Madison County Sports Hall of Fame
2024 Hall of Fame Members
Phillis Wirtz Adams, Class of 2024, Little League Administrator
Phillis Wirtz Adams has been a leader with the Richmond Little League for 42 years as a coach, fund-raiser, board member, vice president, player agent, and president. Under her leadership, RLL holds distinction as the largest Little League program in Kentucky. The program has expanded from 42 spring teams to as many as 70 spring teams and now offers 49 fall teams as it provides baseball for kids from ages 4 through 16. During her tenure, as many as 750 players have been registered for spring baseball and up to 500 have played in the fall. Adams’ fund-raising skills have also proven valuable as Richmond Little League has maintained a budget of $150,000 to $180,000 annually and another $800,000 has been raised over the past 15 years for tournament travel, major renovations, and addition of fields. Due to growth of the program, the playing fields were moved from IrvineMcDowell Park in 1997 to Lake Reba. Phillis was honored in 2004 when Adams Field was named in her honor at Lake Reba.


Keith Bosley, Class of 2024, Football Player
Keith Bosley played football and basketball at Madison High School. He was named to the Associated Press All-State Football Team for three straight years, and was a near unanimous selection for both the 1981 defensive and offensive AllState Football teams. Bosley was also honorable mention for the All-State Basketball Team during his junior year at Madison. While playing football for the Royal Purples, he was selected to play in the Kentucky East-West games in both his junior and senior years. In the Spring of 1982, Bosley committed to play for Coach Roy Kidd at Eastern Kentucky University. As a Colonel, Bosley had a stellar 4-year career and was a member of the 1982 Division 1-AA FCS National Championship Team, and playoff teams in 1983 and 1984. He was named to the All-OVC Team in 1985 during his EKU senior year. Bosley entered the NFL draft in 1986 and was signed and played for the Cleveland Browns.


Jimmy Cain, Class of 2024, Baseball Player
Jimmy Cain began his baseball career playing for legendary coach Don Richardson. He was an AllState player at Madison Central High School,and led the Indians to four straight trips to the State Tournament as a third baseman and pitcher. Coach Richardson called him “the best baseball player I ever coached.” After high school, Jimmy was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies but chose to sign with the University of Kentucky where he played one year before transferring to Eastern in 1966. He was a two-time All-Ohio Valley Conference selection in 1967 and 1968. He helped lead EKU to the 1967 OVC championship while hitting .400. He again led EKU in hitting in 1968 with a .395 average, played in an infield that was among the nation’s leaders defensively with 38 double plays turned in 29 games, and he ranked second nationally for home runs and runs batted in per game. In 1973. He was one of 25 former EKU athletes who were Founding Members on Eastern’s 1974 Centennial Athletics Team and in 2006 he was inducted into the EKU Athletics Hall of Fame.
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Mike Elkin , Class of 2024, Football Player and Coach
Mike Elkin was both a standout high school football player and coach. He began his playing career at Berea High School before transferring to Madison High School in 1963 where he helped lead the Royal Purples to the 1964 KHSAA Class AA State runner-up finish. After beginning his collegiate career at New Mexico Highlands, he completed his career and graduated from Mississippi Delta State College in 1970. Mike was hired as Berea Community High School’s head coach in 1971 where he served for seven years and compiled a 39-35 record. He then returned to his alma mater at Madison High where he served as offensive coordinator for three years before moving over to Madison Central High School as assistant coach under Bobby Harville, who died tragically in 1982. Elkin succeeded Harville and led the Indians to a 75-43 record over 11 seasons. He then took over the head coaching job at Madison Southern where he led the Eagles to a 26-20 record in four years and to the KHSAA Class AA Region title and state quarterfinals in 1996


