Sherman York had the Courage of a Bulldog

By all accounts, Sherman York was a great basketball player, a point guard known for his consistent play, both in high school and college. He was a three year starter for the Bulldogs and at Campbellsville College was the unanimous choice for the outstanding basketball player award. He was inducted into the Clinton County Wall of Fame in 2002, along with his brother-in-law, and former teammate, Jackie Sewell.

Coach Lindle Castle once said the years 1959 to 1965 were the 'golden years of basketball at Clinton County High School. He based it on the fact that his players had grown up at one room schools. Aside from book learning, whenever there wasn't much else to do, they learned the game from teachers, and then wore out the goals practicing and playing hour after hour year around. "Then they started closing the one room schools for better education and the kids came into grade school centers. When they graduated, the golden years were over," he said.

An example of how bright the golden years of CCHS basketball was during that era is a team that rose to the occasion two seasons after the 1959-60 team was crowned champions of the 5th region. It has been said many times over the years that the 1961-62 team is the best team ever at CCHS.

The late L.H. 'Prof' Robinson, who was superintendent, principal and coach at Albany, loved Sherman York's consistency as a player and referred to him as a 'Bulldog,' which is what he was, both literally and figuratively. You will read Robinson's quotes throughout this story.

Sherman York, a junior, was the starting point guard on that team, averaging 9.4 points per game. Others were Sewell, Kenneth Conner, David McFarland, Tom Neathery, Paul Denney, Darrell Weaver, U.S. Reneau, W.L. Sawyers, Wells Latham, Wayne Cook, Don McWhorter, Kay Flowers, A.V. Conner, Jim Thrasher, Gayle Stearns, John Hay and Bill McDonald.

"Sherman has the speed of a fright­ened ghost. His nerves are made of the finest, purest steel. Under pressure, he is calm, undisturbed, capable and dependable. This boy has a potential that has not been fully explored." L.H. 'Prof' Robinson, 11/30/61

In the 20th district tournament championship game, the Bulldogs, rated 9th in the state, went up against Metcalfe County. Our hopes of advancing to the regional as district champs were dashed as the Hornets stung the Bulldogs by a single point, 59-58.

The 5th region tournament opened with a rematch between the Bulldogs and the Hornets, but this time the game had a much different ending. We won by 30. Up next was the semi-finals and a meeting with the only unbeaten team in Kentucky, Allen County, at 28-0. The Bulldogs led 13-12 after the first period, 29-26 at halftime, and 43-36 heading into the final frame. With 6:20 left to play and Clinton County leading by eight, the Patriots' Wayne Hanes fouled out, causing the cheering section to become as quiet as a graveyard, but with 2:14 left to play something unwanted happened....Kenneth Conner fouled out. What followed was a rally for the ages, as Allen County sparked big, scoring the games final eleven points to win 58-47. The Patriots' rock solid defense had held the Bulldogs to only four points in the last quarter.

"Even though the Bulldogs lost the game, there is not a thing to be ashamed of," wrote Jimmy Huccaby in the Clinton County News, "because this has been one of the best seasons ever witnessed by a Clinton County team and fans," he added. Our season was over, but for Coach Castle it would be the best won-loss record of his career, 30 wins and 4 losses.

There were a lot of great players on that Bulldogs team. Coach Castle claimed Sherman York was one of the best defensive guards the district had ever produced.....racking up many steals and turning them into fast break baskets. The coach would have known that first hand. As a freshman at the University of Kentucky, he was a shining star, a starter on the 1949-50 Kittens team that won 15 games and lost just once. "Castle is a ball-hawking specialist that set up the Cat's fast break offense," wrote Bob Gorham in the Kentucky Kernel.

