ASHLAND, Ky. – In less than two weeks, the last CP-1 Ashland Baseball Hall of Fame class will be inducted. The ceremony is Saturday, Aug. 24, at 1 p.m. in front of the big diamond in Central Park.

The committee is asking any former CP-1 Hall of Fame member to come to the ceremony for a final bow and for a photo opportunity together on the big diamond at the conclusion of the event.

The 10 inducted will bring the total to 100 and conclude a project that was started in 2015 by the late David Carter, Gary Wright and Mark Maynard. Wright’s $125,000 donation to renovate the Central Park (CP-1) field in 2008 triggered a movement of memories from the thousands who have put their cleats on that field. It resulted in several CP-1 reunions and a film by Carter that debuted at the Paramount Arts Center and continues to play on KET.

That was before the CP-1 Hall of Fame became a reality where local legends have been recognized. It has taken place every August, except in 2020 when the pandemic kept it from happening.

Former players, coaches and umpires have been enshrined in what has become an emotional ceremony. Be sure to make plans to be at the last CP-1 Hall of Fame ceremony.

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 left-handed 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.

PREVIOUS CP-1 HALL OF FAME SELECTIONS

2015 (12): Brandon Webb, Don Gullett, Bill Lynch, Drew Hall, Charlie Reliford, Jody Hamilton, Dykes Potter, Squire Potter, Bob Simpson, Reecie Banks, Jim Host, Gene Bennett.

2016 (11): Bob Lynch, Steve Rolen, “Big” Ed Hughes, Wayne Workman, Bill Workman, Chuck Dickison, Juan Thomas, Ellis Childers, Clyde Chinn, Marvin Hall, Dan Smith.

2017 (13): J.D. Browne, Bo Carter, Joe Conley, Tim Huff, Mike Smith, Steve Hemlepp, John Mullins, Kevin Gothard, Mike Gothard, Dale Griffith, Nard Pergrem, Jim Speaks, John Thomas.

2018: (14): Don Lentz, Fred Leibee, John Sieweke, Dave Staten, Larry Stevens, Mike Tackett, H.F. Dixon, Ernie Daniels, Larry Castle, David Patton, Greg Swift, Don Allen, Rick Reeves, Frank Wagner. 

2019 (10): T.R. Wright, Robert Wright, Dick Fillmore, Herb Conley, Ed Joseph, Ed Radjunas, Tobey Tolbert, Mike Johnson, Frank Sloan, Darryl Smith

2020: No ceremony because of COVID

2021 (10): Wilson Barrow, Scott Crank, Mike Delaney, Bryan Finkbone, Bill Hammond, French Harmon, Jon Hart, Cabot Keesey, Mark Moore, Mike Tussey.

2022 (10): David Cox, Scott Crawford, Steve Hall, Omar Henry, Greg Jackson, Charlie McDowell, Jason Stein, Mark Swift, Herb Wamsley, Rick Wenning.

2023 (10): John Browning, Marvin Childers, Rodney Clark, David “Smooth” Greene, Rick Lambert, Kevin Neill, Richard “Dick” Smoot, Chris Tussey, Jeff Wilcox, Keith Withrow.

Back in the summer, during a mission trip to Uganda, the Lord revealed to us what the mascot should be for the Amy For Africa Christian School.

It is a rhinoceros, commonly referred to as the rhino.

So why the rhino? I’m glad you asked.

On one of my brother Tim’s fourteen messages on the trip in June, he did some teaching and preaching, and it directly led us to selecting the mascot. Let me explain.

Pastor Tim spoke from Matthew 16:18 when Jesus was talking to Peter about himself.

“He is the rock and on Him the church has been built. If you believe that He died for our sins and rose from the dead on the third day, the gates of Hell will not prevail against you too.”

Jesus said we are to CRASH the gates of Hell, knock down strongholds and bring people to Jesus. Our battle is not with people though, even those who violently oppose Jesus. Our battle is a spiritual one and we win that by loving God.

We are not to sit in our comfortable buildings but go into battle because “Hell will not prevail” against us. We have that promise.

Pastor Tim moved from that to an illustration about the rhinoceros, an amazing creature that can weigh as much as three tons. They are mostly gentle and peaceful in their behavior but are easily startled and are quick to charge at the source of their agitation. They also have a giant horn growing out of their snout and they know how to use it as a dangerous and damaging battering ram.

Even with their massive size, rhinos are said to be able to run as fast as 34 miles per hour yet cannot see more than 30 meters (100 feet). So, if a rhino is coming at you, do not count on him swerving to miss you. Just move!

Pastor Tim further educated us about what a herd of rhinos is called. He mentioned we have names for other animals. For instance: a flock of birds, a gaggle of geese or a pack of wolves.

But what about a herd of rhinos? What is that called?

His answer: “It’s called a crash.”

