The Ashland Tomcat football family has lost another star player from the 1950s era.

Paul Reliford, the father of Fairview High School football and a top-notch educator who served 35 years as superintendent and teacher in the Westwood school, died Saturday. He was 84.

The Eagles started playing football in 1970 when then Fairview Superintendent Denver Ball talked Paul Reliford into being his coach.

Reliford had played football for Ball as an Ashland Tomcat. He was an outstanding receiver, catching passes from Herb Thompson and “Buffalo” Bill Hopkins with regularity. He hauled in 30 passes for 629 yards and six touchdowns during a 4-5-1 season in 1954.

His best game came in the season opener when he had 138 yards receiving in a 14-6 win over Catlettsburg in Putnam Stadium.

Reliford, who was a truant officer in the Raceland-Worthington school system when Ball approached him, wasn’t sure what he was getting into by starting a new program at Fairview, but his high school coach meant so much to him he was willing to give it a try.

Reliford even turned down a more lucrative full-time job from the railroad that would have paid him “twice the salary.”

He and his wife, Germaine, were bringing up two boys, Chris and Glenn, and the extra money would have helped, Reliford said in a 2012 interview.

He said it was tough early on to make ends meet. They used newspapers for drapes, he said.

“I loved Mr. Ball and I knew I’d be happy (coaching),” Reliford said. “I was also married with two kids so I knew it’d be a challenge.”

Deward Davis had already started the football rolling with the Westwood Boys Club league and Scott Davidson was an outstanding assistant coach. So the pieces for success were in place.

It turned out quite well for Fairview and Reliford, who went on to become the school superintendent after a successful stint as football coach. Both of his sons also played for the Eagles.

“This community has been good to me,” said Reliford, who lost his wife in 2012. “This community has always supported the school and supported me. I’ll always be an Ashland guy though.”

Reliford is a former Elks Sports Day honoree.

One of his best friends for a lifetime was George Stout, the longtime chairman of Sports Day and a supporter of all Fairview sports.

He also made a lifelong friend in Rex Cooksey, his next-door neighbor and a former Eagle player for him. “Rex is not only a good friend, but he was a good football coach,” Reliford said in 2012. The two coached together for several seasons.

“Paul was my teacher, coach and mentor but most of all my best friend,” Cooksey said. “I owe him everything because he believed in me and made a 22-year-old kid head football coach in 1978. We had a lot of great memories together.”

Fairview went 5-3 in its first season in 1970.

Ashland native Stephen Limpach has moved to Frisco, Texas, to be a part of a transformational move for the PGA of America, called PGA Frisco. The $500 million project on 600 acres includes two golf courses, a 10-hole short course, practice areas, headquarters campus, clubhouse, Omni resort and conference center, retail village, parks, and walking trails.

Limpach, a graduate of Paul G. Blazer in 2008, has come a long way from his small-town roots. He went on to study Sport Management in an accredited PGA Golf Management program, at N.C. State University in Raleigh, N.C. and thereafter became a Certified PGA Professional. He chose the route of business and administration versus working the traditional path of a golf course club professional.

“One of my biggest inspirations growing up was Jeff Bostic,” Limpach said. Bostic is the long-time PGA Professional and General Manager at Bellefonte Country Club. “He wrote a letter of recommendation for me in high school when I applied to colleges.”

“Other than Jeff, I didn’t know anyone in the golf industry, but was so drawn to it,” Limpach added.

Limpach worked five internships in golf before eventually landing an entry-level position at the PGA in 2013. “I stayed patient because I love the game and industry.” He is now approaching 8 years as a full-time staff member with the PGA and more passionate than ever.

He traces that passion and dedication to his family and the resilient community that raised him. “Ashland embodies some of the hardest working and humble people you will ever meet. It is such a strong community with incredible families who support one another.” His father, a carpenter by trade, worked at FCI Ashland for 25 years and his mother worked at KDMC for over 30 years.

