Beatrice Russell helped blaze a trail for female athletes in this area

With it being Women’s History Month, I thought I would take this opportunity to discuss an important female figure in the history of Corbin athletics – Beatrice Russell.

The next time you are visiting the gymnasium at CHS for a program or athletic contest, take a moment to look at the old photographs displayed on the wall next to the big trophy case that is located just outside the entrance, near the lunchroom area. There are several interesting images, and probably countless stories that could be told concerning them, but there are two in particular that really piqued my interest recently.

One is an individual photo of a young lady in a Corbin uniform with the caption “Beatrice Russell; Basketball 29-30-31, Captain 32.”

The other image is a team picture of the 1932 52nd District and 13th Region champion Corbin High School girls basketball team. The photo has the team’s win-loss record, 15-8, written on it, and it lists the team members as: Evelyn Candy Grant, Francis Herb Davis, Bea Russell Hudson, Leota Taylor Turner, Marjorie Smith Morgan, Doody Upton, Ruth Young Herndon, Mary Louise Gibson Tipton, Sally Root Smith and Edna Lynch Brasel, along with Head Coach Lucille Throgmorton Gibson.

I am assuming the list includes both maiden and married names, as Beatrice would later marry a man with the last name Hudson, and as far as I can tell, they were living together, with children, in Louisville by the year 1940.

Records are somewhat scarce after nearly a century, but I was able to locate some old Courier-Journal articles online that offer some details about that championship season of 1932. According to what I saw, the Corbin ladies won their regional title in Richmond, defeating Fogertown, 21-17, to earn the right to compete in that year’s state tournament in Lexington.

Russell apparently scored four points in the win over Fogertown, with Leota Taylor scoring 12, Marjorie Smith and Doody Upton both scoring two, and Sally Root scoring one.

Corbin was defeated by 7th Region champs New Castle in the 1932 state tourney, 15-11. Russell did not show up in the stat line for this contest, with Root scoring six points, Upton scoring two, and Evelyn Candy scoring three. Fifth Region champs Woodburn High School would eventually be crowned state champions when all was said and done.

Again, records are scarce, but I believe that Russell was also involved in track and field during her time at Corbin. I wish I knew more about her many contributions, but serving as a captain on the 1932 regional championship basketball team definitely seems to be the most important of her career, athletically speaking, that is.

It would appear that Russell remained in Louisville for the remainder of her life, as I found a Courier-Journal obituary from December of 1975 that announced the death of Mrs. Beatrice Louise Russell Hudson. “She was a native of Corbin, KY,” the obituary read.

Russell had siblings, and one, a brother named Bill, was still residing in the Corbin area in the mid-seventies. I know that several Russells remain here to this day, and I would bet that many are related to Beatrice in some way or another. If so, I would love to know who. If it’s you, then feel free to reach out to me at tsherman@corbinnewsjournal.com.

Interestingly, the KHSAA decided to do away with girls basketball the year after Russell and her teammates won region. There would not be another girls basketball state champion crowned until over 40 years later, in 1975 (khsaa.org/common_documents/handbook/history.pdf).

Another interesting note… Coach Throgmorton lived to be nearly 100 years old, passing at the age of 95 in Indiana, but she returned to Corbin to be buried. Her obituary in the Courier-Journal read “Mary Lucille ‘Throgie’ Throgmorton Gibson, 95, passed away Wednesday, March 31, 2004, in Jeffersonville, IN.”

“Born September 13, 1908, in Graves County, KY, she graduated from Murray State University and taught at Corbin High School. She was a member of First Christian Church in Corbin.”

The obituary said that Throgmorton and her late husband settled in Naples, FL before moving to New Albany, IN in 2000. Her funeral service in the spring of ‘04 was held at O’Neil Funeral Home with Rev. C.H. Dudley officiating. She was buried in the nearby Pine Hill Cemetery.

Again, if anyone has any additional information about Beatrice Russell, or any of the other members of the 1932 regional championship team, please feel free to reach out to me. I hope to hear from some of you soon!