James Gilbert ‘Bud’ Sikes is a native of Jackson, Tennessee where he is recognized as a basketball, baseball and football player and longtime coach.
In 1961, Sikes earned a baseball scholarship to Union where he started at third base. From 1961-65, the Union baseball team has a winning percentage of .800. The 1963 team won the NCAA Small College National Title and was national runner-up in 1964. He was team captain his senior year and set a school record for steals (27 in 25 games), ranking third in the nation in steals.
After graduating from Union in 1965, he began his teaching and coaching career at Chester County High School, where he coached baseball, football and basketball. He returned to North Side in 1972, where he coached baseball and football for 23 years. In 1995, he became the head baseball coach and assistant football coach at Jackson Central Merry. During this time, he received his Masters in Organization and Administration from Memphis State University. He coached football for 31 years, baseball for 20 years and basketball for seven years.
Sikes was educated in Jackson at Spring Creek Elementary and North Side High School. He was a three sport letterman at North Side and also was elected as the senior class president. Sikes was named MVP of the 1959 State Babe Ruth Championship Tournament and played American Legion Baseball from 1960-62 where he was captain.
Sikes has received numerous honors in his career including Outstanding Young American in 1967, co-founder of West Tennessee Umpires Association and district officer in baseball and football. He was inducted into the North Side Legacy Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Jackson Madison County Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. His 1963 baseball team was inducted into the Union Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.