“Growing up, I never dreamed of being a part of something like this (PGA Frisco),” Limpach explained. “I hope our youth can simply hear my story and pursue work they are passionate about. I’d be happy to speak with anyone who is interested in a career in golf or sports.”

An accomplished junior golfer, Limpach lettered 5 times at Blazer including 8th grade while still in middle school.

“I owe a thank you to a lot of people but especially Mr. Tom Cooksey, who opened so many doors for junior golfers in eastern Kentucky. Without those opportunities, I would have never started playing tournament golf or developed a passion for the game.” Cooksey, a member of the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame, helped create the Tri-State Jr. Golf Association and AJGA Bluegrass Junior Tournament decades ago. “Those local programs and tournaments were how I got started which eventually lead to a career,” Limpach explained.

According to Limpach, the golf industry is growing and evolving in many aspects.
Recreational golf has surged during the COVID-19 pandemic all throughout the country, as golf courses have become a refuge for mental health and a safe place to enjoy the outdoors. Folks from all walks of life are trying the game for the very first time.

“I would encourage everyone to try golf and simply have fun,” Limpach explained, “don’t worry about the rules, etiquette, or dress code. Play three holes after work, turn on music, hit a small bucket of balls with a friend, laugh, play a golf video game, bring your kids and let them play in the sand. At the PGA, we emphasize that there are so many different ways to experience golf other than a traditional 18-hole round.”

If you’re looking for an outlet this summer, some wonderful golf courses in the area include Diamond Links, Sandy Creek, Bellefonte, Yatesville Lake, Hidden Cove, and Sugarwood.

If you’re ever in Texas and want to tee it up, contact your fellow Kentuckian, Stephen. (slimpach@pga.com)

The late Ellis Johnson, a former Ashland High School four-sport great and a member of the fabulous 1928 national champion basketball team, will be inducted into the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday.

He will be getting an assist from a couple of other former Tomcats in Ed and John Radjunas. They are longtime family friends, both when he was a coach at Morehead State and as a businessman in Ashland.

Johnson’s son, Kenn, lives in Mount Sterling but is in poor health and is unable to attend the ceremony. He called Ed to ask if he would represent the Johnson family.

“I told him that of course I’d do that, I wouldn’t even hesitate,” Ed said. “Ellis was like a second father to me.”

Ed was given the details of the ceremony from organizer Ken Trivette, who said they would pay for his hotel expenses. Ed asked him instead for a favor. He wanted to have his brother, John, who lives in Lexington, come with him for the ceremony. “He said, ‘I know John and would be glad to have you both come and do that.’ So that’s what we’re doing,” Ed said.

The Radjunas-Johnson family connection began in the 1930s when Johnson recruited Stan Radjunas – Ed and John’s father – out of Connecticut to play football at Morehead State. However, Stan had already been in contact with Kentucky’s coach about coming to Lexington. Stan told Johnson he was going to try UK. “Ellis told him, ‘If you ever need something, call me.’ Dad enrolled in classes and didn’t like it, so he called Ellis. He said, ‘I made a mistake, I want to come to Morehead,’’’ Ed Radjunas said. “He told him not to play, fake an injury if he had to, to keep his eligibility. He stayed the fall semester, but never played, and transferred to Morehead.”

Stan Radjunas played for Morehead and later coached eight seasons on Johnson’s staff there. The two men had families with similar aged children, so they became close.

When Stan Radjunas decided to leave coaching and move the family to Ashland, it wasn’t long until Johnson came to Ashland in 1953 to get into the insurance business before taking another coaching job at Marshall in 1963. The families lived near each other in Ashland on Elliott and Lawrence Avenues, which are about a block away. During that decade before taking the Marshall job he was one of several men who were instrumental in starting Little League baseball in Ashland in 1955.

Johnson retired from coaching for good in 1969 and was involved in cable television promotion in Huntington where he was a bowtie-wearing analyst for Herd games. He died in 1990 at age 79 in Huntington. He was posthumously put into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006. He was an inaugural member of the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame and is also in the Ashland Daily Independent Sports Hall of Fame and the Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame. He was also an early Ashland Elks Sports Day honoree.

