Nine individuals and three special teams have been selected for enshrinement into the 2026 Class of the Madison
County Sports Hall of Fame during the induction dinner that will be held at 5 p.m. on May 16th in the EKU Perkins
Building. Lee Anne Browder, the new chairman of the MCSHoF Executive Board, announced the names of the inductees and teams following the board’s December meeting. With the induction of the 2026 Class, the Madison County Sports Hall of Fame will include 46 individuals and 18 teams.
This fifth class includes (listed in alphabetical order):
- Jeff Cruse (Is a former outstanding baseball pitcher for Madison Central High School and Eastern Kentucky
University in the 1980s. He helped lead the Indians to a perfect 40-0 record, the KHSAA State
Championship, and the mythical National High School Championship in 1982 before going on to have a Hall of Fame career for Coach Jim Ward at EKU). - Larry French (Retired this past December as the third winningest high school football coach in Kentucky
History. He finished his career with 356 wins and 172 losses at six different schools in 44 years. He led
Boyle County H.S. to back-to-back Class 4A State Championships in 2009 and 2010.) - Damien Harris (Was the first 5-Star recruit in Kentucky high school football history after being selected a
two-time high school All-American at Madison Southern. He ran for 6,748 yards and 122 touchdowns in high school before starting three years at Alabama and helping lead the Crimson Tide to two national
championships). - Goebel “Tex” Ritter (Was a native of Richmond and excelled in football, basketball and baseball at Madison
Model from 1939-42. He earned a scholarship to Eastern Kentucky State College, but entered the U.S.
Marines where he was awarded two Purple Hearts for valor in the battles of Iwo Jima and Guam. He
returned to Eastern and became in Little All-American in three sports before being drafted by the New York
Knickerbockers in 1951. After a 151-game career, he returned to Kentucky to begin a high school basketball
coaching career that included 10 years at Hazard High where he led the Bulldogs to the 1955 KHSAA State
Championship). - Benny Roop (Made his name as high school baseball player at Madison Central as a power-hitting catcher.
He helped lead the Indians to the 1964 KHSAA State Championship after hitting the longest home run in the history of UK’s Stokely Athletic Center stadium that led to a 9-4 win over Bryan Station in the championship game of the Lexington Regional. Following high school, he was signed by the Detroit Tigers and played two years in the minor leagues). - Bill Maupin (Was a two-sport star at Waco High School from 1951-55. He excelled at both basketball and
baseball for the Cardinals before signing with the Detroit Tigers. Over six seasons in the Tigers’ system, he
compiled a career batting average of .258 with 30 home runs and 175 RBI in a 366-game career before
retiring after the 1961 season. - Luke Stocker (Was a standout tight end for Madison Southern High School and a highly-touted recruit
known for his big plays. He signed with the Tennessee Volunteers and earned All-SEC Freshman honors.
He finished his Vol career with 85 receptions for 956 yards and 8 touchdowns. He was drafted in 2011 by
Tampa Bay and played 142 games with the Bucs, Tennessee, Atlanta and Minnesota while making 85
catches for 703 yards and 5 touchdowns). - Sylvia (Tracy) Powell (Is recognized as the pioneer for starting girls’ sports at Madison Central High School
after graduating from Eastern Kentucky State Teacher’s College in 1960, she began her teaching career at
Central. She was drafted by then school Principal J.B. Moore to organize a girl’s basketball team and female
athletics grew from there). - Ray Vencill (Was an outstanding high School basketball coach for 16 years and led two different Kentucky
schools to the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen. He is remembered in Richmond for leading the 1969 and 1970
Madison High Royal Purples to the state tournament and his 1970 team advanced to the state finals before
falling to Louisville Male. He continued his career in his hometown of Elizabethtown where he led the
Panthers to three state tournament appearances in 1972, 1975 and 1978. The 1972 team finished as state
runner-up. In his 16-year career, he won over 300 games and was voted State Coach of the Year four
times). - The three teams that will be inducted are the 1960 Madison-Model football team, the 1961 Madison High
football team, and the 2012-13 Madison Central boys basketball team.
The 1960 Madison-Model and 1961 Madison football teams were the best two high school football teams in consecutive years in Madison County history. Roy Kidd’s 1960 team was the undefeated champion of the Central Kentucky Conference (11-0), but was not allowed to compete in the Class AA state playoffs due to a tie breaker system that allowed Lafayette to get the bid. The 25-year athletic partnership with Model was outlawed by the KHSAA following the school year. In 1961, Kidd was still the head man at Madison and the Purples won 13 consecutive games capturing the CKC and Class AA district and region titles before a loss to Ft. Thomas Highlands in the Class AA state title game. Including the last three games of the ‘59 season, Madison won 27 straight games and shut out their opponent 15 straight times.
The 2012-13 Central boys basketball team captured the school’s first Kentucky High School Athletic Association State Championship and finished the season with a 32-5 school record. The Indians clinched its first state championship by overcoming a 16-point deficit and getting a game-winning 3-point field goal by Ken-Jah Bosley with 2.2 seconds remaining to defeat Louisville Ballard 65-64 at Rupp Arena.
The starting date for ticket sales will be announced this spring through the media and via the Hall of Fame website (MadisonCountySportsHoF.com). The price of tickets will be $25. Tickets can also be secured as a benefit by becoming an official sponsor of the Madison County Sports Hall of Fame. Individuals and businesses are invited to join at one of three levels– Fan Level ($100-249), comes with two banquet tickets; the All-Star Level ($250-499), comes with four tickets; or the MVP Level ($500 and above) comes with a full table with eight tickets. To become a sponsor, visit the official website to complete and return the sponsorship form that can be found on the website.
