HANDING OFF THE SPEAR: Warriors' Fulghum retires from coaching

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on August 7, 2016 1:47 AM

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They stood in a circle, arms wrapped around each other like a band of brothers.

Their tear-stained cheeks glistened in the evening sun.

Another baseball season had come to an end.

But this heart-breaking loss held more meaning.

It was Jabo Fulghum's final game as head varsity baseball coach at Eastern Wayne. As he walked away from his seniors, they removed their caps, said a silent prayer, hugged each other and walked toward the dugout.

The reverence of removing their uniforms needed no fanfare.

Sweat-stained jerseys and red clay-covered white pants were stuffed into backpacks along with scratched bats that had withstood the wear and tear of a 23-game season.

The dirt from the final seven innings of the year were knocked off the cleats. The dusty remnants settled on to the concrete dugout -- a staunch reminder of a hardfought effort that signaled the end of an era in Warrior baseball.

Fulghum turned away from his players.

He choked back tears.

The 24-year veteran anticipated the emotions.

"It was a time that I knew it was over as far as (being) head coach at Eastern Wayne, or head coach period," Fulghum said as he stared the scoreboard at Hillsborough Orange High School.

"It's a different feeling. You realize that this is it. But at the same time, I was looking at those kids and remembering those seniors when they were freshmen like I always did (with previous teams) and seeing how much they had matured in four years.

"That's the joy I get out of coaching."

*

Fulghum was born in Tarboro, the home of "Iron" Mike Caldwell, who spent 14 seasons with four different Major League ballclubs. His family eventually moved to the small, tight-knit community of Snow Hill before he could barely hit a baseball off the tee.

Their house sat along Highway 91 across from Greene Central -- soon to be Fulghum's alma mater and a school transformed into a perennial baseball powerhouse by his father, James "Rabbit" Fulghum, Sr.

A natural catcher, Fulghum signed with Louisburg College and played on the 1981 team that advanced to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I World Series. One year later, he played in the Shenandoah Valley League.

His short stint was halted by a ankle injury that required reconstructive surgery. After extensive rehabilitation, he returned to played catcher at East Carolina for two seasons.

Upon graduation, baseball took on a new meaning.

It continued to pulse through his veins and every heartbeat reminded him of afternoons where he'd get in some bullpen work, block pitches behind the plate, gun down runners at second base and sometimes have a little heart-to-heart chat on the mound with his pitcher.

Coaching became his outlet.

However, the days of watching outfielders shag fly balls and infielders gobble up grounders like a vacuum cleaner and throwing lasers around the diamond hadn't arrived -- just yet. The wooden fungo bat stayed propped up against the wall inside the dugout. Soon it would be splintered in spots and get retaped as much as a boxer's scarred knuckles.

*

It was 1985.

Fulghum became a graduate assistant at ECU.

Gary "Crash" Overton was head coach.

Billy Best, one of the best hitting instructors in the business at the time, was also on staff.

Fulghum inherited the catchers and three days into his new role, he noticed the pitchers weren't getting much work in the bullpen.

"I said, 'Coach, we've got to get somebody working with these pitchers. That's the most important part of this program'," Fulghum said.

Overton piped back.

"Why don't you take them?"

To this day, Fulghum stays in touch with Overton and Best. He's not shy about picking their brains for new ideas, especially since the game of baseball has evolved regarding strategy, equipment and players -- who are bigger, faster, stronger and more knowledgeable about the greatest show on dirt.

"They taught me a lot about the game," Fulghum said. "As a player, you learn some strategies and you learn some fundamentals. But when you become a coach, you start looking at things a little differently.

"They helped mold me."

*

Two years later, Fulghum stepped into the realm of high school baseball as an assistant Athens Drive. One year later, while still teaching at Athens, he became the head coach at Cap 9 rival Garner.

His phone rang one afternoon.

Good 'ole dad was on the other end. Greene Central, by that time, had just won its third state championship and second on the 2-A level.

"I'll never forget what he said to me," Fulghum chuckled. "(It was) 'Congratulations. Now it's time to go to work'."

Fulghum was spoiled during his two-year stint with the Trojans. He amassed 26 wins and sent one player to the "Big Show" -- Pat Watkins, who spent time in the Cincinnati and Colorado organizations.

The Eastern Wayne job became vacant during Fulghum's time with the Trojans, and his first attempt at applying for the opening wasn't successful.

He got another chance in 1993.

Then-head coach Gerald Whisenhunt stepped down after taking over for Carl Lancaster, who guided EW to the state 4-A championship in 1986. Lancaster left for the University of Mount Olive, which he morphed into an NAIA power that is now a juggernaut in the NCAA Division II ranks.

