Looking Back

The Corbin Redhounds have many faithful fans. You have Baker Reasor, Henry “Buddy” Martin, Winston Phipps, George Carter and I am sure I am leaving out a multitude of others. I got a call this week from another fan who is Redhoud to the bone, and that is Harold Gant.
Harold was relaying the news of the passing of one of the all-time great Redhound lineman…Charley Bill Walker.
Charley Bill was an all-state player with the Redhounds before going to the University of Kentucky where he was named captain of the team.
Harold said Charley Bill was one of the best to ever play at Corbin and I certainly respect Harold’s assessment.
The Redhounds tacked on two more wins by blasting the North Laurel Jaguars quite handily, which probably would not have been as impressive were it not for the Jaguars pushing South Laurel to the limit a couple of nights later. The ‘Hounds also dismissed Williamsburg, 82-62.
As I said in a previous column, January and February are demanding months on high school and college teams because of the great physical demands and mental fatigue. In college, they are playing or positioning in post season tournaments while in high school the games mean very little as everyone is practicing more or less and most of the kids have played through summer and fall, but come the first of March the spring in their step will return and the excitement will reach fever pitch.
Ex-Redhound coach Billy Hicks, who is now heading up the Scott County program just led his team to a huge victory beating the nation’s number one ranked high school team, Huntington High, Huntington, WVa.
Coach Hicks is generally thought of as the best high school coach in the state of Kentucky. Coach Tony Pietrowski of the Redhounds both played for and coached under Billy Hicks and I am sure picked up a great deal from him.

The Kentucky Wildcats are playing very well as they downed Arkansas on the road. Jodi Meeks exhibited some excellent speed and quickness as he brought back memories of Dwight Anderson who was nicknamed “The Blur”. Coach Tubby Smith made an excellent coaching move or two that had much to do with winning the game.

Big games in Redhound football history.
October 1935 – Albert Keck blocks a record five punts in one game, only to have the game end in a 7-7 tie with rival Middlesboro.

The summer of 1958 – Mel Chandler represents Corbin High School and the state of Kentucky in the high school All-American Game in Memphis, Tennessee. He became one of only two Redhounds to ever play in that game, the other being Calvin Bird the year before. Mel Chandler was in my opinion the best lineman ever to play for the ‘Hounds.

October 1980 – Greg Taylor kicks a field goal to secure a come from behind win over the Yellow Jackets of Middlesboro and then led the Redhounds to a state championship.

Another Super Bowl has passed and with it an anniversary of sort for Corbin’s only participant in a Super Bowl-Rodger Bird. It is hard to believe all these years have passed. Rodger’s Oakland Raiders fell to Green Bay and its great coach Vince Lombardi.

Thinking of some of Corbin High School’s best all-around athletes from the past, bring to mind, Tom Hovath, Calvin Bird, Rodger Bird, Billy Bird, Jerry Bird, Edd Selvy, Frank Selvy, Harold Queary and I am sure the list of two or more sport stars could go on and on, but add a name to it, and that is Clint Cashen.
Cashen is a junior this year and one of my favorite all-time Redhounds. He is mostly a role player in basketball, but the kind of role player who leads you to wins. In baseball, he is an excellent pitcher. In football he will be one of the best quarterbacks in the state next year.