Dominique Hawkins, Class of 2024, Basketball Player
Dominique Hawkins led Madison Central High School to its first KHSAA State Basketball Tournament Championship in 2013 as his performance earned him selection as Tournament MVP, Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball, and Kentucky’s Gatorade Player of the Year. He averaged 20.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game during the 2013 Kentucky Boys’ Sweet Sixteen. That performance made Dominique a recruiting target of the University of Kentucky where he chose to attend college. He enjoyed a four-year career as a Kentucky Wildcat and enjoyed several highlights led by selection to the 2017 Southeastern Conference All-Tournament Team and received the MVP after scoring a careerhigh 14 points in the championship game. During his senior year he appeared in all 38 games and made four starts. As a junior, he earned a spot on the SEC Academic Honor Roll, and had a memorable game against UK’s rival and No. 16 ranked Louisville with 13 points and three 3-pointers in 26 minutes of action.


Dr. Harold Moberly, Jr., Class of 2024, Three-Sport Player
Harold Moberly, Jr. was a three-sport standout at Madison-Model High School from 1944-47. He had his most success in basketball as he helped lead the Royal Purples to the Kentucky State Tournament three times in 1944, 1946 and 1947. Moberly set a State Tournament single game scoring record in 1947 with 32 points against Dawson Springs, a record that was broken two years later by the great Cliff Hagan. He was named to the All-State Tournament Team and was voted to the Courier-Journal and Herald-Leader First Team All-State teams. Moberly was selected to play in the Kentucky-Indiana, the Kentucky-Tennessee, and the Kentucky East-West All-Star games. He also led the baseball team to the State Tournament twice in 1945 and 1946, and quarterbacked the football team to an undefeated season in 1945 and earned honorable mention All-State. He went on to play basketball at Eastern under Coach Paul McBrayer.


Taryn Patrick Ignacio, Class of 2024, Diver and Coach
Taryn Ignacio Patrick is a 2003 graduate of Model Laboratory School where she began an outstanding diving career as an eighth grader. She went on to become the 2006 NCAA Diving Champion and earned SEC Diver of the Year and All-American honors during her three years at the University of Kentucky. She set an NCAA, SEC and UK record score of 335.20 while winning the platform finals in 2006. She also holds the UK record on the 1-meter board and won a total of five SEC titles, including two each in 2005 and 2007 which is the most of any male or female diver in UK history. In 2022, Taryn was honored as one of the Top 50 female athletes in UK history by being selected fon the UK Title IX Anniversary Team, and in 2008 she was inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame. Taryn is currently in her 16th year as head diving coach at Fresno State.


Pat Stephens, Class of 2024, Golfer and Coach
Pat Stephens is a product of Madison Central High School and went on to make his mark during 23 years as an award-winning student-athlete and head coach at Eastern Kentucky University, He began his collegiate career at Kentucky where he played for two seasons before transferring to EKU in 1982. In his two years as a Colonel, Stephens led the Colonels to back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference championships, was named the 1982 OVC Player of the Year and Medalist, earned the 1983 OVC Runnerup, and received All-OVC honors both years. After completing his EKU playing career, Stephens turned professional and played in several PGA Tour events, including the 1988 U.S. Open. He’s a three-time runner-up in the Kentucky Open (1978, 1983, and 1995) and was named the 1996 and 2007 Kentucky PGA Player of the Year. He returned to EKU as head coach for 21 years (1997-2018) and led the Colonels to three OVC titles and NCAA Tournament appearances and received five OVC Coach of the Year Awards. He was inducted into the EKU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2020 and the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame in 2022.


J.W. "Spider" Thurman, Class of 2024, Football Player
“Spider’ Thurman made a major impact on Eastern Kentucky State Teachers College as a legendary football player and later as Director of Alumni Affairs for 21 years. In 1940, Spider played quarterback for the Maroons and directed Eastern to its first undefeated season with an 8-0 record and champions of the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Football Association. For his performance, he was selected to the 1940 ‘Little All-American’ football team. He was also a three-time All-Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Football Association selection. Thurman came to Eastern from Benham High School where he was an All-State quarterback in 1936 and a three-year choice on the AllCumberland Valley Conference football and basketball teams and the All-District and All-Regional basketball squads. Before returning to Eastern in 1962, Thurman served as head basketball coach at Clay County High School from 1949-62 and was chosen Coachof-the-Year in the Kentucky Southeast Conference four times for directing his Clay County team to 12 district titles and six Regional Championships. He was inducted as a Founder on the EKU Centennial Athletic Awards Team in 1974. In 1988 he was inducted into the Dawahare’s KHSAA Hall of Fame, and in 2006 was inducted into the EKU Athletics Hall of Fame.


