The Kentucky High School Athletic Association will induct its Class of 2019 into the Dawahares/KHSAA Hall of Fame presented by Roberts Insurance on Saturday, April 27, 2019, at the Hilton Downtown Lexington. This year’s 10-member class will be the 32nd inducted into the Dawahares/KHSAA Hall of Fame, and consists of former high school coaches, athletes, officials, administrators, and contributors. The Class of 2019 will also be recognized during the semifinals of the 2019 Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Boys’ Sweet 16®. The induction of the 10-member Class of 2019 will bring the total number of honorees in the Hall of Fame to 479.
JEFF MCGILL (Owensboro HS / Athlete / Contributor) – The 1969 K
HSAA Boys’ Golf Individual State Champion, McGill has dedicated his professional life to making a positive impact on the game of golf in Kentucky. As the golf professional at Bowling Green Country Club for more than two decades, McGill has been one of the driving forces in the growth of the KHSAA Boys’ and Girls’ State Golf Championships, serving as the event’s tournament director since it relocated to Bowling Green in 2006. After claiming individual medalist honors for Owensboro at the 1969 state tournament with a 145 two-day total at the Lindsey Golf Course in Fort Knox, McGill went on to play at Mississippi State University, where he was the Mississippi Intercollegiate Champion in 1973. He was the low amateur at the 1974 Kentucky Open and was named Kentucky Amateur of the Year that same year. A past President of the Kentucky PGA, he was named Kentucky Golf Instructor of the year in 1988, 1997 and 2001, and Golf Professional of the Year in 1987. In 2000, McGill was named the Best Teacher in Kentucky by Golf Digest.
KANDICE BROWN-PARKER (West Carter HS / Athlete) – As a senior at West Carter, Brown-Parker led the Lady Comets to the 2000 KHSAA Girls’ Sweet 16® title and was named the most valuable player of the tournament after averaging 20.3 points per game. She scored a game-high 19 points in the championship game to lead West Carter to a 58-50 victory over Shelby County at McBrayer Arena. West Carter made three-straight trips to the Girls’ Sweet 16® from 1998-2000, with Brown-Parker earning a spot on the All-Tournament team all three years. She ended her career at West Carter as the school’s all-time leading scorer in girls’ basketball with 2,599 points and was ranked in the top-five in KHSAA records for career three-point field goal attempts (917), three-point field goals made (381) and career free-throw percentage (.844). A three-time Ashland Daily Independent All-Area Player of the Year, Brown-Parker also garnered USA Today All-America honorable mention honors as a senior. She went on to play at Morehead State where she started all four years, setting Ohio Valley Conference and NCAA records in free throw percentage. Her .915 career free-throw percentage at Morehead State still ranks first all-time in the OVC and is good enough for third in NCAA Division I history. She led the OVC in free throw percentage four-consecutive seasons and knocked down 41-straight free throws during her senior season. She earned Second-Team All-OVC accolades her junior and senior seasons and won the league’s Steve Hamilton Award in 2003-04, which honors significant athletics performance, good sportsmanship and citizenship.
MARY CUSTARD-AUSTIN (Harrison County HS / Athlete) – Custard-Austin was a dominating two-sport standout at Harrison County in the early ’80s. As a basketball player, she scored 2,057 career points from 1982-1986, finishing her career with a 31.3 points per game average as a senior. In a run that began at the end of her sophomore season, Custard-Austin reached double figures in scoring in the final 62 games of her high school career. She scored more than 40 points four times while playing for Harrison County, including a career-high 52 points against Bracken County. Custard-Austin ended her career as the school’s all-time leading scorer (male or female), an honor she held from the time of her graduation in 1986 until 1998. Her excellence extended beyond the hardwood, as Custard-Austin was a five-time individual state track champion for the Fillies. At the 1984 state meet, Custard-Austin took home state titles in the 200 and 400 meters, finishing in 26.32 and 57.88 seconds, respectively. She repeated as state champion in both events the following year, posting a time of 25.91 in the 200 meters and a 59.45 in the 400 meters. She picked up her fifth state title at the 1985 state meet by helping Harrison County to a first-place finish in the 4×400 meter relay with a time of 4:06.87. She still holds school records in the 200 meters (25.83), the 400 meters (57.19) and as anchor of the 800-meter relay (1:46.20).
