Parsons, Jacobeit to be inducted into Iowa Wesleyan Hall of Fame

Former Iowa Wesleyan College athletes Fred Jacobeit (class of 1950) and Fred Parsons (class of 1957) will be inducted into the IWC Athletic Hall of Fame on Oct. 5 as part of Homecoming weekend.

Parsons was a basketball and baseball player at Iowa Wesleyan College.

A catcher and an outfielder, he started for three straight seasons on the baseball team.

Parsons was also a memeber of Phi Delta Theta as a student at IWC.

He graduated with a degree in education and sociology and went on to earn a master?s degree in education and administration from Northeast Missouri State Teachers College.

Parsons continued to participate in baseball after leaving IWC, and he also played fast pitch softball at the amateur level.

He played in 16 state tournament in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri, and in 1961, he was chosen to represent Iowa on a fast pitch team that played a series against the defending national champions.

Parsons taught social studies and driver?s education at Fox Valley High School in Milton, where he also coached boys? and girls? sports teams, for four years.

Then, in 1962, Parsons returned to his hometown of Keosauqua to start his career at Van Buren Community School District, where he continued coaching basketball.

He started as a teacher there and moved into the administrative ranks as a middle school principal in 1969. He was named elementary school principal when the middle and high schools combined, and he held that position for 22 years.

As a basketball coach, Parsons? teams have won 688 games, a number that ranks him second in all-time wins among active basketball coaches in Iowa.

Along with numerous conference championships, his basketball teams have appeared in 10 substate games and placed fourth in the 1980 state tournament.

This season, the Van Buren team, led by Parsons, went on a late 10-1 run to end the season with a 17-7 record overall. After an overtime win against Pekin in the district tournament, they ended their season with a loss to Mediapolis, just one win shy of another substate game.

In his career, Parsons has been selected as Coach of the Year by the Iowa Basketball Coaches Association and was elected to the Iowa Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2008.

Parsons also coached baseball for 23 seasons, finishing with a career record of 379-170.

He retired in 1998, but continues both coaching and part-time teaching. He is married to Sheila Parsons.

Jacobeit played three years of football at IWC after starting his college football career at the University of Illinois, where he played for one season before being drafted. He spent the next two years playing for the Army?s championship team in Germany.

After his tour of duty, he missed only one game in three seasons of Tiger football, and was named to the all-conference team in 1948.

He also joined the Tiger baseball team for one season in his senior year.

As a student, he was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon and was selected for Who?s Who in American Colleges and Universities.

After graduation, he played football in the Midwest Semi-Pro League for seven years.

He then went on to a career in coaching and athletics administration. He coached football, track and basketball and seved as athletic director in Galva, Ill., before moving to Bloom Township High School in Chicago Heights, Ill.

He spent 35 years there as a teacher, coach and administrator. He taught physical education and coached football, basketball, baseball and wrestling. Jacobeit also served 15 years as athletic director and sponsored the Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter.

He retired in 1989.

He has been married to Barbara Henderson for 62 years, and the pair has taught ballroom dancing for more than 50 years.

Jacobeit is also lay speaker and minister of care for the Hazel Crest Community United Methodist Church.

Both Jacobeit and Parsons will be inducted into the IWC Athletic Hall of Fame on Oct. 5 during a luncheon on the college campus. To make reservations, contact the IWC alumni office at 319-385-6215 or email alumni@iwc.edu.