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Where the 1950s saw the emergence of the United States as a superpower and the 1960s brought the challenges of rights for all within the country, the 1970s are in many ways known for the economic upheaval across the globe that ended the boom many in America had experience for nearly twenty years. Competition around the globe saw the shuttering of manufacturing that has supplied the world and dominated the economy since the end of World War II. The decade also saw more and more families left the crowded inner cities for the leafy lawns of suburbia. In Kentucky, counties such as Oldham, Bullitt, and Shelby, Woodford, Boone and Kenton, became hot spots of growth. Schools in those counties grew larger and more competitive academically and athletically, while those in city centers lost much of their tax base and subsequent sources of funding. In basketball, the early part of the seventies was dominated by city schools, with five of the decade's first six state championships won by Louisville schools. The other win came from Owensboro, another city school and traditionally one of the strongest programs in the state. Rumors abounded of a possible switch to class basketball in which small, rural schools could be more competitive. Those were put to rest in 1976 when Edmonson County took the state crown, proving a title could be won outside of the big cities. ***** This article is the sixth of ten that will endeavor to rank the ten best programs in the state during each of the ten decades of Kentucky high school basketball. There is some science to the rankings: teams were awarded 1 point for a district championship, 2 points for a region championship, 3 points for each state tournament game won, and 5 points for a state championship. Part 1: https://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-boys-basketball/kentucky-high-school-388637.html Part 2: https://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-boys-basketball/kentucky-high-school-388648.html Part 3: https://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-boys-basketball/kentucky-high-school-388672.html Part 4: https://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-boys-basketball/kentucky-high-school-388731.html Part 5: https://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-boys-basketball/kentucky-high-school-388754.html ***** 1. Male (85 points) District Championships: 6 Region Championships: 5 State Tournament Wins: 18 State Championships: 3 (1970, 1971, 1975) Other than perhaps Lexington High School in the decade overlapping years of 1918-1924, no school in Kentucky basketball history has been as thoroughly better than the rest of the state as Male High School was in the 1970s. Six times in the decade the Bulldogs won district titles and another five times they would win the always difficult seventh region. Male won eighteen games against only two losses in their state tournament trips, all played at Freedom Hall, a familiar place to the program that also hosted the annual Louisville Invitational Tournament and the 7th Region meet. Male won championships in 1970, 1971, and 1975. The first two titles came under coach James Huter, who would be suspended by the Louisville Board of Education following the 1973 on charges that he allowed an alleged gambler and known recruiter of junior high athletes to associate with the Male team. Huter would be replaced by Wade Houston who posted a 90-12 record in three seasons before leaving to be an assistant at the University of Louisville. The school was also home to two Mr. Basketball winners, Wesley Cox in 1973 and Darrell Griffith in 1976, incidentally two seasons in which the Bulldogs didn't win the state title. Male's Darrell Griffith puts up a shot 2. Owensboro (58 points) District Championships: 7 Region Championships: 8 State Tournament Wins: 10 State Championships: 1 (1972) Only one school was able to break up the Louisville basketball hegemony from 1969-1975 and that was Bobby Watson's Owensboro Red Devils. Champions in 1972, it was the second title in school history and first since the great Cliff Hagan wore the red and black in 1949. Led by Mr. Basketball Jerry Thurston and second team all-state Kenny Higgs, Owensboro rolled to a 30-4 record, including an eight point victory over Elizabethtown in the championship game. Four wins on the way to the '72 championship was part of ten total wins at the state tournament during the decade. Owensboro was a state semifinalist in 1971, 1973, and 1977 - each time losing to the eventual state champion. The Red Devils won seven district titles and eight region crows during the decade. Owensboro celebrates their 1972 title 3. Central (57 points) District Championships: 9 Region Championships: 5 State Tournament Wins: 11 State Championships: 1 (1974) Head coach Robert Graves ended the previous decade at Louisville Central with a 35-1 state championship season in 1969. Resigned to compete in the Kentucky High School Athletic League prior to KHSAA desegregation in 1957, Central immediately showed themselves a powerhouse in the sixties and would only get better in the seventies. Eight times during the decade would Central win over twenty games. In 1974 and 1975, the Yellowjackets would post a combined 64-3 record and win a state championship in '74. All-state players like Bob Luster, Keith Price, Bob Miller, and Flenoil Crook kept Central among the state's elite. Central owned the 21st District to the tune of nine titles in ten years. Their only loss came in 1973 to a Shawnee club that would win the state championship. Central was also the premier club in the sixth region, winning five championships. Central collects the 1974 state championship trophy 4. Christian County (51 points) District Championships: 9 Region Championships: 6 State Tournament Wins: 10 State Championships: 0 Located in western Kentucky's second region, Christian County was nearly unbeatable throughout much of the decade. Nine district titles, six region championships, and ten wins at the state tournament under coaches Bob Hoggard and Lyle Dunbar made the Christian County Colonels a statewide force to be reckoned with. However, it could have been a game that they lost that is the most significant in Kentucky hoops history. Fed up with the perceived dominance of city schools at the state tournament and the annual closing of small schools across the commonwealth, cries were growing louder for a classed basketball tournament similar to Illinois - two tournaments, one for the smaller and one for the bigger schools. Christian County had romped through the district and region tournaments in 1976 and then beat Ashland, Shawnee, and Henry Clay on the way to the state championship game. It was there that Edmonson County, with 560 students, defeated Christian County by twenty-two points to take the championship and put to rest any significant discussions of classification. It would be thirty-five years before Christian County would win their only state championship, in 2011. Christian County's Curtis Parker goes up for a shot in 1976 state tournament 5. Shelby County (41 points) District Championships: 7 Region Championships: 4 State Tournament Wins: 7 State Championships: 1 (1978) State champions in 1966, it was a fitful few years under five different coaches before Thomas Creamer took over the Rockets in the 1975-76 season. He inherited a team that had went 17-12 the previous year but was also absorbing Shelbyville High School which had advanced to the state quarterfinals the previous year. Creamer's Rockets were region champions in 1976 and 1977 but couldn't get over the hump at the state tournament. That would all change the following year. All-staters Charles Hurt and Norris Beckley led Shelby County to a second crown in school history, beating Holmes in overtime, 68-66. It was the first overtime state final since Ashland's historic 13-11 win over Carr Creek in four extra frames in 1928 and it was not without controversy. Charles Hurt caught a full court pass with two seconds remaining in regulation, turned and buried a 15-footer to send the game to overtime. In overtime, Hurt blocked a shot by Mr. Basketball Doug Schloemer to effectively seal the win, despite cries from Holmes that Hurt's hand was through the net and goal when he blocked the shot, denying Holmes the chance to be the first ninth region school to win a state championship. Goal tending or not? 6. Ashland (33 points) District Championships: 9 Region Championships: 6 State Tournament Wins: 4 State Championships: 0 Ashland continued its stretch of high level play into the 1970s, winning nine district titles and six region championships. While not as strong as the championship squad in the sixties, the Tomcats advanced to the quarterfinals in 1971 and 1979, and made a semifinal appearance in 1977, losing to Valley. Three different coaches guided Ashland during the decade. Harold Cole was there for three seasons, Stephen Gilmore the next three, and Paul Patterson the final four. Patterson would win region titles in each of his four seasons at Ashland before taking the head coaching position at Taylor University in Indiana. Ashland's 1977 state semifinalists 7. Henry Clay (33 points) District Championships: 4 Region Championships: 4 State Tournament Wins: 7 State Championships: 0 Still without a state championship since 1924, Henry Clay began to lay groundwork for what would eventually be a state championship in the following decade. The Blue Devils won four region titles in the seventies and made impressive showings in the state tournament. Their best effort came in 1975 when they lost to Male in the championship game. They would lose to Christian County in the semifinals the following season. Henry Clay lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champions Shawnee in 1973 and Shelby County in 1978. Al Prewitt led the Devil charges from 1963-91, winning 610 games. One of his best players during the 1970s was James Lee, a first team all-state member in 1974. Henry Clay's 1974 club posted a 28-4 record but fell in the 11th Region championship game to Bryan Station, who was led by Mr. Basketball Jack Givens. Both Givens and Lee would go on to stellar careers at the University of Kentucky with Givens famously scoring 41 points in the 1978 final and Lee providing the finishing touch with a monster slam to beat Duke. Henry Clay's Keith Evans goes to the basket in 1975 8. Ballard (32 points) District Championships: 8 Region Championships: 2 State Tournament Wins: 5 State Championships: 1 (1977) Suburban growth in Jefferson County led to the founding of several new high schools in the late-60s and early-70s. Ballard High in the northeastern part of the county began play in the fall of 1970. The Bruins would lose to Westport in their first ever district tournament before winning every district title for the remainder of the decade. Ballard would also win two region championships and would fall to Male in the 1974 and 1975 championship games. Under coach Richard Schmidt it was the 1977 Ballard Bruins squad that would win the first of three state championships. Led by Mr. Basketball Jeff Lamp as well as first team all-state members Lee Raker and Jerry Eaves, Ballard went 35-2 and beat county rival Valley in the state finals. Lamp scored 43 points in the game, one point shy of the record for a member of the winning team in a championship game. Following the season, Schmidt left to be an assistant coach at the University of Virginia, taking Lamp and Raker with him as players. Ballard High School, 1977 State Champions 9. Warren East (27 points) District Championships: 4 Region Championships: 4 State Tournament Wins: 5 State Championships: 0 Much like the emergence of Ballard in suburban Louisville, Warren East also didn't exist in the previous decade but came to dominate the seventies in the Bowling Green region. Formed from the consolidation of Bristow, North Warren, and Richardsville, Warren East would win four district championships and another four region titles in the decade. The Raiders were a force in the state tournament, too, advancing to the state semifinals in 1974 and again in 1979. Oddly enough, though, the 1973 team might have the most interesting story of all. Warren East beat Franklin-Simpson and Bowling Green to win the 14th District tournament. However, they had played too many regular season games and were not allowed to participate in the region. Warren East challenged the ruling and got a restraining order, claiming in-season tournament games should only count as one game and not two (or three or however many games were actually played during the tournament). A federal judge ultimately decided that playing basketball is not ensured by the Constitution. Franklin-Simpson and Bowling Green were declared region tournament entrants. Warren East was allowed to keep their district championship trophy and Bowling Green was still considered district runner-up. Warren East heads to the 1974 state tournament 10. Shawnee (25 points) District Championships: 1 Region Championships: 2 State Tournament Wins: 5 State Championships: 1 (1973) Few schools in Kentucky have been denied success because of geography as often as Louisville's Shawnee High School. Located in the west end of Louisville, Shawnee competed in a district along with Male, Manual, and St. Xavier in the 1950s. Following the 1966 statewide realignment, their new rival was Louisville Central. Shawnee was district runners-up to Central in 1971, 1975, 1976, and 1979 (along with first round losses to the Yellowjackets four other times). It has continued to this day, with Shawnee having won five district titles in school history and finishing second an incredible thirty-three times. But when the times were good, they were very good. The Indians (the nickname would be changed to Golden Eagles in 1995) were district champions in 1973 and region champs in both 1973 and 1976. James Gordon's 1973 Shawnee club would finish 32-2 and win the state championship, rolling over Boyd County, Henry Clay, Owensboro, and Male for the title. Wayne Golden was first team all-state and Ronnie Daniel second team for Shawnee. Golden was later an All-American at Tennessee-Chattanooga winning the 1977 Division II national championship. Head coach James "Honeybee" Gordon quit coaching to sell real estate in February of 1975, leaving 24-year old assistant Ron Abernathy in charge of the team. Abernathy would coach the 1976 team to the state tournament, with first team all-state Durand Macklin the best player. Macklin would play college basketball at LSU and Abernathy would join him as an assistant coach. No coach has left Shawnee with a winning record since then. Shawnee vs. Owensboro in the 1973 state tournament

