(Originally written in July 2014)

About a dozen days ago, lightning struck the big beech tree in Central Park that was ideally located between the big baseball diamond and the former softball diamond that is now a soccer field.

If our tree could talk, what stories he would tell.

The beech tree was one of the oldest in the park, if not the oldest, but today it’s nothing more than a stump, a memory of better days. It has stood longer than the park itself, probably touching 200 years old and certainly had a life of its own.

It was our own Green Monster in softball, for both fast-pitch and slow-pitch, standing tall in left field and swatting down long fly balls with its giant limbs. If you hit one into the lower branches or into the tip top, it was a ground-rule double. That was the rule you had to live with. The outcome of many games was decided by the towering obstacle in left field. A fence was placed around the field but because of the placement of this tree, other rules had to be put into place. Otherwise, you would have had a home run launching pad.

It’s a wonder when that tree split wide open there weren’t hundreds of softballs popping out of it like a giant pinata. There may have been a few baseballs lodged up there as well. They say the branches grew around a couple of balls that had become lodged.

On the baseball side, it offered some refreshing shade as only a big tree can do, tucked several feet behind the third-base dugout. Many times, fans would drag one of those park benches over next to it on a particularly steamy day.

If our tree could only talk …

Well, since this is my column, the tree can talk and here’s how an interview with “Woody” might have gone during his older years before the lightning strike that finally took him out.

What are your early recollections of softball and baseball here?

“I was so excited when they finally started building some baseball fields in the park. Besides a few kids playing around me — and those darned dogs — there wasn’t much action when I was a twig growing up. it was probably good, though, because those little boys would have trampled me. As a grew older, it kind of tickled when they ran those little cars and trucks across my roots. But I didn’t mind. They were having fun”

Describe what it was like in the park in those early days?

“Oh my, when they started organizing games here it was so much fun. We had softball in front of me and baseball for as far as my branches could see. They played from sunup until sundown, even when there wasn’t something going on. They would lean up against me and slurp those snow-cones down. I loved it when they spilled them and they soaked down into my roots. The blue ones were my favorites.”

You had a lot of fly balls and foul balls crash into your branches. Did that ever hurt?

“No, it tickled a little, that’s all. I always got a kick out of those power hitters in softball who would get so mad when a ball went sailing and glanced off a leaf. That was only a double, you know. They wanted that home run. I laughed my bark off at them sometimes.”

Who do you remember watching?

“I loved the fast-pitch guys in softball. Bill Selbee was the best I ever saw. You couldn’t even see it when he cut loose. I saw some great games, too. Some of those Ben Williamson teams were some of my favorites. But that state tournament here in 1963 was something else. McClure’s beat Ben Williamson twice, 6-4 and 6-1, to win it all. They even beat Selbee in the second game. A guy named C.I. Burks was nearly unhittable. Those games were so close I lost a few leaves worrying about what would happen. Softball was big in this town you know. Even when they stopped playing fast-pitch, guys like Joe Dillow, Corky Salyers and Steve Crum would whistle balls through my branches. I tell you what, they had some power!”

What about baseball? You had a pretty good vantage point of that too?

“It was so much fun watching those guys grow up from the third-base side of the field. I saw them playing there as little boys, even caught a few glimpses of the Little League field on the corner of 22nd Street, although I wasn’t as tall back 50 years ago as I am today. And, you know, they played grade school baseball on the softball field, too. I loved those guys from the 1950s and 1960s especially and, man, let me tell you, they were good. Those Lynch boys must have grown up with a ball in their hand. Billy Lynch threw the fastest pitches I ever saw and I saw them all, even that (Don) Gullett boy. I’d say him and Bill Lynch were about even. They would make my leaves curl. I don’t think Bill’s brother Bobby ever lost a game on that field, maybe one. I tell you, he was untouchable. Timmy Huff, Johnny Mullins, Bo Carter, Mike Smith … all those guys were such good players on those Ashland teams. People would lean back on my roots and marvel at how well those guys played. I heard a lot of the scouts talking, especially when Bill Lynch was pitching. But, you know, some guys before them were good, too. I remember Jim Host and that big pearly white smile on the mound. That guy owned the plate! Larry Conley, Gary Wright and even a kid named David Carter, who played right over there, they were all good. I’m telling you, I saw some good ones.”

What about later? Any other memories?

“Drew Hall was one of those guys I won’t forget. He was kind of wild but that kid could bring it. He was warming up over here before one game and some pitches got away from him. He nicked a couple of pieces of bark and it hurt a lot worse than any of those softball home runs.

“And don’t forget about Joe Magrane, a kid who came in here from Morehead. Left-hander. Could really bring it, too. I think he made it to the bigs. Brandon Webb was always one of my favorites, too. You knew he was going to make it. So graceful on the mound. Cy Young Award, huh? I’d given one of my left branches to watch him pitch in the big leagues.

“You know, it’s funny. They say Babe Ruth played here one time but, I’m here to tell you, he didn’t. And trust me, I’d know. I’ve been here.”

When they converted the field from softball to soccer what did you think?

“Well, to be honest, I didn’t like it one bit. I grew up from a seedling watching softball. But you know, after watching these little fellas kick a soccer ball around, it was kind of nice in my advanced age to be able to relax and smell the cedar. My branches weren’t as strong as they once were, so it was good to sit back and watch.”

Any final thoughts on your time in the park?

“I’m kind of like these players who came back for that CP-1 Reunion a few weeks back. It was so good seeing them all again, how they’d grown into fine young men. I remember them when they were like twigs. I hope they noticed me while they were here, too. I sure noticed them. I’ll never forget how much they meant to my time in Central Park. There were guys from all eras here and that was good to see. Some of those young guys chased girls around me or played with their little trucks around my roots. I remember them and I always wanted to protect them. Sometimes when it rained, they all huddled around me.  I’ve enjoyed this vantage point longer than I deserved. It was a good, long ride.”

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.