‘Hometown Teams’ Smithsonian exhibit to highlight history of Corbin High School athletics

Yearbooks, sweaters, letterman jackets, photos and a football from Corbin High School’s 1927 team are among the memorabilia that will help tell the story of Corbin sports when the Smithsonian Museum’s traveling exhibit, “Hometown Teams,” goes on display November 18.

Corbin Tourism Directory Maggy Kriebel said she received 20 items in response to a call for artifacts that was put out in September when it was announced the exhibit was coming.

The donations include: A 1935 Corbin High School yearbook, a cheerleading outfit from the 1960s, home and away jerseys from the 1950s and a Little League uniform from the 1940s.

Kriebel said school officials have agree to lend an assortment of trophies and other memorabilia to help highlight some of the accomplishments and noted athletes that have come out of Corbin.

“I fee like that is just enough to do the program,” Kriebel said of the donations received.

Kriebel added that she would still consider items, especially older ones, as the exhibit is designed to tell the story of the effect high school sports has had on small town America.

“The older, the better,” Kriebel explained.

Anyone that may have items to share is asked to contact Kriebel at the Corbin Tourism Center, 528-8860.

All items will be returned to the owner when the exhibition ends on Dec. 30.

The items will be placed among those included in the Smithsonian exhibit to provide Corbin’s spin on the story.

“The Smithsonian tells the general story and our job as host is to tie it in from a local standpoint,” Kriebel said.

Corbin was one of 14 small towns across Kentucky that had been selected to host the exhibit. Other areas that have or will host it include: Scott County, Hazard, Ashland, Newport and London.

The exhibition will open at The Corbin Center at 4 p.m. on Nov. 18 with, “Meet the Redhounds.”

Athletes from a variety of Corbin sports programs will be in attendance to discuss how sports have helped shape their lives.

Travis Freeman, whose effort to play on the Corbin High School football team despite being blind, will tell his story and discuss the impact that football and his team has had on his life.

Freeman’s story was the basis for the movie, “23 Blast.”

On Friday, Dec. 1, Gary P. West, author of “The Boys from Corbin,” will be the featured speaker at the program entitled, “How Corbin became, ‘America’s Greatest Little Sports Town.’”

West will be available to sign copies of his books after the event, which begins at 6 p.m.

On Dec. 9, the focus will shift to the next generation of Redhounds as the Corbin Public Library hosts a storytelling and show and tell program.

The free event will be held at The Corbin Center by library staff, who will be reading sports-related stories such as “Casey at the Bat.”

Following the reading, children will have the opportunity to show the group sports-related items they have brought from home and tell the story about why it is special to them.

The event, which begins at 11 a.m., is open to children ages five and up. Adult supervision is required.

On Dec. 16, Dick Usher brings Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodger Hall of Fame shortstop “Pee Wee” Reese to life as part of the Kentucky Chautauqua Series.

Reese, who played for the Dodgers between 1940 and 1958, was a lifelong Kentucky resident. He is credited with easing the acceptance of Jackie Robinson when he became the first African-American player in Major League Baseball in 1947. The event begins at 10 a.m.

More information about the exhibit and programs is available by contacting the Corbin Tourism office at 528-8860.