Star team would go on to beat the likes of Fresno and Los Angeles. Not only did Les play in the Kern County Baseball League, he also managed many of the teams he played on with the Taft Merchants.
In addition to playing baseball in the summers, Les coached and played competitive men’s fastpitch throughout the 60s, 70s, and 80s with several successful teams. The most successful would be on Toppers, arguably one of the best West Side softball teams of all time. Throughout the 60s, Toppers would win several league titles which put a large bullseye on their backs. It was not uncommon for games against Toppers to get extremely fierce with rowdy crowds rooting for their defeat. One of their biggest rivals was White Elephant, led by ball players such as Harold Wagner and Leroy Woods. Although the games often went back and forth, Toppers usually got the upper hand. One of the reasons for their dominance was Les’ ability to recruit and manage. He was known to have an eye for spotting young talent and coaching them up to reach their potential with Toppers, the Belridge Oilers,11-C Market, and C&C Trophy (to name a few of his teams).
In the early 70s, Les decided to take another step forward in the West Side ball scene by taking over management of all baseball and softball for the West Side Recreation & Park District from Tom O’Brien. Under his guidance, league participation boomed. Men’s fastpitch grew to five divisions (A,B,C, D, and Church League), women’s fastpitch grew to two divisions, the Taft Merchants county league baseball team continued to compete in a notoriously tough league, and Ponytail softball was created. Not to mention that Les served as the head coach for Taft College’s baseball program for two seasons while also working full time for Belridge Oil, officiating football games with the Kern County Officials Association (which he would eventually be inducted into their Hall of Fame), and being a father and husband. There must be more than 24 hours in a day for Les.
Les would also coach many youth teams throughout his life. He was very active in coaching Ponytail softball, Little League baseball, and high school summer baseball. In addition, he made many contributions to the community through his involvement on several local boards. His role in one particular board is very near and dear to our baseball program’s heart. As an employee at West Side Recreation and a board member for the Taft Union High School District, Les was a catalyst for the development of the current baseball complex. Before the mid 70s, the baseball program competed at the current softball field. However, the development of the baseball complex allowed the softball fields to be built which became a catalyst to bringing softball to TUHS as an official sport years before many other local school districts did so.
If there were to be a Mount Rushmore of influential figures in the West Side ball scene, you would be hard pressed to not include Les. Not only has he directly contributed to the local ball scene, but he has led his children and grandchildren to make their own continuing impact on baseball and softball locally. His daughter Tessa Pilgrim continues to coach high school softball and his son Les also has been a longtime coach in the Wildcat baseball program. Not to mention his granddaughter Arizona is one of the best softball pitchers of all time on the West Side and his grandson is currently playing professional baseball in the Cleveland Guardians organization. Les’ impact will always be felt and we are grateful for everything he has done for the Taft Baseball family. Congratulations Les on the induction, you deserve it.
Doug Hunt
Class of 1975
As the youngest kid in his family, Doug had the benefit of learning the game from his older brothers. From as early as he could remember, Doug recalls playing catch with his brother Don every day. These catch sessions would create a lasting impression on him which would help create a love for ball that would later become a lifelong passion. In addition to the mentorship of his brother Don, his brother Tom also had a large impact on his development. As a graduate of 1961, Tom had the pleasure of being on some very talented high school and Kern County League teams, including with Hall of Fame Inductee Les Clark. Growing up, Doug would hang out around the ballpark and learn first hand how to be a ball player. This was accelerated when he was given the opportunity to be a bat boy for Les’s Taft Merchants team. However, Doug and Les’ relationship would not stop there. As a little leaguer, Doug was already becoming known for his physical size and ability to throw extremely hard. So hard, in fact, that Les would go on to spend all of his draft points one year on Doug. However, to Les’ disappointment, Doug would not be able to pitch that year which caused the rest of the Little League managers to give Les some of his points back so that he could still field a competitive team.
After Little League, Doug would eventually move on to the high school ranks where his dominance continued. As a junior, Doug established himself early on as the ace of a talented Wildcats team. It was not uncommon for him to dominate games, such as the last game of his junior year where he threw a complete game shutout with 14 strikeouts against Shafter while also going 2-2 at the plate. Outings like this contributed to his end of the year record of 7-2 with a .85 ERA. With stats like this, it comes as no surprise that he was selected to the 1974 First-Team SSL All-League Team. However, his mastery performances didn’t stop there. As if a .85 ERA was not low enough, Hunt slashed his ERA to .56 his senior year while only giving up four earned runs all year. This was good enough to again place him on the First-Team SSL All-League Team and a selection to the Kern County All Star Team. In the All Star Game, representing the South, Hunt would throw two shutout innings and drive in an RBI to lead the South to a 8-3 victory over the North. The only blemish on his high school career lay with a defeat to Wasco, which would ultimately earn them the SSL title that year. The loss would also act as a chip on his shoulder that would further fuel the Taft-Wasco baseball rivalry throughout his coaching career.
Upon graduation, Doug would join the Les Clark managed Taft Merchants in the Kern County Baseball League. Hunt would continue his success on the diamond, which would be good enough to earn him a spot on the Kern County League All-Star Team. However, the Merchants would not be the end of Les managing Doug. Shortly after the end of the Kern County League 1975 season, Doug would continue to play for Les over at Taft College. After one season, Doug would cut his junior college career short by signing with the Oakland Athletics after being drafted in the 3rd round of the 1977 MLB January Draft. Shortly after signing, he would start his career in Medicine Hat. That summer as the closer, Doug would record 7 saves while striking out 35 in 39 innings pitched, while only walking 14. In addition to Medicine Hat, Doug would be promoted to the Modesto A’s in the Cal League. There he had the opportunity to play and room with MLB’s all time steal leader and arguably the best leadoff hitter of all time, Rickey Henderson.
Going into the 1979 season, Doug reported to spring training with the assignment to start the year in Double A. However, his commitment as a husband and father conflicted with his hopes to continue professional baseball. As a result, he decided to hang up his cleats and head back home. Doug’s steadfast dedication to place his family’s needs over any wants of his own would become a lifelong trait that would influence many of his own future ballplayers to do the same.
Although Doug’s professional career may have ended, his passion for the game did not. He would continue playing men’s fastpitch for years in the local West Side softball league. There, he would be a staple of the Golden Service teams that were known for their battles with Rob Davis and the Buzzards.
Finally in the 90s, the coaching bug would bite Doug. He started out coaching his son in Babe Ruth and would eventually move onto the high school ranks at the Varsity level in 2004 with Russell Emberson, Les Clark, and Greg Oliver. After one year with the Varsity, Doug would join the JV team with head coach Brian Powel. Doug would spend nearly a decade there coaching many pitchers to success including me (current head coach, Matt Davis). After winning numerous JV SSL championships, Doug would make the move to varsity where he would continue his winning tradition all while juggling a career as a correctional officer. Thankfully, he would have understanding bosses that would allow his work schedule to have enough flexibility to coach without missing nearly any practices or games. Although he was able to juggle coaching and his work life, Doug finally retired in 2019 which allowed him to focus full time on his passion of coaching. Now, you can catch Doug spending countless hours at the ballpark working on repairing equipment, helping take care of the field, and leaving his mark on the facility. The vast improvements being done at the baseball complex would not be possible without the tenacious work ethic of Dougie.
Doug, you are a dedicated Taft Baseball lifer and we are thankful for the countless lives you have impacted. Congratulations on the induction into the Hall of Fame. You deserve it.