With this year’s class, 84 individuals and 16 teams will have been inducted to the Hall since 2016 – representing the sports of basketball, baseball, golf, tennis, cross country, track & field, horse racing, swimming, football, bass fishing, soccer, softball, competitive cheer, and trap shooting; in addition to coaching, broadcasting, Special Olympics, and officiating. We’ve had inductees born in the 1890s and in the 1990s. Our inductees include the first African-American basketball player to graduate from the University of Kentucky, the coach who literally wrote the book on Track & Field program organization for women & girls, the first African American to serve as president of the Kentucky Education Association, one of the pioneering figures of Competitive Cheer in Kentucky, a Rose Bowl champion, and NCAA national champions in basketball and football at the Division I, II, and 1AA levels - just to name a few.
Here are this years inductees:
Charlie Cornette – A 1996 graduate of Muhlenberg South High School, Charlie Cornette became the second of just
two Muhlenberg countians to win the prestigious Kentucky State Amateur Championship when he claimed the title in
2003 with a 208 at the London Country Club. He played collegiately at Western Kentucky University where he was a
3-year letterman and a 2-time medalist – winning the 1998 Rutherford Intercollegiate and the 2000 Kauai Collegiate
Cup. Cornette also finished 3rd in the 2000 Sun-Belt Conference Championship and earned All-Conference honors.
Chase Geary – A 2014 graduate of Muhlenberg County High School, Geary distinguished himself as a multi-sport
state champion. He won the 2012 Kentucky Class 3A State Cross Country title as a sophomore and teamed with
Cameron Brooks for MCHS’s first-ever state Bass Fishing championship in 2014. Geary would also log two top 5
finishes in the state Track & Field Championships to cement his status as one of the area’s most decorated distance
runners.
Barton Johnson – A 1978 graduate of Drakesboro High School, Barton Johnson scored 1,944 points as a 4-year
starter for the Cardinals, which ranks as 3rd all-time in school history. He was a powerful post player and rebounder
at 6-3, 220-lbs., but was also an outstanding shooter. Johnson earned All-County, All-Region, Evansville-Courier All-
Western Kentucky and All-State Honorable Mention honors in both his junior and senior seasons. His DHS teams
went 102-19 over his career, including the legendary 1978 Cardinals’ squad that finished the regular season
undefeated at 22-0 and faced the undefeated Apollo Eagles for the 3rd Region Championship. Johnson went on to
play collegiately at Shawnee (IL) Junior College and served in the United States Navy.
Ellie Brown Moore – A 1957 graduate of Central City High School, Brown-Moore was a player on the girls’ team and a
cheerleader for the Golden Tide. She would go on to be a pioneering figure in professional sports when she and her
former husband & Kentucky Gov. John Y. Brown were majority owners of the ABA’s Kentucky Colonels. At age 33,
Brown-Moore was named Chairwoman of the Board of the team, becoming the first woman to chair the board of a
major sports franchise. She created an all-female board of directors which went to work marketing the team -
breaking ticket sale records for the franchise. The Colonels would win the 1975 ABA championship.
Jerry Posey – A 1957 graduate of Hughes Kirk High School, Jerry Posey is one of Kentucky’s most decorated
marksmen. His competitive shooting career began at age 15 with a .22 caliber rifle competition at Camp Currie on
Kentucky Lake. He won the Clay Pigeon regional shooting title the same year and finished runner-up in the state
championship in Frankfort. He earned a spot on the WKU ROTC Rifle Competition Team where he shined and has
remained a competitive shooter throughout his life – earning the Kentucky Senior Vet Singles & Doubles titles and
finishing 5th place finish among over 3,800 shooters at the 1998 Grand American event in Dayton, Ohio.
Angela Bishop Stringer – A 1987 graduate of Bremen High School, Angela Bishop-Stringer is the all-time leading
scorer in Lady Eagles’ history with over 1,800 points. She was a 4-time All-Conference, 3-time All-District, and
Honorable Mention All-State pick who played collegiately at Kentucky Wesleyan. Bishop-Stringer was also one of
Muhlenberg County’s best softball players of her era.
Bobby Watkins – A 1945 graduate of Central City High School, Bobby Watkins was the floor leader and star guard of
this legendary Golden Tide squad that beat defending state champion Harlan & “Wah Wah” Jones twice, including in
the Sweet Sixteen semi-finals. CCHS would fall in the championship game to Ralph Beard & Louisville Male, but
cemented itself as one of western Kentucky’s greatest teams with a season mark of 37-4. Watkins earned All-State
honors and went on to play at the University of Louisville for Coach Peck Hickman.
Eddie Wilcox – A 1979 graduate of Central City High School, Eddie Wilcox was a member of the Golden Tide’s great
1978 regional championship squad – which finished 5th in the state tournament. In addition to being a great player,
Wilcox distinguished himself as one of Kentucky’s finest golf coaches over his 29 year career at Central City,
Muhlenberg North and Muhlenberg County high schools. His coaching resume includes 3 regional boys’
championships with a state runner-up finish and 2 regional girls’ titles. Wilcox has also coached 3 individual region
medalists and 3 All-State golfers, plus served for 5 years on the KHSAA Golf Advisory Board.
TEAM INDUCTEES –
1963-64 Bremen Eagles (Boys’ Basketball) – Considered the greatest team in Bremen history, the 1963-64 Eagles
were ranked in the Kentucky’s Top 10 throughout the season, peaking at #4. Led by the great David Decker and twins
Barry & Jerry Jarvis, the team finished with a 30-4 record, were District champions, and 3rd Region runner-up.
Testament to their greatness, the Eagles were voted the best non-city school team in Muhlenberg County history.
1985 Muhlenberg Central Spartans (Baseball) – Before the Muhlenberg County Mustangs’ back-to-back regional
baseball championships in 2017 & 2018, it had been three decades since a local squad had claimed the title. Built on
solid pitching and stellar defense, the 1985 Muhlenberg Central Spartans defeated Grayson County at Vastwood Park
in Hawesville to win the 4th Region championship. The victory capped a memorable season for the Spartans which
excelled for head coach Dale Todd and assistant coach Ronnie Harper behind senior ace Jo-Jo Allen and a talented
mix of experience and youth, including seniors Johnny Smith, Gary Vincent, Darren & Duane Harvey, and Bobby
Tarrants, plus underclassmen Patrick Durall, Steve Wells, P.K. Kirk and Jeff Skaggs.
This is the ninth class of the Hall of Fame, which was established in 2016. The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on Saturday, November 16, beginning at 12 noon at the Second Baptist Church Multi-Ministry Center in Greenville. Tickets will be available to the public at $25 each beginning Oct. 16.
The all-new Muhlenberg County Athletic Hall of Fame “TouchWall” is soon to be unveiled at Muhlenberg County High School. The Class of 2024 will be prominently at its debut as the Hall will now be accessible both in-person and online. In addition, the Class of 2024 banner will be raised in the MCHS Gymnasium on Friday, Dec. 6, between games of the Mustangs/Lady Mustangs basketball double-header.
“We are thrilled to honor this wonderful group of individuals and teams that have distinguished themselves in Muhlenberg County’s rich sports history,” said Hall of Fame board member Dean Rowe. “The Class of 2024 is amazing and we look forward to honoring their accomplishments this November.”
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