ROBERT (BOBBY) MCGRATH (Flaget HS / Official / Contributor) – A three-year letterman at Flaget in football, basketball and baseball, McGrath was a two-way starter on Flaget’s 1967 State Championship football team and earned First Team All-State honors. He went on to play at Western Kentucky University where he was a four-year starter in football and was named to the Associated Press Little All-America Team in 1971. Following his standout athletic career, McGrath got into officiating in 1977, where his quick rise through the ranks led to working his first NFL games in 1993. Beginning as a football and basketball official, McGrath called games for the KFOA from 1977 to 1987, working two state football championships, and the KBOA (6th and 7th Region), where he officiated four state basketball tournaments. He officiated college football in the Southern Independent Conference and Big East Conference from 1980 to 1992, at which time he was hired by the NFL, serving on the field as a Head Linesman from 1993 to 2001, with numerous playoff assignments. He moved to the NFL Replay Booth in 1992 and stayed there through the 2016 season, picking up more playoff assignments along the way, including Super Bowl 43. He continued to give back to officiating by serving as the Assigning Secretary for the KFOA from 2003-13 and the KBOA from 2006-14. He received the Mike Schmitt Award (Rookie of the Year) from the KFOA in 1977 and was inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame in 2004. He received the first-ever Steve Bauer Award in 1998-99, the NASO Golden Whistle Award in 2006, the KHSAA Supervisor of the Year award in 2013-14 and was inducted into the Metro Athletic Directors Hall of Fame in 2006.
BOB REDMAN (Durrett HS, Waggener HS, Ballard HS, Male HS / Coach) – Redman won over 300 football games and three KHSAA state titles during a coaching career which spanned 35 years at four Louisville-area high schools. When he retired as head coach at Male following the 2009 season, Redman was one of just four football coaches in KHSAA history to reach the 300-win milestone. He currently ranks eighth on the KHSAA’s all-time list for coaching wins with a career record of 317-115 and guided his teams to six state championship appearances during his tenure. Redman spent 18 years as head coach at Male (1992-2009), where he posted a .794 winning percentage by compiling a 190-49 record with three state titles (1993, 1998 and 2000) and two state runner-up finishes. Redman’s first state championship appearance came in 1984 when his Ballard Bruins fell to Christian County, 14-10, in the 4A championship at Cardinal Stadium. His teams would come out victorious in their next three trips to the finals, as Male defeated Shelby County, 29-7, in the 1993 4A title game, scored a 31-7 victory over Tates Creek in 1998, and beat Trinity, 34-14, in the 2000 finals. Male returned to the finals each of the next two years following its state title in 2000, but fell to Trinity in both games, including an epic 59-56 battle in the 2002 4A Championships – widely considered the greatest game in KHSAA football playoff history.
EDDIE LEE SAYLOR (Bell County Schools / Contributor) – A two-time President of the KHSAA Board of Control, Saylor represented Regions 13 and 14 for over 11 years as a Board member, serving alongside four commissioners. He was the District Athletic contact for Bell County Schools beginning in 1990 until his retirement in the spring of 2005. During this time, he worked closely with school administrators and coaches in all athletic matters. In addition, as Director of Facilities, he had oversight of all maintenance and construction of sports facilities in the district. His tenure on the Board of Control in the 1990s coincided with a time when the KHSAA was facing a dire financial situation with huge debt threatening to collapse the Association. Working with Commissioner Billy Wise and newly named Business Affairs Director Julian Tackett, Mr. Saylor along with the then-sitting Board members approved an action plan to avert disaster. Hard, necessary decisions by tough education leaders such as Mr. Saylor ensured that the Association avoided financial ruin to continue to serve the student-athletes of Kentucky.
ERIC SHELTON (Bryan Station HS / Athlete) – A two-time Class 4A Player of the Year, Shelton was a star running back at Bryan Station, rushing for 4,970 yards with 59 touchdowns, while adding 129 tackles, 11 sacks and 41 tackles-for-loss as a linebacker. He received First Team All-America accolades from USA Today and Parade Magazine, while also garnering All-State honors. In addition, he was named Super Prep Elite 50, Super Southern by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and All-Southern by the Orlando Sentinel. His talents extended beyond the gridiron as well, with Shelton contributing to the Defenders track and field team as an All-State performer who competed in the hurdles, triple jump and 4×100 relay. Rated the No. 6 player and No. 2 running back in America by ESPN, Shelton started his college career at Florida State before transferring to Louisville, where he became one of the Cardinals’ all-time greats. In two seasons at Louisville, Shelton rushed for 1,728 yards and 30 touchdowns before declaring for the NFL Draft. In 2004, Shelton led the Cardinals with 938 yards and tied a school record with 20 rushing touchdowns, earning Second Team All-Conference USA accolades in the process. He entered the 2005 NFL Draft following his junior season and was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the 2nd Round (54th overall).