Amy Compston, the AFA co-founder, was listening intently. She knew at that moment the AFA Christian School should use Rhinos as the mascot because we want to CRASH! the gates of Hell by bringing the Good News of Jesus that people need. We do that through teaching the Bible to our students from day one, making fearless ambassadors for Christ.

The AFA school continues to build “rhinos” to do some crashing in the name of Jesus. Lostness is the world’s greatest problem. And we have the solution.

Go Rhinos!

Ron Reed, who coached area basketball teams on the high school and college level for a remarkable 48 years, died Thursday morning after a prolonged battle with Parkinson’s. He was 79.

I was privileged to know Coach Reed as a friend, as a coach who I interviewed many times and even as a parent when he coached Rose Hill Christian School for one season when my son was a freshman. What I always saw from him who was a man whose imprint was stamped on many young people in the area.

He was driven to teach fundamental basketball and taught it the only way he knew how – with what I would call compassionate toughness. He was straight to the point, did not play favorites and put up with zero nonsense. Ever. Some loved him, some hated him. He never strayed from his values. Unbreakable. But for those who loved him, they were loyal to him, and it showed on the basketball floor. Some jokingly called him “Bobby Knight Light” for his way of working players hard – extra hard some would say – but without the bad language.

In fact – and this is what impressed me most about Ron Reed – he was an unapologetic Christian. He was a believer who wore it on his sleeve. Now, I have seen him mad coaching – so mad he would almost shake, and his face would turn blood red – but even with that he never lost his witness for God. He called on me several times to speak at his Fellowship of Christian Athletes basketball camps that he worked all over the state.

He cut his coaching teeth on the football field with legendary Tom Sims at McKell High School where he was an assistant for those great 1966-68 Bulldog teams that featured Don Gullett, Tom Wright, and others. Ron was also a storyteller. Here is one from that first season when he was an assistant at McKell, the start of his nearly half century coaching odyssey that included basketball, baseball and football.

McKell was preparing for the season opener against Anderson County in the prestigious Recreation Bowl in 1966. Reed, a new assistant wanting to make an impression, asked Coach Sims if he wanted him to go to Anderson County and watch them practice for a scouting report. Sims agreed that could be valuable information.

Ron borrowed a press pass from friend David Reed (no relation), who was working for the Ashland Daily Independent as a sportswriter. Tiny Roberts, Billy Webb and one of their friends went with Reed to Lawrenceburg for a look at the opponent.

Ron introduced himself to the patrons at the local restaurant as a reporter for the ADI. He told them he was putting out a football preview and one of the area schools was playing in the Recreation Bowl. Anderson County was preseason ranked and had a veteran team, led by All-State linebacker Billy Ware. Reed and his crew went to practice and an assistant coach from Anderson County came over and asked what they were doing. Reed pulled out his press pass, and the coach unwittingly let them stay.

Ron said he and Tiny watched the offense and Billy concentrated on defense, all taking mental notes. On the ride back after the practice, Billy talked about Ware “being the real thing” and when it came to talk about the offense, Ron said the squirrely friend interrupted and asked the group, “Would this help?” and pulled out from underneath his shirt a plastic folder. It was Anderson County’s playbook that he found on the front steps of the school.

Ron gave the scouting report and playbook to an appreciative Coach Sims and the Bulldogs defeated Anderson County 9-6 in the 1966 Recreation Bowl.

Years later, David Reed became the sports editor for the Herald Leader in Lexington. He wrote a scathing column about the price of winning and knew of a coach in eastern Kentucky who used false press credentials to scout an opponent. Ron said David never mentioned the details, or culprits, of the scheme.

Ron was later an assistant basketball coach at Ole Miss under Bob Knight-disciple Bob Weltlich, known as “Kaiser Bob” because of his toughness on players including a memorably brutal practice on Christmas Day after a bad road showing. Ron was later the head coach at Milligan College and then coached Anderson County (football), McKell (baseball), Lawrence County, Raceland, Russell (boys and girls), Rose Hill in basketball on the Kentucky high school level and in Chesapeake and Minford in Ohio. He coached on the college level at Ohio University Southern and Kentucky Christian University, retiring in 2015 after 48 years of coaching. It is an amazing legacy.

While he did not win any state championships, what he did was far more important. The life lessons impacted his players not just for a season but for a lifetime. Ron Reed was more than a basketball coach. He was a life coach. Those who followed his advice have been successful long after their playing days.

I appreciated his Christian witness at all his coaching stops where I was involved as a reporter. He had the support of a loving wife, Joan, a beautiful person who had the job of consoling Ron after tough losses. He had a few and none tougher than the 16^th Region championship game between Russell and Ashland that went to double overtime in 1993. A referee waved off a last-second basket by the Red Devils in regulation that would have won the game that the Tomcats took 80-70. I am not sure he ever got over that one. He was not upset for his own sake, but for the players. It was always about the players who were like extended family.