That's awesome. Thanks for the info. I'd never heard of him before doing this project.

I like Fairdale and I hope they continue to have success. It feels like that group of Jefferson County schools in 4A and 5A are just impossible to gauge from year to year. You know what the big schools and the smaller, private schools will be. In 4A and 5A, Doss might be good then Fairdale then Iroquois has a good year then here's Jeffersontown. You just never know.

Curious if Paintsville has any Williamsburg-in-2014 vibes this year. Embarrassed by a superior team in the finals the previous year. Come back against the same team with a year of experience and give that same team an absolute dogfight for the championship.

If the 1950s can be considered the entrance of America into the role of superpower, the 1960s is when the challenges of that role became evident to all involved. Embroiled in the Cold War with the Soviet Union, focus shifted first to Cuba, where the US government initially failed to overthrow the communist government of Fidel Castro and then had to withstand a fortnight fraught with fear that came to be known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. As the decade continued, the nation found itself further entangled in the escalating war in Vietnam and a draft facing many students upon completion of high school. Life at home was in many ways just a challenging. The Civil Rights Movement, prominent in the minds of many at least since Rosa Parks in the mid-50s, boiled to the top with incidents in Selma and other places. Black leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., however, helped pave a way forward for desegregation and equal rights. One obvious change saw the almost nationwide desegregation of schools. School desegregation for many Kentuckians was most noticeable on the playing fields and floors. The KHSAA had desegregated in 1957 and the Kentucky High School Athletic League ceased operations in 1958. Schools had been told through the Brown v. Board of Education case the desegregate "with all deliberate speed" and many began to do so in the mid-60s, often as part of a larger consolidation of small schools within a county. A handful of black schools had tremendous athletic success during the decade, in particular Louisville Central and Lexington Dunbar. Central was state champions in 1969 while Dunbar was runners-up in both 1961 and 1963. Covington Grant and Hopkinsville Attucks both were key players in the state basketball championship race for much of the decade. Individual African-Americans showed their incredible skills for teams throughout the decade, none more so than Wes Unseld at Seneca. Unseld was named Mr. Basketball in 1964 after leading the Redskins to state titles in 1963 and 1964. He would then go on to an outstanding collegiate and professional career. The doors were opening for all to succeed. ***** This article is the fifth of ten that will endeavor to rank the ten best programs in the state during each of the ten decades of Kentucky high school basketball. There is some science to the rankings: teams were awarded 1 point for a district championship, 2 points for a region championship, 3 points for each state tournament game won, and 5 points for a state championship. Part 1: https://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-boys-basketball/kentucky-high-school-388637.html Part 2: https://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-boys-basketball/kentucky-high-school-388648.html Part 3: https://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-boys-basketball/kentucky-high-school-388672.html Part 4: https://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-boys-basketball/kentucky-high-school-388731.html ***** 1. Seneca (62 points) District Championships: 8 Region Championships: 4 State Tournament Wins: 12 State Championships: 2 (1963, 1964) No school dominated the sixties like Seneca and perhaps no school's basketball history is as tied to one decade. Seneca, whose first season was in 1960, won eight district titles, four region titles, and two state titles during the decade. The Redskins (the name was changed to Redhawks in 1994) also had back-to-back Mr. Basketball winners in Mike Redd in 1963 and Wes Unseld in 1964. Freedom Hall hosted the 7th Region tournament each year of the decade and saw Seneca square off with the likes of Central, St. Xavier, and Male. A huge crowd of 7,500 was in attendance for the 1964 final when Seneca's Jesse Kirk hit a 25-footer at the buzzer to give the Redskins a 51-50 overtime victory over Male. After winning the 7th Region, annually considered the toughest in Kentucky, success at the state tournament was almost guaranteed. Seneca fell to eventual champion Ashland in the second round in 1961 before coming back two years later in 1963 to win it all, a feat they'd accomplish again in 1964. Seneca would make one more appearance, this time in 1968, losing the championship game to Glasgow. Seneca has never again been back to the state tournament. Seneca's Jesse Kirk lets go of the shot that won the 1964 7th Region tournament 2. Ashland (55 points) District Championships: 10 Region Championships: 5 State Tournament Wins: 10 State Championships: 1 (1961) If Seneca is the best team of the 1960s, Ashland might be the most well-known. Led first by coach Bob Wright and then Harold Cole, the Tomcats won 264 games during the decade, most memorably the 69-50 victory over Lexington Dunbar at Memorial Coliseum to seal the 1961 state championship. Ashland was unbeatable in district play, taking all ten crowns during the decade. By the end of the sixties Ashland had lost only seven district tournament games in their history dating back to 1927! The 1961 squad, led by junior Larry Conley, was extremely fast and considered by some the best team in state history. They rolled past Raceland, Greenup, Holy Family, and Russell in the district, twice scoring over 100 points. It was more of the same in the region as they scored over ninety each game in beating Russell, Prichard, and Clark County. They would win the state tournament the next week to complete a 36-1 season, their only loss coming to Lafayette during the regular season. 1961 All-Tournament team. Three Ashland and two Dunbar players are in the front row. 3. Shelby County (43 points) District Championships: 4 Region Championships: 5 State Tournament Wins: 8 State Championships: 1 (1966) Ask people of a certain era who was the best high school player they ever saw play and many will say Mike Casey from Shelby County. The 1966 Mr. Basketball winner, Casey would lead the Rockets to a state championship that same season before moving on to a prolific career at the University of Kentucky. Casey's three point play in round one helped beat Knox Central and he'd score 23 in the finale against Male. Shelby County, formed in 1960 from a consolidation of three county schools, was in a brutal district from the start. City rival Shelbyville knocked off the Rockets three times in district play and Lincoln Institute would do the same twice. Shelby County would win five region titles in their first decade and performed well at the state. Besides their 1966 title, Shelby advanced past the first round in each of their four other appearances. Shelby County rides a firetruck in the victory parade in 1966 4. Louisville Central (38 points) District Championships: 6 Region Championships: 3 State Tournament Wins: 7 State Championships: 1 (1969) Few schools in the commonwealth can claim as much athletic success at Louisville's Central High School. An all-black school prior to desegregation, Central won the KHSAL state championship five times. The Yellowjackets finished second another five times, cementing themselves as the best black basketball team in Kentucky. It wouldn't take long after joining the KHSAA for Central