Kenn Johnson reminded Ed that he and John were with the Johnson family at the state basketball tournament when it was announced that Ellis would be a member of the first class of the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame. He said they even had their photograph taken with Johnson and put in the Courier Journal.

In 1933, Johnson became Adolph Rupp’s first All-American at Kentucky. He was the first athlete at UK to letter in four sports — basketball, football, baseball and track — in the same season.

Before his career at Kentucky, Johnson led Ashland High School to the 1928 state basketball championship and then the 1928 national championship. He also quarterbacked three undefeated Ashland teams that won or shared state championships. Johnson was a two-time All-American and an All-State performer in basketball and football for the Tomcats. He is largely regarded as the greatest athlete of that era in Kentucky.

He was named to the All-State team after the Tomcats won the state basketball title in 1928 and also took home the sportsmanship award. He was called for only two fouls the entire season!

Johnson became Morehead Teacher College’s director of physical education in 1936 and maintained that position through 1953. During that time, he coached basketball, football, baseball and track. MSU’s gymnasium, Ellis T. Johnson Arena, was named in his honor.

Johnson led the Eagles football team to a record of 54-44-10, and the 1941 baseball team to a 5-2 record. Johnson’s basketball squads went 176-158. His best year as the football coach came in 1937 when the Eagles went 7-1. His best basketball season was in 1937-38 when the Eagles finished 16-8.

Johnson coached at Marshall from 1963-69, compiling a 68-80 record. Johnson led the Thundering Herd to a 20-8 record and second-place finish in the Mid-American Conference in 1966-67 and a 17-8 mark and runner-up finish in the MAC in 1967-68.

Marshall’s 1966-67 basketball team was his best. Besides finishing the school’s best season in 11 years, the Thundering Herd grabbed 10 victories in 12 MAC games leading to Marshall’s first appearance in the National Invitation Tournament in Madison Square Garden. The NIT trip was exciting as the Herd defeated Villanova and Nebraska before losing in the semifinals to Marquette in a triple-overtime heartbreaker and then to Rutgers in the consolation game.

Being inducted into the Kentucky Basketball Hall of Fame with him are: Coy Creason of Brewers, Wesley Cox of Louisville Male, Clarence Glover of Caverna, Joe Hamilton of Lexington Dunbar, Ronnie Lyons of Mason County, Rudy Macklin of Shawnee, Todd Tackett of Paintsville, Connie Goins of Western Hills, Kim Denkins of Nicholas County, Bill Mike Runyon of Paintsville, Bob Tripure of Lexington Henry Clay and Lexington Catholic, and Patrick Payne of Hazard.

Ellis Johnson joins former Tomcat greats Larry Conley and Harold Sergent in the Kentucky Basketball Hall of Fame. Conley and Sargent played on the 1961 championship team and Conley came back the next year and took the Tomcats to a second-place finish. Kenn Johnson was also on that team.

ASHLAND – Ricky Dixon owned the summer of 1963 in Ashland. He was the best player on what must be considered the greatest Ashland Little League All-Star team ever assembled.

Dixon and those Ashland American League All-Stars – many who went on to become state champions in high school with the Ashland Tomcats – advanced to the Southern Regional finals in Norfolk, Virginia, where they reached the championship game before losing to North Houston, Texas, 6-3.

The team from Houston would board a plane the next day for Williamsport to play in the Little League World Series for the fourth consecutive year.

Ashland’s memorable band of All-Stars came back home to ponder what if.

The subject comes up today because Rick Dixon, the hero of Ashland’s run to near baseball immorality, died in his sleep Wednesday. He had been battling cancer.

Nearly sixty years ago, he was on a magical run with his strong right arm and booming bat. He was an epic performer during that 1963 spring and summer. His tape-measure home runs and sizzling fastballs made him a double threat first for the Tigers, his league team, and then the All-Star team that went further than any team in Ashland Little League history. They were a win from Williamsport.