"Sherman has the courage of a Bulldog. His floor play was a comfort to his doting coach." L.H. 'Prof' Robinson, 12/21/61

If you've heard stories about how great of a player Sherman was in high school, he was even better at Campbellsville University, where he played two seasons with another Clinton County High School player, 6'6" Bobby Reneau. Sherman lettered in three sports: basketball, track and baseball. In basketball, he was the captain of the Tigers and was a great asset as both a leader and playmaker. During his senior year in 1967 he was named Outstanding Athlete of the Year. Earlier that same year, he had been selected outstanding basketball player. He had also been named to the All K.I.A.C. Team in that sport. He was a valuable member of the track team at Campbellsville, where he captured first place several times in the 100 and 220 yard dashes.

As coach of the Wayne County Cardinals for four years, 1967 to 1971, Sherman did real well, guiding the Cardinals to an overall record of 56 wins and 37 losses. He posted a won-loss record of 6-14 his first season, 16-9 his second season, 15-7 his third season and 19-7 his final season. While at Wayne County, he also served as cross-country coach for three years and baseball and golf coach for two years. He also served as assistant football coach for one season. Sherman was inducted into the Cardinal Club's hall of fame in 1995 and the Wayne County High School Hall of Fame in 2007.

In November of 1981, H & W Sport Shop opened up in the Town, and Country Plaza in Monticello as the first store in Monticello to be devoted strictly to sports men and women. It was third in a chain of H & W Sport Shop's owned by Ronnie Hord and Ron Wilson of Campbellsville. Sherman managed the Monticello store and was also co-owner.

"We can always use a boy like Sherman York. His kind gladden the hearts of parents, coach, student body and faculty members. His kind will make a contribution to his generation." L.H. 'Prof' Robinson, 11/30/61

1961-62 SEASON
Nov. 3, Shopville 90 - 29 W
Nov. 7, at McCreary County 86 - 53 W
Nov. 10, at Ferguson 68 - 46 W
Nov. 17, South Hopkins 82 - 49 W
Nov. 24, at Ralph Bunche 62 - 61 W
Nov. 28, Pickett County 92 - 44 W
Dec. 1, Tompkinsville 73 - 40 W
Dec. 4, at Cumberland County 64 - 44 W
Dec. 5, at Gamaliel 77 - 57 W
Dec. 8, Metcalfe County 81 - 47 W
Dec. 12, at Greensburg 77 - 65 W
Dec. 15, Celina 68 - 35 W
Dec. 19, at Pickett County 74 - 25 E
Dec. 28, at Russell County/Adair County 43 48 L
Dec. 29, at Russell County/Monticello 82 - 44 W
Jan. 5, at Tompkinsville 91 - 61 W
Jan. 9 Shelby County CANCELLED
Jan. 12, McCreary County 73 - 52 W
Jan. 13, at Campbellsville Durham 42 - 46 L
Jan. 16 at Metcalfe County 57 - 54 W
Jan. 19, Gamaliel 79 - 43 W
Jan. 23, at Bowling Green 77 - 47 W
Jan. 30, Russell County 73 - 53 W
Feb. 1, Cumberland County 65 - 53 W
Feb. 6, at Liberty 99 - 67 W
Feb 9, Christian County 72 - 63 W
Feb. 13, Ferguson 104 - 48 W
Feb. 16, Campbellsville Durham 87 - 65 W
Feb. 20, Ralph Bunche 49 - 34 W
Feb. 23, at Celina 90 - 60 W
20th District Tournament at Edmonton
Feb. 28 Cumberland County 58 - 31 W
Mar. 2 Gamaliel 69 - 35 W
Mar. 3 Metcalfe County 58 - 59 L
5th Region Tournament at Bowling Green High
Mar. 7 Metcalfe County 83 - 53 W
Mar. 8 Allen County 47 - 53 L
Record: 30-4 (Coach Castle's best record) 104 points vs Ferguson/Feb. 13, 1962 set a record.

Kenneth Conner's personal scoring record was made and broken during this season. He beat his previous record of 32 points against McCreary County during the 1960-61 season by scoring 41 points on Dec. 29, this season, against Monticello. And then on Feb. 6th, this season, he broke that record when he scored 42 points in the game against Liberty.

