RICHMOND, Ky. – A week after notching his 1,000 Kentucky high school baseball coaching victory, Jody Hamilton has added another championship to his ledger.

Owensboro Catholic defeated Lyon County 7-3 Sunday to capture the All “A” Classic state tournament at Eastern Kentucky University. The Aces (19-5) defeated Pikeville 3-1 in the semifinals earlier Sunday morning.

Owensboro Catholic’s toughest game may have been the first one when it bested Walton Verona 3-2 in 9 innings.

Hamilton is the only coach with two state baseball championships, winning it with Boyd County in 2001 and West Jessamine in 2015. This is his first All “A” Classic title and it followed a typical format with Hamilton’s teams – good pitching and good defense. Owensboro Catholic gave up only seven runs in three games.

Hamilton is No. 5 on the all-time win list in Kentucky and the fifth coach to achieve 1,000 victories, which he accomplished on April 20. Adding the All “A” Classic title to his coaching resume puts him on even more rare ground in Kentucky high school baseball circles.

He is in his 39^th season of coaching with stops at Raceland, Boyd County, West Jessamine and Owensboro Catholic. His son, Casey, who was part of the 2001 state championship team at Boyd County, is on his current coaching staff.

Hamilton played from 1976-80 at Morehead State where he was a Triple Crown winner and the school’s all-time home run leader with 49 until it was eclipsed this season. He played two years of professional baseball in the New York Yankees organization, debuting in the same game as Mets star Darryl Strawberry.

He is in the Morehead State Athletic Hall of Fame, an inaugural member of the Ashland Baseball CP-1 Hall of Fame and the Kentucky Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Jody and wife, Denise, live and own a farm in Owensboro.

OWENSBORO, Ky.  – So how did coach Jody Hamilton celebrate winning the 1,000^th game of his illustrious Kentucky high school baseball coaching career on Saturday?

“We went home and went to bed,” he said.

Hamilton, the head coach at Owensboro Catholic, became only the fifth coach in Kentucky high school baseball history to reach the plateau with a 12-2, five-inning victory over Union County. He has been coaching for 39 years and is the only coach in state history to guide two different teams to state championships – Boyd County in 2001 and West Jessamine in 2015.

Owensboro Catholic is his fourth coaching stop in a career that has seen him win 72 percent of his games and be named National Coach of the Year in 2016.

The team had a small celebration for Hamilton and his family after winning 1,000 while Union County and Adair County were warming up to play. After that game the Aces were back at it, smashing Adair County 13-3 for Hamilton’s1,001^st victory.

“I didn’t want anybody to know about,” Hamilton said of the milestone. “We were really playing well, and I didn’t want to mess up anything. I told Denise (his wife) I didn’t want anybody to know.”

But he didn’t tell his daughter, Neena Gaynor, who wrote to the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer about the special moment, nor his son, Casey Hamilton, who was in on letting others know, too, Jody said. “I think Denise was in on it, too,” he said of his wife.

The Owensboro newspaper wrote a nice story in advance of the milestone victory so everybody in the community knew what was about to happen.

Hamilton said he was the product of great parents growing up and great in-laws after he was married. “I grew up a lot after getting married. They taught me just as much about people.”

It all translated well for Hamilton, who said he’s taking his career “year to year” but enjoys coaching as much now as he ever did. He said he was blessed to have outstanding players, assistant coaches and parents who helped him succeed. And a supportive wife, he added.

“She said it’s a thousand wins for me and 7,000 wins for her, kind of like dog years,” the coach said. “She doesn’t hold back. We were eating breakfast before the championship game (in 2001) and she said, ‘We’ve been in the finals twice. Are we ever going to win this thing?’ I said it’s going to happen today.”

Hamilton began his coaching career in 1983 at Raceland High School in northeastern Kentucky after playing two years of professional baseball in the New York Yankees organization. He had a Hall of Fame playing career at Morehead State University from 1977-1980. His career home run record of 49 lasted 44 years before being eclipsed this spring.

Hamilton has endured only one losing season in his 39 years, a 15-17 mark in 1986 during his last season at Raceland.

Boyd County and West Jessamine each have one state title, both coming with Hamilton at the helm. His son, Casey, was a star on the 2001 state championship team at Boyd County that defeated Ballard 3-0. Casey, who signed with Mississippi State out of high school, is coaching with his father at Owensboro Catholic.

