Madison County Sports Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame Members
Freddy Ballou, Class of 2022, Football Player
Freddy Ballou was a standout running back at Madison-Model High School under head coach Roy Kidd from 1959 to 1961. He earned High School All-American, Kentucky All-State, and All-Central Kentucky Conference honors, and led the Royal Purples to a 34-4 overall record and 27 consecutive victories while gaining 5,000 yards rushing and scoring 50 touchdowns in three seasons.
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Earle Combs, Class of 2022, Baseball Player
Earle Combs was a centerfielder for the New York Yankees and batted leadoff for the famed Murderer’s Row lineup of the 1920s. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1970. During his 12years in New York, he helped
lead the Yankees to four American League pennants and three World Series while compiling a .325 batting average. He was inducted into the Kentucky Sports Hall
of Fame in 1963.
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Billy Evans, Class of 2022, Basketball and Tennis Player
Billy Evans, a native of Berea, was a standout high school tennis and basketball player at Berea Foundation. He went on to play both sports at the University of Kentucky from 1953-55. He captured two Kentucky State High School Tennis Championships. He played basketball for Coach Adolph Rupp at UK. Following graduation, Billy served a year in the military, before returning to play for the 1956 Gold Medal-winning United States Olympic basketball team. He was inducted into the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame in 1988 and the University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005. His number 42 jersey hangs in the rafters of Rupp Arena.
Ralph Hacker, Class of 2022, Broadcaster
Ralph Hacker was a household name throughout the state as he spent 34 years on the University of Kentucky Radio Network. Ralph began his broadcasting career as a teenager in Richmond calling high school games and what was then known as the Eastern Kentucky State College football and basketball games during the early 1960s. Following the retirement of legendary broadcaster Cawood Ledford, he spent eight years as the play by play voice for University of Kentucky Basketball, and five years as the play by play voice for UK Football. Ralph was inducted into
the University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017, and the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
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Charles "Turkey" Hughes, Class of 2022, Coach, Administrator
Turkey Hughes coached five sports at Eastern Kentucky University over his 42-year career, which also included 23 years as the Athletic Director at EKU, and 27 years as the chairman of the Health and Physical Education department. Coach Hughes won 350 games as the EKU Baseball coach, and claimed eight OVC Baseball Championships. The EKU baseball field is named in his honor. Coach Hughes was inducted in the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame in 1975 and the OVC Hall of Fame in 1977.
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Roy Kidd, Class of 2022, Football Coach
Roy Kidd, who built a legendary football coaching resume at Eastern Kentucky University, began his football coaching career at Madison-Model High School in 1956 after earning Little All-American and All-OVC honors while playing quarterback for Eastern. He also played four years of baseball for the Maroons. In six years at Madison-Model, Coach Kidd compiled a 54-11-1 record and was voted 1961 Kentucky High School Coach of the Year. In 39 years as EKU’s coach, his teams compiled a record of 314-124-8, captured two NCAA Div. 1-AA National Championships (1979 and 1982), and earned 16 OVC championships. He was voted OVC Coach of the Year 10 times and National Coach of the Year twice. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame, the OVC Hall of Fame, and the EKU Athletics Hall of Fame.
Don Mills, Class of 2022, Basketball Player
After an All-American senior season, and back-to-back All State selections in 1955 and 1956 at Berea High School, Don Mills signed to play basketball at the University of Kentucky for Coach Adolph Rupp where he was a key member on the famed 1958 Kentucky Team nicknamed the “Fiddlin Five”. He earned a starting position as a 6-8 center and helped the Wildcats capture the NCAA National Championship. Don averaged 12.8 points and 12.9 rebounds per game and earned Associated Press second team All SEC honors and 1st Team selection by the SEC coaches. Following his UK career, he was selected by the Cincinnati Royals in the 1960 NBA Draft. After his basketball playing days ended, Don has enjoyed a long and successful insurance career in Madison County.
Don Richardson, Class of 2022, Baseball Coach and Player
Don Richardson is the winningest high school baseball coach in the history of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association with an 85.8 winning percentage. During 35 years as coach at Madison Central High School he compiled a record of 952-157 and guided the 1982 Indians team to a 40-0 record in route to the KHSAA Championship and the USA Today National Championship. Don also coached Madison Central’s basketball team for 15 years, compiling 350 wins and leading the Indians to their first KHSAA Sweet 16 appearance in 1987. He was inducted into the National Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1998, the KHSAA Hall of Fame in 2002, the Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1998, and in 2019 he was inducted into the Eastern Kentucky University Athletics Hall of Fame for his pitching performance in the mid-1950s.
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Irvine Shanks, Class of 2022, Basketball Player
Irvine Shanks, who grew up in Richmond and graduated from Richmond High School, broke the color barrier in Kentucky during the 1953-54 basketball season while playing for Berea College. History was made on Feb 4, 1954 when Berea faced Wilmington College on the road in Ohio. Irvine became the first African American to play for an all-white team from Kentucky. Another historical date occurred two days later on Feb. 6 when Berea hosted Bellarmine College, and Irvine became the first African American to play for a predominantly white school inside the state of Kentucky. He was a member of the 1955 team that upset Georgetown College for the KIAC Championship.
Katty Wylie, Class of 2022, Golfer
Katty Wylie developed into one of the top amateur women’s golfers in Kentucky history. She began playing golf in 1946 at the Madison Country Club, and in 1948 she captured the first of her 16 Madison Country Club Championships. In 1951, she finished as runner up at the Central Kentucky Golf Association Championship which led to three titles in 1952, 1955 and 1956. Katty captured the 1956 Kentucky Women’s Golf State Championship after finishing as runner up in 1955. She continued to play golf throughout her life and won the 1981 Senior Women’s State Championship Title, and 13 years later she captured it again at age 68. Katty held the Madison Country Club women’s record for low nine-hole score at 35 and low 18-hole score of 75. She served as the director of the Women’s State Golf Association and Central Kentucky Golf Association.
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Hall of Fame Teams of Distinction
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1921 Madison High School Football Team
First Team In School History
Members of the team are pictured front row, from left: Tevis Huguely, Talton Stone, Lafon Wilson, Frank Hacker; middle row, Hazel Stone, Shirley Clouse, Marshal Hurst, Ralph Gentry, Burnell (Dutch) Martin; back row, James Anderson, Joe Reeves, Pete Blevins, James Allman, Bill Bower, John Allman, Charley Hacker, Coach A.L. Lassiter.
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1940 Richmond High Basketball Team Kentucky High School Athletic League Champions
Members of the team are pictured front row, from left: Alex Embry, Leon Watts, John Mackey, William Leace, Hugh Black; back row, Coach Joseph C. Fletcher, Robert Grubbs, George Parks, Allen Huguely, Allen Lysle, Harvey Walker, Arthur Johnson.
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1942 Richmond High Basketball Team Kentucky High School Athletic League Champions
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