to stake claim to the same title in a new association. Central won six district titles in their first full decade and would win region championships in 1965, 1967, and 1969. Central had been led by William Kean, who won 791 games as coach from 1923-58. They would have two coaches in the early part of the sixties. Edward Adams, 74-22 from 1959-62, and Kenneth Anthony, 63-17 from 1963-65, both had short stints. Central had their greatest success, however, once Robert Graves took over. Graves would win 466 in his twenty years at the helm, including the 1969 state title. Central's 1969 team was one of the finest offensive clubs in state history. The Jackets scored 146 points in a district tournament win, 101 in the region, and 101 again in the state championship game against Ohio County. It remains the highest scoring output in finals history. Mr. Basketball Ron King, who later had his number retired by Florida State and was drafted by the Golden State Warriors, scored 44 points in the finals, still a record for a member of the winning team in the championship game. Central High School, 1969 5. Lexington Dunbar (37 points) District Championships: 5 Region Championships: 4 State Tournament Wins: 8 State Championships: 0 If Louisville Central was the most successful school to emerge from segregation in Kentucky, Lexington Dunbar was a close second. The Bearcats had been champions of the KHSAL in 1948 and 1950. They would have an immediate impact in the KHSAA, winning the always tough 11th Region six times in an eight year span. And they're ranked fifth in the decade while only playing eight of the ten seasons! Dunbar, led by coach S.T. Roach who won 513 games from 1944 to 1963, advanced to the state championship game twice during the decade but came up short to Ashland in 1961 and Seneca in 1963. The school would close following the 1967 season, integrating throughout Fayette County and ending the era of segregated schooling within the county. Dunbar's Bobby Washington goes for a layup in the 1963 final 6. Owensboro (34 points) District Championships: 9 Region Championships: 5 State Tournament Wins: 5 State Championships: 0 After a decade of relative struggling, Owensboro, the most successful program in state history, began to emerge once again as a basketball power in the 1960s. Owensboro won nine district titles in ten years and took home Third Region titles another five times. Longtime coach Bobby Watson, who won 524 games from 1958-80, won five games at the state tournament but ironically none with 1961 Mr. Basketball Randy Embry - the Red Devils had fell to Henderson County in the region final. Owensboro's best state performances came in 1960 when they lost to Monticello in the semifinals before beating Hopkinsville Attucks in the third place game and again in 1963 when they were defeated by Lexington Dunbar in the state semifinals. For the purpose of these rankings, Owensboro and Breathitt County accumulated the same number of points, but Owensboro was given the edge due to three more district titles. Owensboro's 1963 state runners-up 7. Breathitt County (34 points) District Championships: 6 Region Championships: 5 State Tournament Wins: 6 State Championships: 0 Eastern Kentucky is an area of the state oft considered most in love with basketball and that love is as strong in the 14th Region as any. The region had produced state championship teams from Hazard, Hindman, and Carr Creek prior to 1960. No 14th Region club won the state title during the decade (in fact, none have won the championship since Carr Creek in 1956), but the most successful team of the decade was Breathitt County. Led by coach Fairce Woods, five times Breathitt County won over thirty games in a single season. The Bobcats would win six district titles and make five appearances at the state tournament. While there, Breathitt would win games, including state semifinal appearances in 1961, 1962, and 1967. Breathitt finished fourth in 1961, falling to Wheelwright in the last ever state tournament third place game. Perhaps as notable, the 1967 Breathitt County team became crowd favorites for wearing their shirttails out, short white socks, and black tennis shoes - all unique at the time but also showing the free-flowing nature of the 1960s! Breathitt County (with shirts tucked in) poses for 1967 team picture 8. Breckinridge County (33 points) District Championships: 3 Region Championships: 2 State Tournament Wins: 7 State Championships: 1 (1965) Alfred "Butch" Beard might not be the greatest player in Kentucky high school history but few can say they had as good of a basketball career. Beard led Breckinridge County to two region titles in the 1960s, both times advancing to the state championship game. The Bearcats (they wouldn't become the Tigers until absorbing Irvington High in the fall of 1965) fell to Seneca in 1964 before beating Covington Holy Cross in the 1965 state title game. Beard put up thirty points in the 1965 final at Freedom Hall, a place he'd have even great success in during his four years as a Louisville Cardinal. He would later be an NBA first round draft pick and was the starting point guard for the 1975 NBA champion Golden State Warriors. Breckinridge County continued to field solid teams but they played in a district with Ohio County, who had great success in the late-60s, and a region that included the likes of Owensboro and Central City. Breckinridge County wouldn't make the state tournament again until 1995, when the rural county came out of nowhere to win a second state title. Breckinridge County players point out their rural county on the map in 1965 9. Glasgow (30 points) District Championships: 4 Region Championships: 3 State Tournament Wins: 5 State Championships: 1 (1968) Glasgow was always a solid program but the Scotties went to another level once they absorbed all-black Bunche High School in 1964. Glasgow would win district and region titles in 1965, 1966, and 1968. The culmination came in '68 when the Scotties rolled through Covington Catholic, Thomas Jefferson, Caneyville, and Seneca to win their only state championship. In the 1968 final, first team all-state Jerry Dunn poured in 33 points for the Scotties. Dunn would go on to have a standout career just down the road at Western Kentucky University, helping lead the Hilltoppers to the 1971 NCAA Final Four. Glasgow would play in only one more state tournament, in 1977, and have not won a state tournament game since 1968. Glasgow's cheerleaders were beside themselves as they won the 1968 championship 10. St. Xavier (30 points) District Championships: 6 Region Championships: 2 State Tournament Wins: 5 State Championships: 1 (1962) Much like the previous decade, St. Xavier squeezed in the top ten of the decade mostly on the merits of their 1962 state championship. St. X won six district crowns, three times falling to bitter rival Flaget. The Tigers won the always tough 7th Region in both 1962 and 1969. Coached by Joe Reibel, who took over his alma mater in the fall of 1961 one year after graduating from Bellarmine College, St. Xavier compiled an impressive 34-1 record and a state championship. St. X beat defending champion Ashland by four in the final. Mr. Basketball Mike Silliman scored 23 points in the championship game victory. Reibel would remain at St. Xavier through the remainder of the decade, taking the Tigers back to the state tournament in 1969. He would leave to coach at Bellarmine where he won 346 games. St. Xavier has continued to field competitive teams but have played in just one state tournament since 1969. St. Xavier 1962

What's funny is that in the caption it said that he didn't even get in the game! The girls in the picture are all aged 12-14 (although the one in glasses looks 40)! One final note - the newspaper included the address of every person in the photo. Lots happening!