The top four coaches on the Kentucky win list accomplished their 1,000-plus victories while coaching at the same school. Two of them – Mac Whitaker of Harrison County and Bill Krumplebeck of Covington Catholic – are still coaching. “I’ve been a gypsy,” said Hamilton, one of the few coaches who has taken three teams to the state tournament.

Whitaker came into this spring with 1,221 victories and is No. 1 on the list. Krumplebeck is No. 3 at 1,097. The late Bill Miller of Pleasure Ridge Park had 1,144 victories for No. 2 and Larry Gumm of Green County recorded 1,006 victories for No. 4. Hamilton needs only six wins to take over the fourth spot.

Hamilton was at Boyd County and West Jessamine for 16 years apiece and at Raceland for four years. This is his third season at Owensboro Catholic, which he guided to the state tournament in 2022.

West Jessamine’s state tournament produced the most runs ever scored since the event went to a Sweet Sixteen format. The Colts scored 48 runs, managing to reach double figures in all four victories, including 10-3 over Fort Thomas Highlands.

But the secret sauce for Hamilton’s teams have been pitching and defense. All but “one or maybe two “of his starting catchers throughout his nearly 40 seasons have gone on to play college baseball. Two of his pitchers at Boyd County, Jason Keyser and Casey Davis, were drafted in the eighth and ninth rounds. He has helped more than 125 players find a place to play in college.

Hamilton operated a baseball school while coaching at Boyd County and one of the pupils was Brandon Webb, a future Cy Young Award winner for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Webb was 10 when his father, Phil, took him to Hamilton. He worked with him for five years before telling him he had to stop because Webb would soon be pitching for Ashland, Boyd County’s biggest rival.

“I said, ‘Brandon, here’s what’s going to happen. I have to stop giving you lessons because, if I keep giving you lessons, you’re going to beat me. People aren’t going to like that. If I don’t keep giving you lessons, I’m going to recruit you, and then I’m going to get fired.’”

In an unusual twist, Webb never did face Boyd County as a Tomcat. Coaches held their top pitchers during the regular season for a potential district matchup. Ashland and Boyd County never drew in the first round through his junior year. Webb’s senior season was cut short by an injury.

“How many coaches can say they gave lessons to a Cy Young winner?” Hamilton asked.

ASHLAND – The 2024 CP-1 Baseball Hall of Fame class has been finalized.

Players from the 1970s to the 1990s are included in the last class, bringing the final total to 100 recognized.

This class includes several players who went on to be contributors on the college level after getting their swings and pitches on the historic park field. The class includes an umpire who called a few games at the park early in his career before eventually embarking on a major league career that had him calling a perfect game, playoff games and a World Series.

It includes a switch-hitting shortstop, a durable catcher who once caught four consecutive games, three players with Fairview High School ties and even somebody who not only played well in the park but also contributed through the years with his communication skills, a dual threat ace pitcher-power hitter and one of the best all-around hitters ever in the area.

The induction will be Aug. 24, 1 p.m., in front of the big diamond in Central Park.

The committee is asking that any former CP-1 Hall of Fame member come to the ceremony for a photo at the big diamond when the inductions are finished.

Here are the 2024 inductees:

Curt Clevenger: A switch-hitting shortstop who belted home runs from both sides of the plate multiple times while starring for the Tomcats and Post 76. He was a strong defensive player and an outstanding pitcher. An all-around player who later played in college.

Keith Downs: A slugger who hit some tape-measure home runs at CP-1 while playing for Fairview and Post 76 in the mid-1980s. Everything he connected with was hit hard and he found himself in the No. 4 slot in most lineups.

Greg Gibson: While his time was limited at CP-1 diamond, he called some high school and Legion games before moving up the ranks and to the Major Leagues. He enjoyed 24 seasons at the highest level and was behind the plate for Randy Johnson’s perfect game in 2004 and on the crew for the 2011 World Series.

Tim Holbrook: An athletic infielder for Fairview and Post 76 in the late 1970s and later with Stan Musial, he brought a winning attitude every time in stepped on the field. Holbrook was an outstanding fielder and excellent hitter with good speed.