Ron Reed had a fierce passion for God, family, basketball, and life. Make no mistake, wife Joan, their daughters Joan-Michael and Holly, and the grandchildren were the light of his life. But he loved seeing his players succeed after their playing days and many of them stayed in touch with him throughout their lives. On his 70^th birthday, Joan put together a birthday party and several members of his Anderson County team from the early 1970s showed up as did players from other coaching stops. They loved their coach, who was tough on them for their own good.

The “pukers” in Coach Reed’s preseason training are the stuff of legends. At Rose Hill, he ran the players hard and they had to “earn” their jerseys. But only three “earned” them by completing the “puker” runs. The “pukers” were suicide drills – 60 in 60 minutes. They ran 15 per quarter, where there was a break, and had timeouts that the team decided on together. If they missed the time, they started over. Players ran until they vomited, and he always said that he would mop it up (he was true to his word at Rose Hill).  My son was one of three Royals who made it through the gauntlet. But that was one season that Reed had to change his rule. Playing teams 3 on 5 would not have worked at Rose Hill. We had enough of a problem with 5 on 5.

We started three freshmen and lost more than we won (6-19 or something close). But I guarantee those who played that season remember Ron Reed fondly and those “puker drills” not so fondly. He was honest with his players. Before the Royals played Ashland in the district tournament, there was no David vs. Goliath story. He told them they were going to lose but could still play hard and leave with pride. They did lose and they did play hard. Attitude and effort were paramount in his coaching philosophy.

It was never about winning and losing, although he loved winning as much as anybody. Reed gauged how his players were improving and not just on the basketball floor. How were they improving as a young man? That is what mattered.

Ron Reed was an outstanding coach who prepared young men for life with lessons from the game. His life was full of adventures and his impact on young lives will last for generations. His was a life well-lived indeed. Keep his family in your prayers.

Services for Ron will be Tuesday at Fairview Baptist Church in Westwood with visitation at 11 a.m. and the service at 1 p.m.

Rob Barber is the most valuable invisible member of this Amy For Africa mission team. He is our videographer and uses his skills to tell the story of AFA in video form.

He hasn’t been on a mission trip with us since 2017 yet his work for AFA is something that has been seen in many churches in the U.S. over the past seven years. Rob’s video chops are incredible. He will take a few hundred photographs that Amy has collected and turn it into a video that will melt your heart. So kudos to her, too, for learning how to use the camera on the cellphone with expertise.

Since the beginning, we have not been shy about sharing images and using social media for good and as a way to communicate to the public. Among her one thousand other duties, Amy does incredible work there as well. When she wants a story written, she turns it over to me. And when she wants a video, we hand it over to Rob.

Rob has his own images – both still photography and videos – from this trip. That includes some drone footage of the AFA Christian Academy that is, in a word, stunning. He is not afraid of new technology and, in fact, embraces it. You may have seen some of his photo collections on Facebook the past 10 days. But Rob is also more than just a pretty face behind the camera. When Amy introduces him, she says that he is the one with a camera in front of his face most of the time. And that’s true.

However, Rob loves the people of Uganda and they love him back. He plays with the children through his lenses, showing them their pictures in the camera. His big personality comes out with anyone who comes in contact with him. And he has a strong spiritual side, too. Besides some mad photography skills, he’s a speaker that can teach and a good friend to have around. His morning coffee and Spanish omelets have been a hit for this team. And I do know this much: He misses his wife Suzanne terribly and speaks of her often and in glowing terms. I’m happy for both of them.

His speaking skills were on display for us on Wednesday morning when we visited the Bible study at the Threads of Hope, a group that AFA started in 2019 and has grown in every way the past five years. Women and some men are being taught marketable sewing skills so they can work and feed their families. The teachers at the school not only know their way around the sewing machines but they are also committed followers of Jesus.

We are so thankful for teachers like Susie and Betty who are training young women sewing skills but also mentoring them on the spiritual side. Mainly, they want to introduce them to Jesus. They have Bible study about three times a week and there is a spirit there that rivals any church. They worship and praise, share testimonies of victory, offer heartbreaking prayer requests and talk about how they are leaning on the Lord.

When mission teams are visiting AFA, Amy makes sure they have an opportunity to share a word with the men and women and it is some of the sweetest times here. They listen intently, even through interpreters, and they open tattered Bibles and look up passages. It becomes one of the favorite times for any mission team.

Rob’s turn came on Wednesday to share so he could not be in his regular place behind the camera. He did an outstanding job explaining the scripture he was using so it could be understood and used. I was a photographer substitute – a poor one – but wanted to make sure everybody at least knew what the man who has put together so many heart-wrenching videos for us the past 10 years looks like. It is important that people not only read about our story but see it as well. It brings it to life and this is real life here,

The saying that a picture is worth a thousand words certainly rings true with these videos and that is coming from somebody who tries to paint descriptions with the written word. There is a place for both and we are fortunate to have Rob with us. The AFA story continues to unfold before our eyes and the photos and videos from Rob Barber bring the story to conferences and churches as a visual aid for Amy’s inspirational speaking.

And through it all, we give God the glory.