Mark Fuller's role in baseball has been extensive, from his 34 years as head coach at Cumberland High School in Wisconsin, where his teams went 482-243, to his 35 years at the helm of the American Legion program, where Cumberland accumulated a 524-321 record. His contributions to baseball in Wisconsin have been immeasurable over that time period. In addition to serving as Cumberland High School’s Athletic Director, Fuller has been on the coaching staff at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater as an assistant coach since in 2012.
As a high school coach, Fuller turned Cumberland High School into a force on the diamond. The Beavers won 10 conference tournaments, 13 regional and four sectional titles.
During the summer, Fuller's days often put him on the field from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. as he started the day with hitting lessons, then coached Little League, Babe Ruth and Legion teams before the day ended.
Fuller is the only individual to have ever been Wisconsin's Baseball Man of the Year twice, an honor which he earned in 1989 and 2003. He was also honored as the 1987 Amateur Baseball Coach of the Year. Additionally, Fuller is a member of both the Wisconsin Baseball Hall of Fame and the Cumberland Baseball Hall of Fame, for which he was a founding father.
To help promote the sport in Northern Wisconsin, Fuller started an area coaches clinic, which celebrated its 31st year last winter. The clinics have raised over $30,000 for the Cumberland Youth Baseball Association. A 30-year member of the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Executive Board, and a past president, Fuller has been instrumental in running the state clinic and was also a co-founder of the State All-Star Classic.
Fuller also worked with numerous entities in the Cumberland community to build one of the top baseball fields in Wisconsin, which was honored by Turface Sports Products with the 2002 ABCA/Turface Field Maintenance Award.
His baseball legacy stretches off the baseball diamond as well. Fuller authored "Forty Years of Cheers" in 1983, which documented amateur baseball history in the Cumberland community. In addition, Fuller started and co-authored the Wisconsin State Baseball Yearbook, which is now considered one of the top baseball preview yearbooks in the nation. In 2010, the yearbook was accepted into the Cooperstown Hall of Fame Library.
Fuller served on the Clinic Committee for six ABCA Conventions and has chaired the Wisconsin Coaches Hall of Fame Committee. He has served as a clinician at three ABCA Conventions and he has presented at 10 different state clinics, in Canada and in seven European countries.
Fuller continues to share his passion for baseball across the nation as a tour guide for Jay Buckley Baseball Tours. Fuller has served as a trip guide since 1985, visiting numerous Major League stadiums.
