Athletic Hall of Fame 2008 Inductees

Ted H. Potter, 1954

Ted enrolled at Baker in the fall of 1950 and went on to letter three years in basketball and four years in tennis. In tennis, he was one of, if not the first, conference tennis champions at Baker and repeated that the next year. In his senior year, he finished second in conference, losing in four sets to fellow Baker teammate and future Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee Don Kukuk. In 1951, Ted received the Athlete of the Year award. In 1953 he qualified for the National NAIA tournament in Abilene, Texas, and finished as the national runner-up. In his four years of college competition he never lost a conference match to anyone from another school. Former Coach Russ Davee said, “Ted is the most feared player (tennis) in the conference. He is in a class by himself.”

On campus, Ted belonged to the “B” Club, was a class officer and a member of the Zeta Chi fraternity, where he also served as president his senior year. Following his graduation in 1954 with a bachelor’s degree in art, he was drafted into the Army where he played tennis for the Special Services. After completing his military service, he continued his education in the arts and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the California College of Arts and Crafts. He also studied art at the University of Kansas and at the University of California at Berkeley. He once said, “All I ever wanted to be was a good painter.”

The realities of making a living dictated that he turn his full-time attention to arts administration, and in 1967 he was named executive director of the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, N.C. He remained in that position until 1991, having brought visionary and dynamic leadership to enlarging and improving the center while acquiring significant national funding for numerous programs of his design that continue this day. He went on to other significant positions in the arts, including executive director/CEO of the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida, executive director of the Contemporary Art Center in New Orleans, and associate professor and director of the Anderson Gallery at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va.

Through the years he continued painting and developed a loyal following of individuals and collectors across the country. His longtime friend, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Edward Albee, said of Ted, “We think alike. He is a national treasure.” The New York Times headlines said upon his passing after losing his fight with pancreatic cancer in November 2006, “Contemporary art has lost a good one.”

Robert D. (Bob) Shores, 1958

Following a successful high school athletic career, Bob signed to play at Coffeyville Community College for one year where he played and lettered in football. He enrolled at Baker in the fall of 1952 and lettered in football and made the all-conference team at defensive tackle. Called to serve in the Army near the end of the Korean War, he was away from college for two years. He returned to Baker for his junior and senior years and once again lettered and made the all-conference team both years as well. He graduated from Baker in 1958 with a degree in education and was immediately hired as principal, teacher and coach at Oneida (Kansas) Junior High School. He also coached basketball and track at Oneida High School. He moved on the next year to the high school level at Blue Rapids High School where he taught and coached for another year. In 1960 he accepted the position of head coach for football and track and assistant coach for basketball at Yates Center where he remained for five years. His final position at the high school level took him to Fort Scott where he taught and coached football, basketball and track. At the same time he took on added responsibilities for teaching at Fort Scott Community College. In 1967 he moved full time to the community college and through his 11 years there he taught, coached and had responsibilities for directing the Guidance and Counseling Office and was the Dean of Students. A change of careers found Bob in the insurance field in sales and management for a 10-year period. During this time he joined the Board of Trustees at Fort Scott Community College. In 1988 he once again joined Fort Scott Community College on a full-time basis to serve for an additional five years as the Dean of Instruction. He retired from Fort Scott in 1993. During his years of coaching his team’s accomplishments included winning the Community College National Championship in football in 1970. Additionally, from 1969 to 1974 the Fort Scott Community College football team won 54 straight games, played in five national bowl games, played for three national championship games and for four years was ranked number one in the nation in defense. For his outstanding achievements and accomplishments he has been inducted into both the Fort Scott Athletic Hall of Fame and the National Junior College Hall of Fame. His brother Dick was inducted into Baker’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003. Bob is married to Wilma. Together, they have three children, Rick, Janet and Leann. The Shores additionally have seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Richard Hedges, 1960

Roger Anderson Farmer, 1978

Brent J. Dorsey, 1998

Brent garnered numerous high school athletic awards and achievements while at Wellsville High School. He left Wellsville with numerous school records, including most points in a career. Following graduation he was recruited by head basketball coach Rick Weaver to play basketball for the Wildcats. He enrolled in the fall of 1994 and began a storied career for Baker. During his time at Baker he lettered all four years. Following his initial year he was named the Heart of America Athletic Conference’s Freshman of the Year. During his sophomore, junior and senior years he was named to the all-Heart of America Athletic Conference's first team. During his career he averaged 18.9 points per game and led the conference in scoring during his senior year with a 21.1 average. At the conclusion of his senior campaign he had amassed a total of 2,501 points during his four-year career, breaking the previous record of 2,460 points established in 1991 by fellow Baker Athletic Hall of Fame inductee John Smith, 1991. For his career Brent hit over 81 percent of his free throws. Additionally, he set records for both the most three-pointers scored in one game with 7 (tied with several others), in a season with 107 and for his career with 353. Following his senior year he received other national honors as he was named as a first-team All-American for Successful Farming Magazine and as captain of the All-America Farm Team. Coach Weaver had this to say about Brent: “Brent Dorsey ranks among the top players to ever wear a Baker basketball jersey. Equally impressive is the fact that he is as fine a person as he was a player.” Brent currently serves as claims manager at Great American Insurance Company and continues to assist with managing a family farm with his father. He is actively involved in his parish at Sacred Heart Catholic Church and serves there as a member of the finance council. He is married to Laura and together they have two young sons, Jimmy and Willie.