CYRUS (CY) TUCKER (South Oldham HS / Coach) – The winningest girls’ soccer coach in KHSAA history, Tucker retired following the 2014 season with an all-time record of 390‐131‐26 across 22 seasons for a .737 winning percentage. Tucker led South Oldham to a KHSAA-record seven state championships, more than any other program in state history. South Oldham won four-straight state titles from 1998-2001 and six in a seven-year span (1995-2001). His first state title came in 1995, as South Oldham defeated Tates Creek, 3-2, in a shootout. The Lady Dragons repeated as state champs the following year, capping off the season with a 2-1 victory over Lexington Catholic. South Oldham returned to the state championship in 1998, winning the first of four-straight state titles with a 3-0 victory over Lexington Catholic. The Lady Dragons followed with a 3-0 win over Notre Dame in the 1999 championship before scoring a 2-0 victory over Holy Cross (Covington) in the 2000 state finals. South Oldham capped off its four-peat in 2001 by defeating Lexington Catholic, 2-1, at Rawlings Stadium in Georgetown. Tucker’s final state title came in 2014 when the Lady Dragons wrapped up a 23-4 season with a 4-1 win over Owensboro Catholic. Tucker coached five Ms. Soccer award winners and five All-America honorees during his tenure. His career accolades include four KSHSSCA Coach of the Year awards (1996, ’98, ’00, ’14), four NFHS Coaches Association Coach of the Year awards (1998, ’99, ’00, ’01), the 2001 Kentucky High School Athletic Director Association Outstanding Coach award, and two National Soccer Coaches Association of America Regional Coach of the Year awards (1996, ’98).
CECIL WARD (Paducah Tilghman HS / Coach / Athlete) – As head girls’ track and field coach at Paducah Tilghman, Ward led the Blue Tornado to 12 State Championships, including eight-straight titles from 2000 to 2007, to go along with two boys’ cross country state titles. He coached numerous individual champions during his tenure, nearly 30 All-Americans and multiple Olympic Trial qualifiers. A two-time individual state champion at Providence High School, Ward won the state title in the shot put in 1967 with a distance of 49-04.50 and the discus in 1968 with a mark of 142-07. He went on to star at Western Kentucky University as a decathlete and set the school record in the javelin in 1973 with a throw of 214-5. Upon graduating, Ward took a job at Paducah Tilghman where he started coaching football before a job opened up coaching track and field. He guided the Blue Tornado to back-to-back AA State Championships in 1974 and 1975, and another state title in 1979 before leaving to become the head track and field coach at WKU, where he produced five All-Americans in his first year. In 1982, Ward returned to Paducah Tilghman and guided the girls’ track and field team to another AA State Championship in 1993. The Blue Tornado began an unmatched string of success in 2000 by winning the first of eight-consecutive state titles, culminating with their final team championship at the 2007 state meet. Ward’s run of success in girls’ track and field coincided with him leading the Paducah Tilghman boys’ cross country team to back-to-back 2A State Championships in 2003 and 2004 – the first and only boys’ cross country titles in school history.
REGGIE WARFORD (Drakesboro HS / Athlete) – The 1972 Muhlenberg County Player of the Year, Warford would go on to become a trail-blazing figure at the University of Kentucky. The lefty guard scored 1,941 points in his three-year prep career for the Drakesboro Cardinals, averaging over 25 points per game as a senior, and helped lead his squad to the 1971 10th District title and an appearance in the regional championship game. After earning All-State honors as a senior, Warford signed to play for the Wildcats under Coach Joe B. Hall. As a senior at UK, Warford helped lead the Wildcats to the 1976 NIT Championship, scoring 14 points in the title game against UNC-Charlotte. Perhaps more importantly, Warford was the first African-American basketball player to graduate from UK, helping pave the way for others to follow. He transitioned to coaching after his playing days ended and went on to become an assistant coach at Pittsburgh, Iowa State and Long Beach State, and was the head coach of the Harlem Globetrotters in 2003. Warford returned home to coach boys’ basketball at the newly consolidated Muhlenberg County High School, where he fashioned a 66-28 record over three seasons and led the Mustangs to the 2010 3rd Region Championship and a berth in the KHSAA Boys’ Sweet Sixteen®.
Nominations for the Dawahares/KHSAA Hall of Fame are always welcome and can be submitted by filling out the online form available at http://bit.ly/2K6vrUX. For more information on the Hall of Fame, visit https://khsaa.org/special-programs/dawahareskhsaa-hall-of-fame/.
