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He crafted a pitching record for the Yellow Jackets that has withstood the test of time, led to a Hall of Fame career at Buena Vista University, a brief professional career, a stint as coach at Waukee, and, finally, into another Hall of Fame induction as a player.
Drummond is one of six individuals inducted this year into the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame. He becomes the fifth inductee with ties to Dallas County, joining players Hal Manders of Dallas Center and Bob Feller of Van Meter; coach Jim Kloewer of Stuart; and scout Joe McDermott of Granger.
Drummond's career eventually would be integrally tied to McDermott.
Drummond pitched four years for Thomas Jefferson, becoming the ace of the Yellow Jackets' staff by his sophomore season. During his prep career, Drummond pitched 25 shutouts - 17 of them coming his senior year - still the all-time best in the Iowa High School record book.
"I was pretty much a starter all four years, although I did pitch some in relief my freshman year," Drummond said.
While he ranks No. 1 on the career shutout list, Drummond also ranks high in several other pitching categories. He crafted a 61-2 overall record and was unbeaten in regular season play from 1959-62, his only two losses coming in the post-season. As a senior, he pitched T.J. to state championships in both the spring and summer tournaments, a never-since duplicated feat.
His 61 career wins rank third all-time. The leader is former Major Leaguer Mike Boddicker, who won 76 games (76-13) from 1972-75.
Drummond's 673 career strikeouts rank fifth on the career list with Boddicker (1,122) first and another former Major Leaguer Cal Eldred of Urbana second. Eldred fanned 743 from 1983-86.
He also ranks sixth with seven career no-hitters and 13th with a career earned run average of 0.98.
Following high school, Drummond began a four-year career at Buena Vista, which eventually led to his induction in the Beavers' Hall of Fame. As a freshman, Drummond ranked seventh nationally, averaging 14.3 strikeouts per game. He also earned all-conference honors while at BV.
Drummond was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 1965, but turned that down to remain in college. The following year, he was drafted by the Chicago White Sox, but again turned an offer down to remain in college.
"I hurt my elbow throwing a curve during my senior season and that put me behind," Drummond said.
That's where McDermott came into Drummond's career.
"He had followed me through high school and told me to get my arm back in shape after the elbow injury," Drummond said. "If I did that, McDermott said the Yankees would give me a shot."
With his elbow healed, McDermott and the Yankees signed Drummond as a free agent in 1966.
"I gave up the curve ball after that and started throwing a slider instead," Drummond said.
Drummond's professional career began when he was assigned to Greensboro, N.C., in the Class A Carolina League. He later went to Columbus, Ga., in the Southern League.
"I bounced back and forth and wound up at Manchester (N.H.) in the Eastern League," Drummond said. That was Class AA.
"I was probably only about 80 percent the pitcher I was before the elbow injury," he said.
Finally, though, another injury ended his career in 1970.
"I had a rotator cuff injury that season and, eventually, the Yankees released me," he said. "Now, they fix those things with what's known as the Tommy John surgery, but I got that injury a few years before that surgery was used."
After he was released, Drummond returned to Storm Lake and eventually wound up as baseball coach in Waukee. He coached only a few years, but retired after 30 years of teaching at Waukee in 2001.
How he wound up in Waukee is another interesting tale.
"I was in the National Guard unit in Storm Lake and we had an alert called," he said. "I was working for a home builder in Des Moines, so they told me to report to the Des Moines unit that weekend and the Master Sergeant in Des Moines was a fellow named Cliff Teale, who was a teacher in Waukee.
"He told me they were looking for a baseball coach that summer, so I came out and visited with Superintendent Claire Eason and he hired me for the summer."
That fall, a teaching job opened up and Drummond began his three-decade tenure with the school.
"I only coached baseball a few years, but stayed as basketball coach a little longer," he said. "Back then, the high school was downtown (currently Waukee Elementary) and the baseball diamond was south of that school.
"It was really a bad field - it was cinders - but we played our home games there."
A couple years later, a new high school was being built (currently the middle school) and the Waukee district had purchased land south of the school and adjacent to what is now Centennial Park.
That land became what is now the Waukee baseball diamond, but it was a far cry from what it is today.
"Three of us (Eason, Principal Vince Myer and Drummond) put up a backstop and worked on the field," Drummond said. "We played there a year and had a big ice storm that just peeled the backstop over.
"We tore it down and salvaged what we could. When we re-built it, we ran fences down both the first and third base lines and it stayed that way for several years."
Drummond took a graduate course in research methods at Drake University and used the ballpark development in Waukee for his college project.
Drummond resigned as baseball coach after a couple more years, but remained as basketball coach until 1978.
"I spent so many summers with baseball I guess I just got wore out," he said.
"All I ever wanted to do was to be a pitcher."
A shoulder injury eventually ended that dream, but not his love for the game.
Winning both the spring and summer state baseball championships his senior year in high school ranks as one of his proudest accomplishments.
"I don't think any other school has ever done that," he said.
Although Drummond retired from Waukee High School, he still remains active. Drummond currently lives in Des Moines and owns his own cabinet-making business.
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