Jackie Latham

The date was Nov. 13, 1956. The location was the Clinton County High School gymnasium. It was opening night for the 1956-57 basketball season and the Marrowbone Cardinals were in town. No other game could have provided any greater highlights than there was that night at CCHS. Coach Bill Kidd's Bulldogs had played poorly during the first half and were down by as many as 19 points in the third quarter, when suddenly the momentum began to change. The Clinton County News wrote that the Bulldogs began to claw their way back into the game by displaying a superbly aggressive style of defense, stealing the ball and causing their opponent to commit one mistake after another. With four seconds left to play, and CCHS trailing 49-to-48, Jackie Latham, a 16-year-old freshman guard, playing in his very first official varsity game, stepped up to the free throw line after being fouled and calmly made two free throws to give his team the win.

Fast forward to the 1958-59 season. Lindle Castle was now the head coach (his second season) and his basketball squad was playing its toughest sched­ule in the history of the school. Last year's team had produced a winning record for the first time since the 1954-55 season. It was Dec. 4th, about a month into the season, when Jackie Latham, now a junior, suffered a broken ankle after he slipped and fell on spilled Coca-Cola during a game against Burkesville at the Marrowbone gym. Even though the Bulldogs had the scoring power of Jim DeForest, Bob Reneau, Ken Conner and Billy Perdue, and help from other players like Walker Stockton, Lanny Weaver, Ira Davis, Ray Reneau and Clayton Brown, the loss of Latham was a huge blow to the team. He was averaging 19.1 points per game when the accident occurred. The hope was that he would be ready to go by district tournament time, and he was, scoring 17 points in the win against their first opponent, Cumberland County, and 24 when we beat Marrowbone in the championship game (DeForest had 33).

No one knew it, but the golden years of basketball under the leadership of Lindle Castle were just beginning. "Until two years ago," wrote James Paul Allen in the Clinton County News, "CCHS had begun to lose all hopes in its ball club, because they were having one losing season after another, and hadn't won a district trophy for a while. Then along came Coach Castle to renew the school spirit and build the Bulldogs to what they are today." The coach would later say, "We had a lot of one room schools out in the county at that time. We had goals put up at all of them. We had a lot of men teachers who were interested in basketball and taught the fundamentals of the game to their boys. They would play ball all year around. There wasn't that much else to do. The children wore out the goals practicing hour after hour. Then they started closing the one room schools in favor of better education. When these schools closed, the golden years ended."

The 1959 district championship was Clinton County's first one since 1944. Principal L.H. "Prof" Robinson wrote, "we entered the tournament as the most underrated, most forgotten team in tournament history. Somehow, I felt Jackie would throw away the shackles of plastic paris [the cast on his foot] and again roam the basketball court like a haunted ghost. It was a great day for CCHS when he was able to start practicing again. Even then, the faint hearted said he will never get back in condition this school year. They failed to reckon with the will of a boy who loves the sport of basketball and to reckon with the rapid recovery of a vigorous American boy." In the regional tournament, the Bulldogs lost their first game to Russellville, despite a double-double from Deforest (32 points and 18 rebounds), with Latham scoring 24 points for the second straight game.

Jackie worked hard on conditioning during the summer of 1959 and was ready to go by the time the next season rolled around. On opening night, Nov. 6th, he let everyone know he was back and better than ever by scoring 33 points on 13 field goals and seven free throws against the Marrowbone team. The Bulldogs were 6-0 when they played at Wayne County on Dec. 3rd. It has been said over the years that during the game the action was extremely rough. So rough, in fact, that near the end of the third quarter Coach Castle pulled his players off the floor and the game was over. A week later the KHSAA imposed a thirty-day suspension on the Bulldogs, ending play for the remainder of 1959. Games would resume on Jan. 3rd. The lay-off was actually good for Jackie, who had missed the last two games due to a hand injury.

By the end of February 1960, the Mighty Bulldogs were rated first in the district and second in the region. We won the district tournament by defeating Metcalfe County for the second time in three meetings. A fourth meeting between the two teams would occur on March 12th, when the Bulldogs edged past the Hornets 65-to-62 in overtime to win the school's first ever regional championship before a packed house of 4,500 people at Bowling Green High School. It would be the night that Jackie Latham, now a senior, would officially become a legend.