With World War II over the United States entered the 1950s primed to be one of two superpowers to rule the globe for the next four decades. Concerns with the Soviet Union were ever present, what with their nuclear armament program and the space race, but the United States had a booming economy that would produce a generation of young people that would be better educated and financially stronger than any previous group in the nation's history. High school basketball in Kentucky during the 1950s was the last decade in which small, independent schools maintain a strong presence at the top of the rankings. School consolidations would begin late in the decade and would come to dominate the 1960s, seeing the rise of county schools and the fall of annual deep postseason runs by local schools. The decade would also see the Supreme Court rule in Brown v. Board of Education that school segregation was unconstitutional. The ruling, sent down in 1954, would famously suggests school desegregate "with all deliberate speed," something many schools in the state followed as slowly as possible. Starting in 1957, the KHSAA allowed schools that housed only African-American students to join the association and participate in the postseason, provided they played at least half of their regular season games against white schools. Few schools participated in 1957, although nearly all black schools would play in 1958. While desegregation was a welcome change to the educational world in the 1950s, it also brought an end to the Kentucky High School Athletic League. The KHSAL began play in 1932 and ceased following the 1958 season. Schools from across the commonwealth participated in one of eight regions with the champions advancing to the state tournament. Typically, although not always, held at Kentucky State University, the KHSAL tournament differed from the KHSAA's Sweet 16 in that there was also a consolation bracket for schools to continue playing even after a defeat. Just as the early KHSAA tournaments had served as an unofficial campus visit for the University of Kentucky, the KHSAL tournament played a similar role in recruiting students to Kentucky State in Frankfort, the lone historically black college in the state. Louisville Central and Lexington Dunbar were the dominate black programs of the last decade of the league, a status they would both continue to hold in the KHSAA after desegregation. Hopkinsville Attucks, Madisonville Rosenwald, and Richmond were just a few of the schools that fielded top level teams during the KHSAL era. No black schools will be in the top ten of the 1950s, mostly because they only participated in a couple tournaments. Sizable success would come in the 1960s. ***** This article is the fourth of ten that will endeavor to rank the ten best programs in the state during each of the ten decades of Kentucky high school basketball. There is some science to the rankings: teams were awarded 1 point for a district championship, 2 points for a region championship, 3 points for each state tournament game won, and 5 points for a state championship. Part 1: https://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-boys-basketball/kentucky-high-school-388637.html Part 2: https://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-boys-basketball/kentucky-high-school-388648.html Part 3: https://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-boys-basketball/kentucky-high-school-388672.html ***** 1. Lafayette (71 points District Championships: 7 Region Championships: 5 State Tournament Wins: 13 State Championships: 3 (1950, 1953, 1957) Not since Lexington (Henry Clay) in the 1920s and not until Male in the 1970s would a single dominate a decade of high school basketball as thoroughly as Lafayette did in the 1950s. Coached by Ralph Carlisle, who compiled a 350-97 record at Lafayette from 1946-1961, the Generals won three of their six state championships during the decade. Lafayette had fallen to Cliff Hagan and Owensboro in the 1949 finals before roaring back to win it all in 1950. They'd then beat Paducah Tilghman in 1953 and Louisville Eastern in 1957. It was all part of a decade in which the Generals won five region titles and finished second twice. Beginning in 1954, the title of Mr. Basketball was awarded to the best senior player in the commonwealth each season. Two Lafayette players, Vernon Hatton in 1954 and Billy Ray Lickert in 1957, would win the award and go on to careers under Adolph Rupp at the University of Kentucky. Lafayette's glory days would come to an end after the '57 title when Lexington Dunbar, an all-black school just then allowed into the KHSAA, would beat the Generals in both the district and regional finals in 1958 and 1959, foreshadowing their own dominant run during the 1960s. Lafayette (white jerseys) and Paducah Tilghman (dark) players tumble during the 1953 finals 2. Clark County (63 points) District Championships: 9 Region Championships: 5 State Tournament Wins: 13 State Championships: 1 (1951) If Lafayette was clearly the team of the decade, the second best team resided a mere twenty-five miles to the east. Clark County won nine district titles and five region crowns during the decade. They'd post another thirteen wins at the state tournament. The biggest difference in the two programs was Clark County won just the one title in 1951, following up a loss to Lafayette in 1950. Letcher Norton led the Cardinals from 1945-53 before taking a two-year stint at Charlestown High in Indiana. He'd return after two years to hefty paycheck. The Courier-Journal reported in April 1958 that Norton was paid more than every college coach in the state besides Adolph Rupp, Ed Diddle, and Peck Hickman. But he also won. Clark County was 24-1 in district play during the decade, 19-5 in the region. Only Ashland and Olive Hill were able to beat the Cardinals (at this time Clark was in the 16th Region). Clark County (dark jerseys) and Cuba (light) battle for a rebound during the 1951 finals 3. Hazard (41 points) District Championships: 7 Region Championships: 4 State Tournament Wins: 7 State Championships: 1 (1955) If you're talking about Hazard basketball in the 1950s, then you're talking about Johnny Cox. Cox wasn't Mr. Basketball in 1955 (that went to Kenny Kuhn at Male), but he got the biggest prize, leading the Bulldogs to the state championship. Twenty-three years after their first title, Hazard would win again behind 127 points from Cox during the tournament, a state record that would then be obliterated by Kelly Coleman of Wayland the next year. Hazard had little trouble during the 1955 tournament, beat Glasgow, Pikeville, Newport, and Adair County all by at least eight points. Hazard has made fifteen trips to the state tournament since winning in '55, but they've never been past the semifinals. Johnny Cox would go on to score 1,461 in his career at the University of Kentucky, winning a national championship in 1958 and was named first-team All-American in 1959. Johnny Cox 4. Pikeville (39 points) District Championships: 9 Region Championships: 6 State Tournament Wins: 6 State Championships: 0 An early mountain power who played in five state tournaments from 1921-1926, Pikeville didn't come back on the statewide scene until a 15th Region championship in 1949. The stage was then set for a decade in which the Panthers won six region crows, albeit without ever winning a state title. Pikeville's best run came in 1957 where they advanced to the semifinals before falling to eventual champion Lafayette. Pikeville would beat Russell County in the third place game. Pikeville in a sense became a victim of what they weren't. John Bill Trivette's clubs won 239 games during the decade and had three players named first team all-state, but they didn't have the compelling story line of fellow 15th Region clubs Inez, who won the 1954 state championship, or Wayland and "King" Kelly Coleman scoring in waves in 1956. Pikeville has won just two state tournament games since 1957. 5. Manual (36 points) District Championships: 3 Region Championships: 3 State Tournament Wins: 9 State Championships: 0 Manual spent much of the 1920s and 1930s at the top of the heap in Kentucky high school basketball. The 1940s weren't as kind to the Crimsons but the 1950s saw a return to form. Manual won three district titles - a group that still included Male, St. Xavier, and Flaget - in the decade after not competing in a district during the previous decade (you'll remember the four Louisville city schools were guaranteed a spot in the 7th region tournament). Three region titles meant three state tournament berths at Memorial Coliseum, a tournament in which Manual always played well. Never champions, Manual managed to make the finals twice, losing to Cuba in 1952 and North Marshall in 1959. Manual's 1959 state runners-up 6. Cuba (33 points) District Championships: 3 Region Championships: 2 State Tournament Wins: 7 State Championships: 1 (1952) With a Howie and a Doodle winning a state title should be a piece of cake! Tiny Cuba High School, deep in southern Graves County and with an enrollment of under 200, advanced to the state final in 1951 before falling to Clark County. The Cubs wouldn't be denied in 1952. Led by first team all-state players Howie Crittenden and Charles "Doodle" Floyd, Cuba rolled to a 37-5 record and knocked off Manual to win the title. Led by Jack Story, who had begun his coaching career at Fairbanks High in Graves County as a 19-year old(!), Cuba played a style that seemed to resonate with the fans. Many compared them to the Harlem Globetrotters, a comparison the team didn't exact shy away from. However, coach Story would leave for Mayfield the next season and Cuba would never again reach the same heights. Cuba High would close in 1977 with students then going to Sedalia High. Cuba Cubs 1952 state champions 7. Clay County (33 points) District Championships: 9 Region Championships: 6 State Tournament Wins: 4 State Championships: 0 One of the most successful programs in state history makes their first decade appearance in the 1950s. Clay County won their first district tournament in 1937 when they were still known as Manchester High. A year later they absorbed Fogertown and changed their name to Clay County. They'd bring in Big Creek, Flat Creek, and Laurel Creek in the 1940s, along with James "Spider" Thurman to coach the team. Seventh district titles, twenty-nine regions, and a state championship in 1987 are the results. But the 1950s was where it all began. Clay County won every district tournament game it played in during the 1950s until the last one, a surprise one point defeat to Oneida Baptist in the 1959 district final. They would beat Oneida Baptist in the first round of the district the next week (at that time there were no restrictions on district champs playing runners-up in the first round) and go on to a sixth region crown. The state tournament was often the toughest part for Clay County. Four times in the fifties the Tigers won their opener but then lost in the quarterfinals. For all of their success it wouldn't be until 1985 that Clay advanced to at least a semifinal. Thurman would coach until 1962, compiling a 324-97 record. He would also coach a young Bobby Keith, who would later win 693 games and the school's only state championship. 8. Newport (30 points) District Championships: 7 Region Championships: 4 State Tournament Wins: 5 State Championships: 0 Newport High School's glory years were about to conclude by the end of the 1950s with the abandonment of numerous businesses (both legal and illegal) and a move by many toward the suburbs of northern Kentucky. Seven district titles, four region championships, and five wins in the state tournament proved that Newport still had some gas in the tank. Newport regularly defeated a mixture of Campbell County district teams in the early fifties, before settling into a northern Campbell district in the late fifties that was comprised of Bellevue, Dayton, and Newport Catholic. The ninth region was still somewhat rural, with Holmes the only city team through much of the decade. Covington Grant, a former member of the KHSAL, joined the 9th Region in 1957 and would beat Newport in the region final in 1959. Newport's best state performance in the decade was a runner-up finish to Inez in 1954. The Wildcats would go back again in 1955, this time falling to eventual champion Hazard in the semifinals and to Henderson in the third place game. Newport has won a state tournament game since. Lawrence Redmond, Mr. Athletic, Newport High 1954. Redmond scored 21 points in a state championship game loss to Inez. 9. Henderson (27 points) District Championships: 5 Region Championships: 2 State Tournament Wins: 6 State Championships: 0 Rarely do schools change names during the course of a decade. Henderson High might have changed names, but they kept on winning. Known as Barret Manual Training School (although commonly referred to as Henderson), the school officially changed its name to Henderson High School at the end of the 1955 school year. Henderson had some early success, including a championship in the 1916 state invitational tournament, but had never had much luck at the highest level. Everything changed in 1955. Henderson beat their brand new neighbors Henderson County in the district final and then romped over Clay, Owensboro, and Dixon to win the region. The Purple Flash would fall to Adair County in the state semifinals. Henderson would be back again the next year, but would again come up short, falling by four to Carr Creek in the championship game. Henderson would hold on for another twenty years but their best days were in the past. The Flash would win four more district titles but never again made it to the Sweet 16. They would close after the 1976 season and merge in to existing Henderson County. A dejected Henderson High team accepts the 1956 state runner-up trophy 10. St. Xavier (26 points) District Championships: 2 Region Championships: 2 State Tournament Wins: 5 State Championships: 1 (1958) Of course, it wouldn't be a breakdown of top programs of the decade without St. Xavier, the only school to finish in the top team of each decade to this point. St. Xavier, champions in 1958, gets the slight nod over Carr Creek, Inez, and North Marshall who each won state titles in the decade. St. X played in the brutal Louisville city district along with Male, Manual, Flaget, Shawnee, Ahrens, and eventually Central and the Tigers only won two district crowns. They would win the same number of region titles, representing the 7th Region in both 1955 and 1958. The '58 club bettered Daviess County in the championship game, finishing the season 32-4. St. Xavier's Jim Showalter signs autographs for girls after the Tigers won the state title

