Born October, 15, 1932, in Nashville, Tennessee, Earl Hyder started making headlines as an all-city and all-state football player and an all-state baseball player at Lincoln High School, where he graduated in 1952. One of his high school highlights came on the gridiron, where he ran back an 82-yard punt for a touchdown with less than two minutes to go to claim the 1952 Turkey Day Game – along with the city, league, and state championships – with a 7-6 win over Stadium High School.

Hyder played amateur baseball in the area's City, Sunset, and Valley Leagues for more than a dozen years. He was a key component on two teams that won American Amateur Baseball Congress National Championships and on another that finished second. He was also noted for hitting the first home run at Heidelberg Park when it first opened.

Hyder played center field on the 1956 Stanley Shoemen team that became the first club west of the Mississippi River to take the title, claiming state, regional and national championships that year. He was joined in that outfield by current TPC Hall of Fame members Bob Maguinez and Ron Storaasli, the trio arguably one of the greatest "homegrown" outfields to play baseball in Tacoma. Hyder and Storaasli played at Lincoln High, while Maguinez prepped at Stadium. He had previously pitched a two-hitter to claim the league championship in 1955.

Hyder played 12 years with the Cheney Studs. In 1960, his two-run homer in the ninth inning against Detroit in the AABC title game won the national championship, allowing the Cheney Studs to take home the trophy. He had 11 hits in 20 at-bats during the series, a .550 average, and he earned All-America honors that year. Sandwiched in between the title years was a second-place finish with the Woodworth Contractors in 1958.