2024 Hall of Fame Teams of Distinction


1956 Madison-Model High School Football Team
Front row, from left: Bill Strong, manager; Jim Parks, Charles Noland, Joe Parks, Tyronne Cunningham, George Wlcox, Andy Rucker, Gordon Adams, Jay Roberts, J.C. Long, Bill Blount, Billy Humble; middle row, Robert Walker, Albert Haynes, Richard Elam, Orville Abner, Jerry Walker, Danny Presnell, Johnny Bottoms, Charles Harkleroad, Allen Hughes, Ernest Aldridge, Sam Chambers, Marvin Taylor; back row, Head Coach Roy Kidd, Shirley Smith, Ralph Azbill, J.I. Isbell, Cecil Curry, John Greene, Fred Crump, Harold Lane, Jimmy Hinkle, Wayne Bowlin, John Hancock, manager; Jack Figart, manager; Assistant Coach Zeb Blankenship. Not pictured is manager Bill Buchanan
The 1956 Madison-Model football team was the first team coached by Roy Kidd. The Royal Purples finished the regular season undefeated with a 9-0 record and captured the Central Kentucky Conference Championship. The team’s undefeated season was spoiled by Paintsville, 20-0, in the Big Sandy Bowlst every site.


Front row, Jim Coy, Billy Humble, George Boyd, Paul Hale, Joe Dunn, Dick Denny, Joe Parks, Danny Presnell, manager Bill Buchanan; 2nd row, manager Jack Figart, Bill Putteet, Robert Walker, Allen McCracken, Don Rice, Bill Blount, JC Long, Jay Roberts, Andy Rucker, Charles Noland, Ray Teater; 3rd row, assistant coach Zeb Blankenship, manager John Hancock, Wayne Bowlin, Pearl Cowan, Sam Chambers, Jerry Walker, Jerry Woolum, Orville Abner, Shirley Smith, Ed Klatte, Jerry Boyd; Back row, line coach Bobby Harville, Gordon Adams, Billy Lee, Marvin Taylor, Walt Young, Johnny Bottoms, Richard Elam, Albert Haynes, Frank Hicks, head coach Roy Kidd
The 1957 Madison-Model football team was coached by Roy Kidd. The Royal Purples finished with a 8-1-1 regular season record and were quarterbacked by Jerry Woolum who led the team to the 1957 Recreation Bowl championship with a 19-6 victory over Frankfort for the team’s 9th win. He was selected as the Rec Bowl MVP, and repeated that honor in 1958 to become the first player to achieve that feat two consecutive years, a record that stood for 53 years.
1957 Madison-Model High School Football Team
1978 Madison High School Track Team
KHSAA Class A State Champions


Front row, Lenora Williams, Jennifer Campbell, Tina Mundy, Stephanie Kemp, Linda Martin, Mary Gentry, Danetta Richardson, Patricia Sweat; Back row, Team managers Michelle Farris and Devonna Campbell, Verna Ballew, Tammy Campbell, Ronetta Farris, Karla Black, Gretchen Kemp, Tracy Sweat, Cynthia Campbell, head coach Gwen Long
The 1978 Richmond Madison High School Girls Track and Field team, which was coached by Gwen Long, knocked off defending champion Harrodsburg to capture the 1978 Kentucky State High School Class A Championship. Coached by Gwen Long, the Lady Purples excelled in the relays, winning the 880-yard relay, the 880-yard medley relay, took second in the mile relay and finished third in the 440-yard relay.