Much easier District.

I think the bigger problem is all of the ancillary folks that would have to be involved, not making tons of money, being away from their families. Because if you go for a bubble type setup, you still have to have camera operators, statistics folks, transportation back and forth to stadium, hotel workers, etc. None of those folks are making the league minimum.

I'm not sure any of this will work out, but for an organization/league that has long been reluctant to even the slightest change, I like that fact that Major League Baseball is at least considering unique options.

That's it!

Red Bird, not Pineville. I appreciate you starting the new thread!

Not the same as the KET one. The KET has bits and pieces on Youtube. I've never seen the ESPN one anywhere. Ashley Judd narrated the ESPN. Seems like it was three nights (maybe 1 hour each night).

Not the same as the KET one. The KET has bits and pieces on Youtube. I've never seen the ESPN one anywhere. Ashley Judd narrated the ESPN. Seems like it was three nights (maybe 1 hour each night).

Perhaps no decade in American history was a fundamental to the future of the nation as was the 1940s. The decade began with the country mired in a depression and an inevitable world war brewing in Europe and Asia. December of 1941 saw the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the almost immediate mobilization of American soldiers and wartime industry. By war's end, over 400,000 Americans were dead. Nearly 75 million people died across the globe. The United States and its allies would emerge victorious, with the Marshall Plan helping stimulate economies across Europe that led to unprecedented economic success in the next decade in America. Many professional athletes left their respective sports to serve and high school athletes were no different. Students left school - and their basketball teams - to join the military, often staying for the duration of the conflict. Basketball wasn't immune to the war but with the United States geographically isolated sports were able to continue. Participation numbers of both athletes and schools decreased during the decade. In 1940, 541 teams participated in the KHSAA postseason. By 1943, that number was down to 474. Some schools didn't have enough players to field teams but would return to play by the end of the war. Others schools simply closed their doors. Because of war rationing and travel restrictions, from 1943-1945 the KHSAA switched from 64 to 128 districts. In most cases, existing districts, which already tended to be large, were split in half, often along county lines. Because of that change, only district champions advanced to the region tournament. The KHSAA would go back to 64 districts in 1946, although for that one year they continued allowing only district champions to advance to the region tournament. By 1947 that format was back to what it still is today. The Sweet 16 in 1943 is unique in that it is the only state tournament not played in a single location. Region winners were placed in four team sectionals across the state (Paducah Tilghman High School, Male High School in Louisville, Maysville High School, and Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond), with the champions advancing to a final four at Alumni Gym in Lexington. In basketball, the 1940s marked the glory days of eastern Kentucky hoops. Invigorated by a booming coal economy, schools throughout the mountains had some of the greatest success. Six state champions came from the eastern edge of the state; Inez won the first of two in their history, while Hazel Green, Hindman, Harlan, Breckinridge Training, and Maysville all won their only championships. Western Kentucky had their own share of success, with Brewers famously finishing the 1948 season undefeated, the last team in the state to accomplish that feat. That followed a state runner-up finish the previous year. Central City and Dawson Springs each advanced to the championship game during the decade, too. ***** This article is the third of ten that will endeavor to rank the ten best programs in the state during each of the ten decades of Kentucky high school basketball. There is some science to the rankings: teams were awarded 1 point for a district championship, 2 points for a region championship, 3 points for each state tournament game won, and 5 points for a state championship. Part 1: https://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-boys-basketball/kentucky-high-school-388637.html Part 2: https://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-boys-basketball/kentucky-high-school-388648.html#post6805328 ***** 1. Maysville (51 points) District Championships: 9 Region Championships: 5 State Tournament Wins: 9 State Championships: 1 (1947) One of the seemingly forgotten powers of Kentucky basketball is Maysville High School. Maysville won every district tournament game they played in during the 1940s (they were suspended by the KHSAA in 1940). The Bulldogs won five region tournaments and had tremendous success at the state tournament, beating Brewers in 1947 before losing to Brewers in the 1948 final. Maysville's 51 points is the smallest amount to finish first in a decade, perhaps a testament to the balance and quality of Kentucky high school basketball during the decade. Maysville's Buddy Gilvin (17) tries to block a Brewers shot in the state final 2. Harlan (50 points) District Championships: 4 Region Championships: 4 State Tournament Wins: 11 State Championships: 1 (1944) Wallace "Wah Wah" Jones and his fellow Harlan Green Dragons were the pride of the 13th Region, winning four consecutive titles from 1942-1945. Harlan County was the king of coal during the decade and with numerous coal camps and schools dotting the landscape, just advancing to the region was a challenge. Harlan's first trip during the decade ended with a championship game loss to Lafayette in 1942. They'd beat Dayton for the crown in 1944 before a third place finish capped 1945. Jones would go on to a distinguished athletic career in three sports at the University of Kentucky, while Harlan wouldn't play in a state tournament until 1964. 3. Owensboro (45 points)) District Championships: 5 Region Championships: 4 State Tournament Wins: 9 State Championships: 1 (1949) The last state championship of the decade was the first for Owensboro. The Red Devils have won four state titles to date and have made 44 appearances in the Sweet 16, a state record. Just like Harlan, Owensboro was led by a future University of Kentucky legend, Cliff Hagan. Hagan scored 41 points in the state championship victory over Lafayette, a state finals record that would stand for twenty years before Ron King put in 44 for Louisville Central against Ohio County in 1969 (Richie Farmer would score 51 in a loss to Ballard in 1988). Hagan would eventually be a five team NBA All-Star, would later be the athletic director at the University of Kentucky, and the baseball stadium would be named in his honor. Cliff Hagan (18) and the 1949 Owensboro Red Devils state championship team 4. St. Xavier (43 points) District Championships: 0 Region Championships: 5 State Tournament Wins: 11 State Championships: 0 How can a team win five region tournaments and eleven games at the state and never win a district crown during the decade? It is a little bit complicated. From 1940-1951 there were no district tournaments for Louisville city schools. Male, Manual, and St. Xavier each advanced straight to the 7th Region tournament where they then played for a berth in the Sweet 16. (Flaget would join the trio in 1946). Louisville schools such as Fairdale, Fern Creek, and Jeffersontown did exist at the time but were part of the Jefferson County school system and thus played in a different district and region. St. Xavier and Male split the ten region titles during the decade. St. X gets the higher nod because of their eleven wins in the Sweet 16, although they never hoisted a trophy like their arch rival Male. It was close but no cigar for the Xaverians throughout the decade, finishing second to Inez in 1941 and Hindman in 1943, while taking third on two other occasions. St. Xavier's 1949 region champions at the Jefferson County Armory 5. Brewers (42 points) District Championships: 5 Region Championships: 4 State Tournament Wins: 8 State Championships: 1 (1948) Where is Brewers? Geographically speaking, about 25 miles southeast of Paducah and about 20 miles northwest of Murray. But during the mid- to late-1940s it was the basketball center of Kentucky. McCoy Tarry's Brewers Redmen won four region titles between 1944 and 1948. They were runners-up to Maysville in 1947 before turning the tables on the Bulldogs the next season. Brewers finished the 1948 season 36-0, the last undefeated team in state history. Almost as soon as they appeared, Brewers was gone. The Redmen won a district title in 1954 and one game in the region that year, but never again advanced to the state tournament. Following the 1956, Brewers combined with Hardin to form South Marshall High School. Brewers players await the presentation of the 1948 state championship trophy 6. Inez (38 points) District Championships: 6 Region Championships: 3 State Tournament Wins: 7 State Championships: 1 (1941) Inez High had a great run in the 1930s, winning five region championships and were ranked by BGP as the fifth-best team of the decade. The ranking might be one spot lower in the 1940s, but it comes with something the Indians had never had before - a state championship. In 1941, everything clicked for the tiny school in far eastern Kentucky. Inez won an astonishing 40 games (against only five losses) and beat St. Xavier for the state title. Inez, with only 50 boys in the school, beat St. Xavier with close to 1,200 students. Not only were the Indians up against numbers, their gym had burned mid-January and they had to practice and play the remainder of the season ten miles away in Warfield. Inez defends against St. Xavier in the 1941 championship game 7. Lafayette (37 points) District Championships: 5 Region Championships: 3 State Tournament Wins: 7 State Championships: 1 (1942) No team won multiple state championships in the 1940s but the stage was set late in the decade for Lafayette to establish themselves as the team to beat in the 1950s. Lafayette beat Harlan for the 1942 title and lost to Owensboro in the 1949 championship game. Playing in the difficult Lexington district, Lafayette was runners-up in 1943, 1944, and 1945, but because of wartime district adjustments did not get to play in the region tournament. Basketball's game speed changed from the first part of the decade to the last. This was in part due to improved players and tactics, but also as a mimic to the style of "racehorse basketball" made famous by Adolph Rupp at UK. To wit: Lafayette averaged 41.5 points per game in the 1942 state championship tournament. The Generals would average 57.8 as runners-up in 1949. 8. Male (36 points) District Championships: 0 Region Championships: 5 State Tournament Wins: 7 State Championships: 1 (1945) As mentioned previously, Male didn't participate in a district tournament throughout the decade due to the small number of Louisville schools and the odd alignment. Male owned the back half of the decade, winning five consecutive region titles from 1944-1948. The 1945 club, led by Ralph Beard and head coach Paul Jenkins, beat Central City by twelve to win the state championship. Beard would go on to a sterling career at the University of Kentucky and played two years in the NBA before pleading guilty to involvement in a nationwide point shaving scandal. 9. Hazel Green (34 points) District Championships: 5 Region Championships: 3 State Tournament Wins: 6 State Championships: 1 (1940) If your team is called the Bullfrogs then you'd better be good. Laurel County's Hazel Green High School was always good. In 1940, they were great. Hazel Green waltzed past Highland, Jamestown, and Danville to win the 12th Region tournament. It was more of the same at the state as the Bullfrogs beat St. Xavier, Morganfield, Inez, and Ashland. Raymond Combs scored 11 points for the winners but it was very much a balanced attack. Hazel Green would win two more region championships in the decade and finished fourth in the 1942 state tournament. Four Hazel Green Bullfrogs jump for a rebound 10. Hindman (31 points) District Championships: 8 Region Championships: 3 State Tournament Wins: 4 State Championships: 1 (1943) Extreme isolation in eastern Kentucky during the early 1900s led to the establishment of "settlement schools" throughout the region. Settlement schools are social reform institutions established with the purpose of educating mountain children and improving their isolated rural communities. Hindman, in Knott County, is still operating as a settlement school and focuses on Appalachian crafts and the study of folk songs. During the 1940s, Hindman was also focused on basketball and settling any doubt of who was the best team in the 14th Region. Hindman dominated district play, winning eight of ten titles. The Yellowjackets won three region crows and four more times finished second. It was at the Sweet 16 where they had their greatest success. No rubes - they had lost the 1939 state championship games - Hindman won the 1943 title following the unique sectional format. Hindman beat Henry Clay and Harlan at Eastern Kentucky University before moving on to Lexington where they defeated Benton in the semifinals and St. Xavier in the finals.