Whisenhunt warned Fulghum the well was almost dry at EW.

A fighter with grit and polished with determination, Fulghum put a feisty club on the field that competed in a bruising Mideastern 4-A Conference that churned out MLB-caliber players on a yearly basis.

"When you're a head coach, you're going to go to work like daddy said," Fulghum quipped. "It's a big responsibility. You find yourself thinking about too many other things. It's hard to focus on just one thing. There's no doubt I enjoyed every minute of it.

"There were some lean years and there were some great years, but that's with anything."

A bunch of freshmen -- Joe Perkins, Mike Foucht, John Gray, Ralph Edwards and Chad DeRosa -- helped rebuild the foundation of Warrior baseball. Fulghum's first team posted a 6-17 record and improved to 9-15 the following spring.

His next squad went 12-12.

One year later, the Warriors logged a 17-7 worksheet.

*

A reincarnation of Rabbit?

"I didn't want to be like my dad (but) I wanted to be successful, no doubt," Fulghum said. "I took a lot from Coach Overton. I went to numerous camps. You take a little bit from each coach and you put in your own theme -- your own philosophy. When I see a successful coach, I try to pick his brain or look and see what he does."

Learn the simple things which become building blocks.

Don't be concerned about what you can't control.

See the big picture.

Fulghum understood that his job didn't come with set hours and that it involved serving others. It wasn't about boosting your own personal agenda or stroking your own ego.

There was a journey to take with hard lessons to absorb along the way.

But Eastern Wayne, through Fulghum's guidance and his astute attention to detail, became a force in the late 1990s. Players who attended his annual summer camp eventually donned a Warrior uniform.

During a five-year period from 2008-2012, Eastern Wayne won four regular-season conference championships. The 2009 team finished as the state 3-A runner-up. His 2011 bunch advanced to the eastern 3-A regional championship series.

In all, Fulghum compiled 346 wins, produced 50 college players and had 10 selected in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft while he patrolled the dugout in New Hope.

"Good things don't come easy and they don't last long," Fulghum said. "You better enjoy them while you have them, so that was one thing I tried to stress to the boys. You've got a responsibility of taking guys and molding them. You've got to look at it from the standpoint that it's not all about me.

"I always held high expectations for them. Kids want discipline. They want structure. That's what I got out of it."

Baseball teaches life.

It also humbles a player, too.

*

Fulghum's biggest obstacle?

Sacrifice.

He could have easily earned a degree in turf management since he watered and mowed the grass. He helped organize fund raisers to purchase uniforms, equipment, and give the facilities a makeover -- even if it was just a fresh coat of paint or mending a steel fence. He had meetings with players' parents either during the day or after the game.

His daughter, Brynne, enjoyed an outstanding volleyball career at North Lenoir. His son, Colton, played middle school baseball before he moved over to EW.

Assistant coach Nelson Cunningham would handle the second half of practice so Fulghum could sneak away and watch his kids play.

"You have to sacrifice family time, sacrifice yourself...can't spread yourself in so many ways," Fulghum said. "I've got a son, a daughter, a wife, a step-son, a step-daughter, mom and dad and their family. But I also have a family of players.

"(All that) makes you a stronger family man. You can either sink or swim."

*

2010.

A bright, sunny morning.

Before they had even reached middle school, Fulghum watched a bunch of hungry, baseball-loving players dive for ground balls and swing the stick until they got tired in the batting cage.

Zack Smith.

Collin Nix.

Tanner Wells.

Lee Daniels.

The quartet were part of this year's senior class that put Fulghum into a different mindset. He was getting close to reaching his 30-year goal in education.

"I thought that would be a good bunch of kids to go out with...no special reason," Fulghum said. "I knew in the back of my mind. Daddy kind of knew. My family knew. I just didn't say anything.

"I like to have a plan. I don't like to just do something spur of the moment. Part of me wanted to stay, but I knew it was time for somebody else to take over."

Fulghum took a deep breath.

A light mist covered his reddened eyes as he tapped his fingers on the wooden table and shifted in his chair.

Had he second-guessed himself at times? Oh yeah.

Any regrets? No.

He began to reel off names of people who had helped him along the way during his three-decade career. Soon his voice drifted off into silence and you could almost see that fateful afternoon in Hillsborough replay in his eyes.

A bittersweet moment.

An emotional, overwhelming closure.

"A tough way to go out," Fulghum said. "I wanted to help mold young guys' lives in the game of baseball. That's what it was all about."

Fulghum -- unknowingly -- molded his own life, too.