Ceremony will honor 24 individuals and two teams
CITIZEN STAFF REPORT
INEZ, Ky. — The first 24 individuals and two teams will be inducted into the Martin County All-Sports Hall of Fame for their extraordinary contributions to athletics. A historic first induction ceremony is set for noon April 15 at the HOF and Museum’s new home in the Martin County Library wing of the Roy F. Collier Community Center in Inez.
HOF president Dwayne Sweeney said the ceremony would celebrate the achievements of acclaimed athletes and coaches from Inez and Warfield high schools from 1927 through 1972.
“Superior leadership and epic team spirit have consistently come together to perpetuate Martin County’s winning tradition in athletics,” said Sweeney, who many consider a walking library of sports data. “It’s a dream come true for lifelong fans like me to see the Hall of Fame and Museum finally become a reality.”
HOF vice president and seasoned former high school coach Roger Harless said the committee selects inductees based on career achievements considering the following criteria: “Professional athlete, All-American, Mr. or Miss Kentucky Basketball, member of a state championship team, first-team all-state, inducted into a distinguished hall of fame, or distinguished coach.”
Records verify that many of the medalists attained more than one of the qualifying achievements.
“Not only have Martin County athletes risen to the top in district and regional competition, but many also racked up impressive stats competing at state, college and national levels,” HOF researcher William “Bill Bo” Davis summarized the legacy.
Before the ceremony and dinner, individual photo plaques will be mounted on the “Wall of Legends,” bestowing long-deserved honor to athletes, sports figures and coaches who have given Martin Countians bigger-than-life champions to cheer for.
Memorabilia, including newspaper clippings, stats, photos, trophies and personal items from celebrated careers, will remain on display in the Museum.
Fans at the celebration will once again have much to cheer about. Their hometown heroes, or a family representative, will be presented a duplicate honorary plaque, and spectacular highlights of winning careers will be recapped.
HoF researcher Jack Ward, who has called play-by-play action from the press booth for decades of Martin County sports fame, will emcee the ceremony.
As part of the red-carpet treatment, hof treasurer A. J. Haney warms the welcome.
“As our honored and celebrated guests, the Hall of Fame Committee will provide two honorary passes for each inductee to the ceremony/dinner — one for the inductee and a family member or two for family members of an inductee,” Haney said.
Additional tickets can be purchased for $15 each in advance or at the door (if still available). Haney asks that inductees or relatives of inductees who plan to attend the event with an honorary pass provide the following information to the Hall of Fame Committee no later than March 15: Name of inductee attending OR name of inductee you are a relative of, your mailing address, email address if you have one, and your phone number. Mail the information to John A. Haney, 54 Haney Place, Inez, KY 41224 or email mlhaney72@hotmail.com.
Second induction coming
HOF committee member Everette Horn Jr., from his unique perspective as a first-round inductee, expressed a downside to the celebration.
“I’m just sorry we can’t include every one of our Martin County athletes that are already slated for induction into the Hall of Fame in one big ceremony,” Horn said. “Time just won’t permit it.”
Horn and the rest of the committee are already on their game with a second induction dinner/award presentation planned for November and many more to follow.
Stories behind the glory
Much is commemorated in the Martin County All-Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. The stories behind the glory – all that came together to make the heroes who made, and continue to make, legendary footprints in Martin County athletics history.
Martin County’s high-spirited athletes have often had to overcome major obstacles just to create an opportunity to compete — lack of transportation and disadvantage of geographic location topped the list. HOF secretary Phil Kirk recalls his 9-mile walk home from practice.
“It always helped that I had other teammates to hitchhike with,” Kirk said. “The school ball jackets we wore flagged sympathetic fans – they’d pick us up and take us as far as they were going.”
Many of the athletes being inducted had to prove themselves “champions” just to wear the uniform. Dogged determination and “respectful sportsmanship” are esteemed attributes of Martin County coaches, athletes and their avid fans.
“Fans are the wings that have propelled the legends,” said Kirk. “Fans in the stadiums, at home hovered by their radios, and by the carloads that would drive to the top of Spicy Gap on Route 40 (Kirk’s dad being one of them in the 1950s) where they could get radio reception to listen to the live play on a car radio.”
The Museum echoes with their deafening chants spurred on by fervid cheerleaders, the shrill signal of a referee whistle, yelling at the refs, the end-game buzzer . . .
Share the vision
Sweeney appeals to all who share the committee’s vision.
“It will be through ‘community team spirit’ that the Martin County Hall of Fame and Museum will be able to preserve the record of Martin County’s rich athletic history and the irreplaceable artifacts that belong to all Martin Countians in a setting of mutual access and visibility. It’s up to our generation to assure the sacrifices and contributions that have led to legendary championships will not be lost,” said Sweeney.
“The Museum will thrive and expand as team-spirited supporters ‘step up to the plate’ by contributing photos, newspaper clippings, game films or videos – all types of memorabilia from championship teams, individual athletes, cheerleaders and coaches.”
Notify the Museum by emailing dwaswe@yahoo.com if you have historically significant item(s) you are willing to add to the expanding collection of treasured reminders.
As a nonprofit organization, Martin County All-Sports Hall of Fame and Museum will function solely through volunteer efforts of committee members and funding from freewill donations of supporters with “team spirit” regard for the sacrifices made by Martin County’s legendary athletic heroes deserving of commemoration. All who wish to honor and support the preservation of the county’s rich athletic history are encouraged to contribute any amount, large or small. (See details below.)
An open invitation is extended to all fans of Martin County athletics to the historic first induction in the Roy F. Collier Community Center, 387 Main Street, Inez. Reserved seating is available at $15 per person. (Tickets can also be purchased for $15 at the door if seating is available.)
Make all payments for donations and/or reserved seating payable to MC All-Sports Hall of Fame.
Mail to: John A. Haney, 54 Haney Place, Inez, KY 41224.