The 2001 [Red Bird] team was featured on a great ESPN documentary about Kentucky high school basketball that doesn't seem to exist anywhere anymore.

Never won a district title but were runners-up to Bell County in 1992, 1993, 1998, 1999, and 2000. Beat Cawood in the region in 1992 before getting routed by Clay. Advanced to the region finals in 1998 and fell to Clay County by five. I might be incorrect but I think the 1998 team had a kid right near the top of the state in scoring. The 2001 team was featured on a great ESPN documentary about Kentucky high school basketball that doesn't seem to exist anywhere anymore.

I think Mason County is playing Perry County Central on September 4 in the Appalachian Bowl at Clay County. Clay and Mason played last season; Clay is scheduled to play Whitley on September 4, who played Perry last year.

Yes and no. Runners-up in 1916 (Henderson) and 1917 (Owensboro) but those don't count in KHSAA records because that was prior to the founding of the KHSAA and those two tournaments were basically invitationals. Runners-up in 1918 and 1919 (both times to Lexington) which do count. Somerset's biggest problem was two local teams they just couldn't consistently beat. Monticello eliminated them in 1921, 1922, 1925, and 1929. Danville put them out in 1924, 1926, 1927, and 1928. Somerset did make the state tournament in 1923, beating Columbia in the first round before losing to Hazard Baptist Institute. Lots of success, which is why they are ranked 14th, but not enough to crack the top ten.

