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Longtime News Journal contributor, Bill Cook, passes away at age 81
An unofficial historian of Corbin Redhound sports and a former News Journal columnist has passed away.
Bill Crook, 81, died Monday at his home in Frankfort.
Crook’s column about Corbin Redhound sports appeared in the first edition of Corbin! This Week on Aug. 12, 1987. That newspaper was the forerunner of the combination of the Whitley Republican and Corbin! This Week that later merged and became the News Journal.
As an avid Redhound fan, Crook had done years of research.
“His column helped this newspaper to become successful,” noted Publisher Don Estep, who broadcasted Corbin Redhound High School football games with Crook for over 10 years.
Crook was a graduate of Saint Camillus High School in 1959 and attended Cumberland College.
His professional life began as a salesman in the insurance field.
At one point, he opened an insurance office in northern Kentucky and hired several Cincinnati Reds baseball players to sell insurance during their off-season, which proved to be a successful marketing plan.
His success as a salesman later led Crook and his wife, Sharon, to establish Tri-County Insurance in Corbin.
Several years ago, Crook was stricken with Parkinson’s disease. He and Sharon then moved closer to their children in Lexington and three years ago built a home in Frankfort.
In recent years, even though he was unable to attend Redhound games, Sharon would drive him from Lexington to Berea so they could pick up the radio signal to listen to the games.
“There has been no greater fan of Redhound Sports than Bill Crook,” Estep added.
Crook was also known statewide for his involvement in softball.
He played and managed softball teams for decades. He was inducted into the American Association Softball Hall of Fame in 2003.
Bill and Sharon were married for 60 years.
They are the parents of three children, Scott, Jeff and Mindy. Also, they are the grandparents of six grandchildren, one of whom, Jackson Crook, who was the son of Jeff, recently lost his life in an automobile accident.