Don Moore: He played outfield for Ashland (1975-77) and Senior Babe Ruth for three years. He was a solid hitter and good fielder. But Moore also was a strong contributor to CP-1 through his skills in communications. Moore was part of cable television broadcasts from the park.

Donnie Payne: A complete player for the Tomcats and Post 76 in the early 1990s who could do it all. Payne was the ace of the staff and an outfielder and shortstop who carried a big bat. He pitched three seasons at Illinois.

Chris Queen: An outstanding athlete, he played for Fairview High School and Post 76 in the 1970s, getting plenty of games at CP-1. A crafty lefthanded pitcher and sweet-swinging first baseman went on to play at Marshall University, where he became the team’s closer.

Steve Smith: An outstanding catcher for the Tomcats and Post 76 in the 1980s who went on to play four years at Eastern Kentucky University. Smith once called four consecutive games in the same day for Post 76. Durable catcher with a big bat who never wanted a day off.

Jeff Stanley: A speedy outfielder whose batting stroke was tough on opponents when he played for Ashland and Post 76. He was an MVP of the Fourth of July Tournament in the mid-1980s while patrolling centerfield and went on to play at West Virginia University.

Bob Trimble: He started his baseball career on Ashland’s Little League fields, playing for the back-to-back Ashland National Little League state champions in 1976-77. His time on CP-1 was when he joined Ashland’s Stan Musial teams where he was a devastating hitter and speedy outfielder. He went on to Morehead State where he set several batting records and was All-OVC.

Jody Hamilton and Cary Page, who shared Morehead State’s career home run record of 49, have some company at the top of that list.

Ryley Preece, a senior slugger from Paintsville, tied the two former MSU sluggers with a blast against Ohio University on Tuesday in a 20-10 slugfest victory for the Eagles.

A few days before, Hamilton and Page were on the same baseball field as Owensboro Catholic scrimmaged South Warren. Hamilton is coach of Owensboro Catholic and Page is helping at South Warren where he has a son who is a sophomore.

“I hadn’t seen him in more than 20 years,” Hamilton said. “He hollered at me and told me our record was about to be broken. It’s funny how things happen.”

Hamilton said before last Thursday, he hadn’t seen Page in more than 20 years, but they happened to be together as Preece was about to tie them and likely surpass them with most of the college season ahead of him. Preece, who played baseball and football (QB) at Johnson Central, has nine home runs this season to rank fifth nationally. He hit 20 bombs as a junior.

Hamilton’s career at MSU was from 1977 to 1980. Page (2000 to 2003) tied his record 22 years later and 22 more years later it was tied again by Preece … for now. All three are left-handed sluggers who have taken advantage of the unusual dimensions at Sonny Allen Field.

But there was nothing cheap about anybody’s home runs. Hamilton hit some prodigious home runs that would have been out of any park and the same could be said for Page and Preece. Hamilton, who graduated from Ashland in 1976, said if the record had to be broken, he was glad it was from a fellow eastern Kentuckian.

When, or if, Preece hits No. 50, he would be only the ninth player in Ohio Valley Conference history to accomplish the feat.

For what it’s worth, Hamilton’s 49 home runs came in less at bats than Page or Preece.

Hamilton was a two-time All-OVC First-Team selection and was named the OVC Player of the Year in 1979 when he won the league’s Triple Crown. Hamilton set numerous MSU career records, including batting average (.385), runs scored (139), home runs (49), total bases (376) and runs batted in (155).

He also set MSU’s season records for home runs (19 in1979), total bases (130 in 1979) and runs batted in (60 in 1979) in the Triple Crown season. Hamilton is in the Morehead State University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Hamilton played two years in the New York Yankees organization before embarking on one of the best high school coaching careers in Kentucky history. In his 39^th year of high school coaching, he has a record of 986-390 (71.6 percent) with stints at Raceland, Boyd County, West Jessamine and Owensboro Catholic. That win total ranks fifth all-time.

Hamilton could join the 1,000-win club this season and has won state championships at Boyd County (2001) and West Jessamine (2015). He was named the National High School Athletic Coaches Association’s Coach of the Year in 2016.

Hamilton was among the inaugural selections into the Ashland Baseball CP-1 Hall of Fame in 2015.