The second full decade of Kentucky high school basketball saw increasing numbers of participants and teams. 410 teams entered the postseason in 1930; by the end of the decade that number would increase to 550. Nine different schools would win the state championship, with Ashland's back-to-back titles in 1933 and 1934 marking the only team with two trophies. Classed basketball continued for the first two years of the decade with both A and B champions from each district advancing to the region tournament, A and B champions from the region advancing to the state tournament, and A and B champions meeting to determine one final champion. Things changed in 1932 when the KHSAA adopted the now well-known 64 district, 16 region format. For the most part, the alignment was similar to today. However, because of the growing number of basketball playing schools in the state the regions were often extremely large. Interestingly, there was only one district in Jefferson County and it included the Bullitt County schools. Jefferson County would later have their own region, but a second region for Louisville wouldn't happen until the mid-1960s. Every state tournament in the 1930s was played at the University of Kentucky's "white elephant" Alumni Gymnasium. Built for $100,000, there was concern that the 2,800 seat gym was too big to host Kentucky basketball games. That proved incorrect as the 1930s saw Adolph Rupp's Wildcats emerge as the premier team in college basketball. It wasn't too big for high school basketball either, as it annually hosted the 43rd District tournament and was filled full for the state meet. Alumni Gymnasium, University of Kentucky While basketball and education were growing in the commonwealth, the American economy was taking a downturn due to the 1929 stock market collapse and the Great Depression that followed in the 1930s. It didn't appear to slow the interest in hoops, however, as 3,300 fans overflowed Alumni Gym for the 1935 state final between St. Xavier and Newport. The decade would end with the German invasion of Poland in September of 1939, triggering the start of World War II. America would get involved two years later after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. Player defections due to the military draft would diminish many small teams (and eventually even their schools) in the 1940s. But that's a story for the next chapter. ***** This article is the second of ten that will endeavor to rank the ten best programs in the state during each of the ten decades of Kentucky high school basketball. There is some science to the rankings: teams were awarded 1 point for a district championship, 2 points for a region championship, 3 points for each state tournament game won, and 5 points for a state championship. Part 1: https://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-boys-basketball/kentucky-high-school-388637.html As a reminder, even though it only existed for the first two years of the decade, only teams that won the actual district and/or region final are given the points. If you won the Class B portion of a tournament, but then lost the ultimate final to the Class A winner, only the Class A school received points. ***** Part 2: The 1930s 1. Hazard (54 points) District Championships: 9 Region Championships: 5 State Tournament Wins: 10 State Championships: 1 (1932) The closest race of any decade, first place Hazard had one more point than second place Ashland, although the Tomcats won one more state title. Hazard dominated district play, taking all but one championship and winning five region titles. Hazard and its neighboring schools were originally in the 16th Region before the first of three large scale realignments in 1937 (the other two were in 1966 and 2006) moved them to their now familiar 14th Region. Hazard's 1932 state championship finished 32-1 and rolled through the district and region. They then beat Virgie, Danville, and Newport before securing the title with a 15-13 upset of Male. Morton Combs scored on a put back with 20 seconds remaining to give the Bulldogs the title. It was the only title of the decade for Hazard, but on two other occasions they made it to the semifinals. Combs would later guide Carr Creek to a state title in 1956. 1932 Hazard basketball team 2. Ashland (53 points) District Championships: 8 Region Championships: 4 State Tournament Wins: 9 State Championships: 2 (1933, 1934) Nearly the equal of the great Hazard teams of the 1930s, Ashland won one less district title, one less region championship, and one less game at the state tournament, though they won one more state crown. The formula puts Ashland second but it was almost too close to call. Ashland's crowning moments were the back-to-back state titles in 1933 and 1934. A third straight championship would have seemed possible but the entire Tomcat athletic program was suspended for one year in 1935 due to the football team's use of an illegal player. Paul Jenkins, who coached both the football and basketball teams at Ashland, would then leave for the football head coaching position at St. Xavier. It would be 27 years before Ashland won another state championship. 3. St. Xavier (44 points) District Championships: 4 Region Championships: 4 State Tournament Wins: 9 State Championships: 1 (1935) Often second fiddle to Manual in the previous decade, St. Xavier became the basketball power in Louisville in the 1930s. Two priests led the team in 1930 and 1931 before Robert Schuhmann took charge in 1932. Schuhmann would hold the position for a dozen years, winning 264 games and the 1935 state title as well as the national Catholic championship. For the second year in a row the defending state champions would not participate, this time on their own volition. St. Xavier chose to participate in the national Catholic tournament once again in 1936, abandoning the state tournament process which would happen at the same time. Manual would beat Male for the district crown. 4. Danville (43 points) District Championships: 7 Region Championships: 6 State Tournament Wins: 8 State Championships: 0 Danville is one of the two most successful teams in Kentucky history, along with Paducah Tilghman, to have never won a basketball crown. Winners of a dozen football titles, the Admirals have never sailed away with a basketball championship. The 1930s were their best years with a 1934 championship loss sandwiched between state semifinal appearances in 1933 and 1935. Danville played in six state tournaments during the decade and won eight games but it was never enough. 5. Inez (41 points) District Championships: 7 Region Championships: 5 State Tournament Wins: 8 State Championships: 0 Perhaps the most out of nowhere club of the 1930s was the Inez Indians of Martin County. Inez began play in 1927 and began dominating opponents shortly thereafter. Inez was 22-3 in district tournament play, winning seven titles in the decade. They were 16-3 with five region championships as well. Inez made their first state appearance in 1934, having no home gym and a coach who had never played basketball but also an undefeated record. The Indians would fall to Hazel Green in the second round but would make it to Lexington five times in the decade, their best performance a championship game loss to Midway in 1937. 6. Newport (34 points) District Championships: 5 Region Championships: 4 State Tournament Wins: 7 State Championships: 0 Newport's athletic heyday of the 1930s, 40s, and 50s seemed to coincide almost perfectly with the burgeoning mafia scene in the river city. A port town directly across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, Newport had players and success. One of a quartet of northern Kentucky powers in the 1930s, along with Highlands, Holmes, and Bellevue, Newport shined brightest with five district championships and four region wins. Newport made four trips to the state during the decade and one at least one game each time. The best Wildcats performance was a runner-up finish to St. Xavier in 1935. 7. Corbin (32 points) District Championships: 5 Region Championships: 2 State Tournament Wins: 6 State Championships: 1 (1936) Sometimes it takes a little luck to win a state title. Corbin has long been a major player in the 13th Region and has made fifteen trips to the state tournament. The first trip was the best trip, though, as the Redhounds won it all in 1936. Many believed that Corbin wasn't the best team in the state that year; some believed they weren't even the best team in their region. Benham High School in Harlan County was undefeated and considered by many to be the best team in the commonwealth. They had previously defeated Corbin in the regular season. However, due to a spinal meningitis outbreak in Harlan County all schools except Benham and Harlan withdrew from the District Tournament. Both teams met in Harlan’s gymnasium behind locked doors (each team was allowed only fifteen spectators). Though Benham won and claimed the district title, neither school was allowed to participate in the Region Tournament. Corbin would beat Bell County and Hazel Green to win the Benham-less 13th region and then would waltz through the state tournament, capping the crown with a 24-18 win over Nebo. Corbin would finish fourth in 1939 but have never again been champions. Sometimes it's better to be lucky! 8. Horse Cave (31 points) District Championships: 6 Region Championships: 5 State Tournament Wins: 5 State Championships: 0 One of the forgotten powers of early Kentucky basketball are the Horse Cave Cavemen from Hart County. Horse Cave won six district titles and another five regions during the 1930s. They also won five games at the state tournament during the decade, including a run to the state championship game in 1933 where they fell to Ashland. The Cavemen would lose twice in the first round in the thirties, to Midway in 1937 and Brooksville in 1939, both eventual state champions. This was the high water mark for Horse Cave, who would close in 1950 along with Cave City to create Caverna High School, the only school district in the state that overlaps two different counties. 9. Manual (30 points) District Championships: 2 Region Championships: 4 State Tournament Wins: 5 State Championships: 1 (1931) While not a successful in the 1930s as they were in the 1920s, the Manual Crimsons were still a force to be reckoned with. Manual won district titles in 1934 and 1936, although it was arch rival St. Xavier that had their number often, beating then five times in the district during the decade. Manual would play in four state tournaments during the decade, winning the crown in 1931. The 1931 squad finished 22-3 with losses to Male, and freshmen university teams from Louisville and Eastern Kentucky. 1931 Manual Crimsons team 10. Corinth (29 points) District Championships: 5 Region Championships: 2 State Tournament Wins: 5 State Championships: 1 (1930) The seeds of success for the Corinth Braves in the 1930s were planted one year earlier in the previous decade. Corinth, a school of less than 100 students in Grant County, had won the Class B title in 1929 before being handled easily by Heath, 21-6, in the state championship game. It didn't come easy in 1930 either as the Braves fell to Highlands in the district final and Henry Clay in the region final, although they were fortunate that at that time both finalists still advanced to the next round. It was in Lexington where the Braves caught fire. Corinth breezed past Woodburn and Carr Creek in the first two rounds before a late Dave Lawrence basket gave them a one point semifinal win over Tolu. Teammate William Jones would be the hero in that evening's championship game, draining a shot from mid-court to give the Braves a 22-20 victory over Kavanaugh. Corinth continued to win district titles through the late 40s and would advance to two more state tournaments in the 1930s. But they'd never again reach the heights of 1930. Banner celebrating Corinth hanging in current Grant County High School gymnasium