Metcalfe County's strong defense had kept the Hornets on top at the end of the first three quarters. The 4th quarter was no less than a battle between David and Goliath, Metcalfe County's 6'6 John Paul Blevins and Clinton County's 5'11 Jackie Latham. Clinton County News would describe it as "a battle between a real good big boy and a real good little one." On WANY, the Voice of the Bulldogs, Sid Scott, would describe it this way, "a big man versus a little man, and the little man is winning!

Here's how it went down: Blevins stung the Bulldogs with three straight goals to move Metcalfe to a 50-46 lead with less than three minutes left to play in regulation. Latham responded with five straight points to put Clinton ahead 51-50. He hit on a third straight field goal from the circle and it was 53-50 with 1:45 left. Blevins cashed in on two free throws, but so did Latham. Blevins' turnaround jumper made it 55-54, with Clinton County still on top. Billy Per­due connected on two free throws and with 57 seconds left Clin­ton County appeared to have it in the bag at 57-54. However, Blevins was fouled during a field goal attempt and converted both free throws with 47 seconds left to pull the Hornets to within one point. The Bulldogs tried to play keep away but Perdue misfired on a pass to Latham. With just 12 seconds remaining, Metcalfe County's Pierce was fouled by Wilkie Skipworth as he drove in for a layup. He made one of two free throws to tie the game at 57-all. Latham attempted a 12-foot jumper at the buzzer, but the ball bounced twice on the rim before falling off. It was all Clinton County in the overtime period. When the smoke cleared, three things had happened; the Bulldogs had won 65-to-62, Jackie Latham had scored 19 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and for the first time ever the Bulldogs were going to the Sweet 16.

"The Best Backcourt Duo in Kentucky in 1960"
By all accounts, Jackie Latham and Billy Perdue were the best backcourt duo in Kentucky in 1960. While Perdue, who had grown up in the Cartwright community, was known for his ability to score from long range, Latham, who lived next door at Upchurch, was known for his quickness and a two-hand set shot that rarely missed. Nick­named "Rabbit" because he was always running, Jackie hustled non-stop. It is said he once threw a bag of fertilizer on his back and ran a mile, just to show he could do it. At the age of 65, he played 202 holes of golf in one day. At the age of 70, he played ninety holes, running between every shot.

Someone once said it doesn't matter how long you live. What matters is what you do while you are living and what you leave behind when you are gone. Many older folks will tell you that Jackie Latham was probably the best guard Clinton County High School boys varsity basketball ever produced. One thing for sure, by the time he was finished, he had put a stamp on the future of CCHS basketball.

Jackie was inducted in the Clinton County High School Basketball Wall of Fame in 1999.

Left to Right: Jackie Latham, Coach Lindle Castle and Billy Perdue

"Roy Clark, Thanks For Coming"

I don't know whose idea it was to form the Hee Haw Gospel Quartet, but boy was it a good one. Formed In the late 1970s, the quartet consisted of Roy Clark, Buck Owens, Grandpa Jones and Kenny Price. They would gather around a microphone and sing a gospel hymn at the end of the show's last segment. Several of the quartet's performances were released as recordings. We had two albums at WANY and we played them a lot. When Elmer Goodman died Sid Scott told me he had regretted not taking him into a recording studio with The Singjng DJ's and recording a gospel album in Hee Haw Quartet fashion. That would have been awesome.

Yesterday when I first heard that Roy Clark, a Grammy-winning country music singer-guitarist, had died of pneumonia complications at the age of 85, I immediately thought of the Hee Haw Gospel Quartet.

Clark was born on April 15, 1933 in Meherrin, VA, but his family moved to Washington, D.C. when he was a kid. His father played in a square dance band and took him to free concerts by the National Symphony and by military bands. “I was subjected to different kinds of music before I ever played,” Clark once said. “Dad said, ‘Never turn your ear off to music until your heart hears it — because then you might hear something you like.”