There were plenty of stars on this Ashland team but few shone brighter than Dixon, who turned 13 during the Little League state championship game in Lexington, where he was the star of the day. His size and maturity made him a giant even though Tigers was on the front of the jersey during his Little League season. He learned baseball from the master, the late Jim Stewart, who was a taskmaster that took the game seriously and taught it beautifully.

If you played for the Tigers, you practiced often and learned the fundamentals expertly. Jim Stewart would not have it any other way. Dixon was a product of that coaching, maybe even a prized product, for one of the greatest Little League coaches in Ashland history.

Little League baseball was only in its ninth season in Ashland, but it was clear the city was falling in love with the game. Two fields were constructed on either end of Central Park, one on 17^th Street and the other on 22^nd Street. They were showplaces and a big reason why the Summer of ’63 was the most special year in Little League history.

The Tigers won the Ashland American league title in runaway fashion with Dixon playing a starring role. He was the best pitcher and hitter the league had ever seen. Because the Tigers were champions, their coach would guide the All-Star team. Four of Dixon’s teammates – Mike Tackett, Charles Jackson, Joe Mantle and Jack Daniels – joined him on the All-Star team.

The rest of the roster included Johnny Mullins (Indians), David Staten (Twins), Tim Huff (Yankees), John Brislin and Jocko Greening (Angels), David McPeek and Mike Griffith (White Sox) and Bobby Ison and Mike Johnson (Orioles).

Some of those players became key members during Ashland’s three-year reign as champions of Kentucky high school baseball from 1966-68.

But in 1963, they were young boys having the time of their lives. When they weren’t playing baseball they were sleeping. Their dedication was off the charts and it showed on the field.

In the All-Star season, which was single elimination, Ashland defeated Catlettsburg 7-0 and Greenup 2-1, scoring the winning run when Mantled singled and moved around the bases on an error, a passed ball and a fielder’s choice in the sixth inning to defeat a young left-hander named Don Gullett on their home field.

Ashland American played rival Ashland National and three two-run homers led to a 6-4 victory. One of those home runs came off the bat of Dixon, who had a flair for the dramatic. He then went to the mound in the district championship against Martin in Louisa. Dixon struck out 10 and Tackett blasted two home runs in an 8-1 victory.

It was on to the State Tournament in Lexington where Ashland defeated Middlesboro 9-4 and Cynthiana 9-2 to reach the finals against Louisville Buechel.

Dixon took the mound on his 13^th birthday and was brilliant with 15 strikeouts – out of 18 potential outs – and also hit a two-run homer that gave Ashland American a 3-1 victory. He gave up a run in the sixth after walking two batters and then bobbling a grounder. But he finished the game off with his 15^th strikeout.

The next round was the Southern Division Tournament and it was going to be played in Central Park. Five states came together – Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky (Ashland American).

Games were played at the 22^nd Street diamond and 1,900 seats were provided around the outfield fences. Ashland got a break when it drew a bye.

Virginia blanked Maryland 2-0 and then had to play Ashland the following day. Ashland won 5-4. St. Albans, W.Va., defeated Delaware 9-4 behind Kim West, the nephew of NBA great Jerry West. He even wore West’s No. 44 on his back.

Stewart sent Dixon to the mound in the final against St. Albans and he delivered with a 10-strikeout performance while allowing only five hits in a 4-2 victory. He also blasted a towering two-run homer in the third inning that made it 4-1. That victory sent Ashland to Norfolk, where they defeated Sarasota, Florida, 2-0 behind Mike Griffith’s three-hitter and another home run from Dixon and David McPeek in the fourth inning.

Dixon was called on again for the championship game and he pitched well against a powerhouse team from Texas, allowing only six hits. He also rolled a single up the middle in the third inning to plate Ashland’s only two runs and its only hit against Mike Smithey.

The run was over, but it was some kind of summer.