Basketball was born at the Springfield YMCA in 1891 under the auspices of Dr. James Naismith. Designed as a game to provide exercise for young males during the cold winter months when outside play was almost impossible, a game whose object was to place a leather ball in a suspended basket soon spread across the country. Few places saw it take hold as strongly as the commonwealth of Kentucky. Records exist of school teams in Kentucky playing basketball as far back as 1902 and in all likelihood they were even playing before then. No governing body administered any control over interscholastic play in the state and therefore games were typically nothing more than neighboring schools or perhaps neighboring counties playing friendly (or unfriendly) games against one another. In 1916, Centre College in Danville hosted eight schools from across the state in an invitational at Boyle-Humphrey Gym. Operated by the Athletic Board of Centre College, the tournament served as more of an open house for potential students than a state championship. And it worked, at least according to a post-tournament article in the Kentucky Advocate. The Kentucky High School Athletic Association was founded in 1917 with close to twenty schools ostensibly to "hold a rein on athletics throughout the State and correct any irregularities, while the conference would have the same power and would stage the big games in every sport" (Courier-Journal, 8 April 1917). State tournaments in 1918, 1919, and 1920 were still a hodgepodge of teams from different areas of the state. Seven teams participated in 1918, followed by eight in 1919, and sixteen in 1920. There was no such thing as districts or regions in the sense that exists today, although participants had to progress through one of the various interscholastic associations across the state. Beginning in 1921, the state was divided into ten districts with champions advancing to the state tournament at the University of Kentucky. Two western Kentucky districts, hosted in Paducah and Owensboro, saw large numbers of schools compete, with Paducah bettering six others to win the crown on their home floor and Owensboro besting eight neighbors to take their championship. Clark County was the winner of twelve competitors in the Winchester district. However, some districts were lightly contested. Manual, Male, and St. Xavier competed for the District 4 title in Louisville. District 7 stretched from Paris to Danville to Somerset and finally to Monticello. District 10 had only one member, Pikeville College Academy, who advanced to the state tournament automatically. The next year saw an expansion to eighteen districts, which remained the magic number until the completion of the 1926 season. It is important to add at this point that while today we think of the "district" tournament as the first of three steps to the state tournament, in the early days it was the first of merely two. District winners advanced to the state tournament prior to 1927; there were no regions. In 1927, the state began using a tournament method that is the foundation of the same style still used nearly 100 years later. Kentucky was divided into 24 districts. The larger half of schools within the district competed for the Class A championship and the smaller half competed for the Class B championship. Both winners then met for an overall district title, although both were guaranteed a berth in the region tournament the following week. Class A and B winners from each district then funneled into six regions, where again the larger half of schools were classified as A and the smaller half B. Depending upon the makeup of the district, a team could easily be Class A in one tournament and Class B in the other. Much like the district tournament, the winners of each class met for the region championship, although both were assured a state tournament appearance, where the same classed method was again used. One year later, in 1928, the state would expand slightly to 32 districts and 8 regions, with both region winner and runner-up advancing to the state tournament, the Sweet Sixteen. ***** This article marks the first of ten that will endeavor to rank the ten best programs in the state during each of the ten decades of Kentucky high school basketball. There is some science to the rankings: teams were awarded 1 point for a district championship, 2 points for a region championship, 3 points for each state tournament game won, and 5 points for a state championship. There are some provisions included in the formula. First, while technically tournaments won between 1921 and 1926 were known as district tournaments, since the winner advanced to the state tournament, they are credited with a region tournament title and the subsequent two points instead of only one. Second, only teams that won the actual district and/or region final are given the points. If you won the Class B portion of a tournament, but then lost the ultimate final to the Class A winner, only the Class A school received points. It is far from a perfect system, but it is the best method to make a difficult judgment of teams from across the commonwealth. Finally, as the game evolved and more teams added basketball, district tournaments became harder to win. As consolidation of small schools into larger county schools began in the 1950s and 1960s, fewer teams made up districts and championships were hoarded up by fewer and fewer schools. Some of the earliest winners are long since faded into memory, while others are independent school districts that have managed to hang on for over a century. It is possible that athletic success, especially in basketball, might have been what developed strong alumni bases and civic pride which has kept those schools open when so many of their small neighbors have gone away. But enough sentimentality...on to the rankings! ***** Part 1: The 1920s (Since the KHSAA began in 1918, we're including the first two years to make this a 12-year decade) 1. Lexington (97 points) District Championships: 3 Region Championships: 6 State Tournament Wins: 19 State Championships: 5 Far and away the superior program of the early days, Lexington High School, now known as Henry Clay, dominated all comers on the way to five state championships between 1918-1924. The best of the championship clubs was likely the 1922 version, which routed Frankfort, 55-7, in the state final and proceeded to win the national basketball championship in Chicago the next month. 2. Manual (71 points) District Championships: 1 Region Championships: 5 State Tournament Wins: 15 State Championships: 3 An early basketball powerhouse in Kentucky, what the Blue Devils of Lexington didn't win, the Crimsons of Manual did. Only one district championship belies the difficulty of regularly competing with St. Xavier and Male. Once Manual made it into the region tournament (again, district prior to 1926, but championship advanced to state), the outlying competition rarely matched up. Nowhere was that more obvious than a 111-7 victory of Boston in 1923. State championships in 1921, 1923, and 1925 provided the rare salve to Lexington's titles. Manual's best days were nearly all early. Aside from a championship in 1931 and three trips to the final day in the 1950s, the Crimsons have rarely been at the top of the state since. Their last state tournament appearance came in 1972. 3. Ashland (64 points) District Championships: 3 Region Championships: 7 State Tournament Wins: 14 State Championships: 1 Historically the best program in the eastern quarter of the state, Ashland got started winning early and never let up. The Tomcats were runners-up in 1920 and semifinalists in 1926 before breaking through with a memorable 13-11 quadruple overtime victory over Carr Creek in 1928. Ashland would then win the national championship tournament in Chicago. 1928 Ashland state and national champions 4. St. Xavier (33 points) District Championships: 1 Region Championships: 3 State Tournament Wins: 7 State Championships: 1 Tied with Monticello with 33 points, will give the edge to the Tigers who managed to win a state title in the decade. Manual was the bugaboo for St. Xavier, with the Crimsons beating X in the 1921, 1923, and 1925 region tournaments, incidentally all seasons that Manual won state crowns. Were it not for Manual, St. Xavier might be considered the best program of the decade. Their championship came in a 26-13 double-up of Danville in 1926. 1926 St. Xavier head coach Brother Constant 5. Monticello (33 points) District Championships: 1 Region Championships: 4 State Tournament Wins: 8 State Championships: 0 The same thing that eluded Monticello in the 1920s would continue to elude them throughout their history. The Mountaineers (they wouldn't be the Trojans until 1939) made regular appearances in the state tournament during the 1920s but never advanced to a championship game. A four-point loss to Ashland in 1920, two-point loss to Manual in 1921, and one-point loss to Winchester in 1925 show how close the margin between great and champions really is. 6. Owensboro (32 points) District Championships: 3 Region Championships: 7 State Tournament Wins: 5 State Championships: 0 Owensboro is the most successful basketball program in state history, but statewide success was slow to arrive. (Owensboro won the 1917 "state" tournament, although technically it was just an invitational and isn't counted in state records). Owensboro didn't lose a district or region tournament game until 1928, a win streak of 34 games. It was the state tournament that held back the Red Devils, and in particular it was their offense in the state tournament. Owensboro averaged just 17 points per game in state tournament losses in the 1920s, while averaging 30 points per game in wins. 7. Winchester (32 points) District Championships: 0 Region Championships: 4 State Tournament Wins: 8 State Championships: 0 Surprisingly, at least based on geography, Winchester participated in districts and regions with eastern Kentucky schools. This was in part due to a lack of competitors in the mountain areas in early Kentucky basketball. It proved advantageous for the Shawnees who played in five state tournaments during the decade. Elimination came with a wallop for Winchester, losing by an average of 29 points in their state tournament losses. The '20s would be the high water mark for the school, as they made their last state tournament appearance in 1926 and would close after the 1960 season. 8. Heath (25 points) District Championships: 1 Region Championships: 2 State Tournament Wins: 5 State Championships: 1 When you think far western Kentucky basketball you almost immediately think of Paducah Tilghman. However, it was tiny Heath High School in West Paducah that was the earliest power in the Jackson Purchase. Heath made three trips to the state tournament in the decade, culminating in a 21-6 championship victory over Corinth in 1929. The win would be their last ever in the big tournament, with first round losses following in 1931 and 1933. Heath closed in 2013. 9. Frankfort (25 points) District Championships: 0 Region Championships: 5 State Tournament Wins: 5 State Championships: 0 While close to Lexington, Frankfort didn't compete in the same district or region as Lexington in the early days like they do today. That helped make Frankfort the capitol of the fifth and later seventh district. Opponents such as Shelbyville, Lawrenceburg, and Kavanaugh were no match for the Panthers, who won sixteen consecutive district tournament games after losing their first ever to Georgetown in 1921. Frankfort's best appearance in the state tournament was the aforementioned 55-7 blowout loss to Lexington in the 1922 finals, but five trips to the state tournament in the decade is still impressive. 10. Holmes (24 points) District Championships: 3 Region Championships: 3 State Tournament Wins: 5 State Championships: 0 Northern Kentucky basketball was slow to start in comparison to much of the rest of the state. Holmes participated in the 1918 state tournament, losing twice in the preliminary round, but there wasn't even a true northern Kentucky region (think Boone/Kenton/Campbell county) until 1923. Highlands advanced to the finals in 1924, but it was Holmes who had more wide-ranging success, winning district titles in 1927, 1928, and 1929 along with region titles in 1926, 1927, and 1928. The Bulldogs best performances in the state were Class A final losses in 1927 and 1928. ***** The Next Best 11. Pikeville - 23 points 12. Henderson - 22 13. Millersburg Military Institute - 19 14. Somerset - 18 15. London - 18 16. Clark County - 17 17. Carrollton - 15 18. Paris - 15 19. Danville - 14 20. Highlands - 13 21. Hazard Bible Institute - 13

If you enjoyed this, I've got something coming real soon that will break down the best teams of each of the ten decades of Kentucky basketball. So if you've ever wondered who the best program of the 1930s was, it is coming!