Roy started playing the guitar when he was 14 years old. In the early days of his career, he performed with banjo player David “Stringbean" Akeman. He said, "We would play drive-in theaters, standing on top of the concession stand. If the people liked it, they'd honk their horns."

Roy began making records in 1954. It didn't take long for people to sit up and take notice of his guitar playing. In the mid 1950s, he honed his television chops as a regular on Country Style, the D.C.-based television show hosted by Jimmy Dean, eventually taking over as host after Dean relocated to New York

. His big break came in 1960, when he was invited to Las Vegas to open for Wanda Jackson. After her band broke up, Clark hired her manager, who secured him appearances on The Tonight Show and Beverly Hillbillies. Clark was guest host on “The Tonight Show” several times in the 1960s and 1970s, a rarity for a country performer at that time. Yankee's baseball great Mickey Mantle was moved to tears when he heard Roy sing “Yesterday When I Was Young” and for years made Clark promise to sing it at his memorial, a request granted when Mantle died in 1995.

His first hit single came in 1963 with his recording of the Bill Anderson song, "Tips of my Fingers." He scored a huge hit in 1969 with one of his most beloved recordings, "Yesterday When I Was Young." He followed that up in 1970 with, "Thank God and Greyhound She's Gone." His 1973 hit "Come Live With Me," went to #1. His recording of "Alabama Jubilee" won him a Grammy Award in 1982. He was also known for his instrumental versions of “Malaguena,” on 12-string guitar, and “Ghost Riders in the Sky.”

As if his pickin' the banjo or the guitar wasnt enough, Roy's sense of humor captured the hearts of his fans. In a 1966 appearance on the TV show, Swingin’ Country, the host, Rusty Draper, asked him, “About how long have you been performing?“ Without skipping a beat, Clark said, “About three months.”

The music-comedy TV show, Hee Haw, greatly impacted a whole generation of people, thanks largely to one of Kornfield Kounty's most popular residents, the show's co-host, Roy Clark. CBS launched Hee Haw in summer 1969 as country music’s answer to Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. Each episode was filled with country music stars and down-home comedy skits. It lasted three seasons on the network before moving to syndication, where it aired for 22 more years.

Hee Haw was theme-based on rural culture, although it was not limited to a rural audience. It was successful in all of the major markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Boston, and Chicago.

The show provided a lot of laughs, and plenty of country music. Buck and Roy hosted the show through most of its run for most of its run. Their dialogue at the beginning of each show became one of most popular quotes ever: "I'm a-pickin' (Buck Owens)and I'm a-grinnin' (Roy Clark.

My favorite Roy Clark skit was set in a barber shop with Archie Campbell, a barber, cutting Roy's hair as he told one if his stories, like the one about Rindercella, her mugly other, two sad bisters and a very prandsom hince, or how about the "Oh that's good, no that's bad" gag? There was also the one where Roy would raise up from behind the counter to exclaim "Empty Arms Hotel!" Clark said Hee Haw capped off his career. “This was the icing on the cake," he said. This put my face and name together.” Another favorite of mine was the lamentful song "Gloom, Despair and Agony on Me," featuring Roy Clark, Buck Owens, Gordie Tapp and Archie Campbell.

Roy Clark was member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He also won the Acedemy of Country Music’s Pioneer Award. Beginning in 1983, Roy opened the Roy Clark Celebrity Theatre in Branson, Missouri, and was one of the first country entertainers to open a theater there. Dozens followed him.

Roy was all about spreading love and good cheer. One of my all-time favorite quotes came when he said, "The next chance you get, do somethin' nice for somebody - say 'good day,' hold a door open - and don't wait around for a thank you...you don't need it." If only we would all do that, the world would be a better place. Roy must have known that.

He appreciated his fans and always let them know that he did. At the end of his concerts, he would tell the audience: “We had to come, but you had a choice. Thanks for being here.”

Yes, we had a choice and we chose you, Roy Clark. Thanks for coming. We were not let down. Thank you for the music, and for the laughs.

I close my story with the Hee Haw Gospel Quartet singing a beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace, featuring Charlie McCoy on harmonica.