Three former Russellville Panthers are to be added to the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame during a ceremony which Friday. Jan. 30, on Jim Young Gymnasium’s Phil Todd Court.
They are Donald Bell (Class of 1972), Roger Dale Daniel (’75) and Clay Parrish (’84).
Here’s a look at this talented trio:
Donald ‘Duck’ Bell
Duck Bell was a basketball and baseball star for the Panthers and was also a steady baseball player for three years under Coach Larry Reeder.
In basketball, he was a three-year starter for Hall of Fame Coach Wayne Mullen. As a senior, he was captain, All Sky and All District.
In football, he was a three-year starter for Hall of Fame Coach Stumpy Baker and Coach Jim Gladden, both of whom became college coaches. The Panthers won district championships his first two years as a starter and a regional title in 1970. As a senior, he was captain of Gladden’s last team and was named All-SKY.
He was an integral part of three of Panther football’s most memorable games, unfortunately all close losses. He was a starter at defensive back as a sophomore on the 1969 team that lost 0-0 in a statistics-based overtime in the regional championship game at Tompkinsville. As a junior he was a primary player in s 7-6 loss to eventual state champion Bardstown in the state semifinals. As a senior, he rushed for 100 yards and scored three touchdowns in the Panthers’ 27-19 hard-fought loss to eventual state champion Trigg County in a district showdown.
If any Panther has experienced the agony of defeat, it's Donald Bell. On Jan. 30, however, he will experience the thrill of victory as his friends and family will get to see him honored as a winner by entering the Russellville Athletic Booster Club Athletic Hall of Fame..
Roger Daniel
Roger Dale Daniel enters the Hall of Fame as a triple threat—as an athlete, a coach, and a school volunteer. It could also be added as a girls’ dad.
He was a member of two basketball district championship teams in1974 and ’75 under Hall of Fame Coach Mickey Meguiar. He was playing behind a quartet of frontcourt stars in Morris Kisselbaugh, Charlie Richardson and Hall of Famers Phil Todd and Forrest Killebrew. He was learning the game from Meguiar, though, and he was perfecting his long-range shooting, which he often displayed in the Russellville Recreation Center as an adult.
He is most known for his volunteer work with Panther youth for six decades. He was so dedicated to youth coaching and so successful at it that the News-Democrat & Leader once named him Citizen of the Year. The staff of Russellville Recreation, which included him, was also named Group of the Year.
Consider these numbers to document his success:
*Coached Junior Pro basketball for 14 years, winning 11 championships with a 120-6 record.
*Guided his flag football team to 9 straight championships, winning 53 straight games with 71-3 record overall.
*RMS girls basketball head coach 3 years. RHS girls assistant coach 14 years. RHS boys assistant coach 6 years.
*RMS football assistant coach 14 years
Additionally, his beloved daughters, Rachea and Nakia, were stars of Lady Panther basketball for several years. Roger and Nakia now will be the first father-daughter combo to be part of the RHS Hall of Fame.
Clay Parrish
If you are ever in a Trivia game and the question reads, “Which Russellville (KY) athlete was featured in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd?”, dazzle the crowd by answering “Clay Parrish!”
That came as a result of his power hitting for Coach Ted Zikeli’s baseball Panthers. In a game against Butler County in his junior year, he hit three home runs, two of them grand slams. He piled up 11 RBIs in that game. Earlier he had been coached by for Hall of Famer Gwynne Gaddie.
Baseball may have been his best sport, but a lot more people saw him play well in football and basketball.
He was a steady performer for Russellville basketball for three years under Coach Don Burton, becoming All-District as a senior. Many observers considered the Panthers to be the second-best team in the region that 1984 season, but they had to play their first district game against eventual state champion Logan County.
It was in football that he was a captain and a must-have-on-the-field player for Hs;; pf Fame Coach Ken Barrett’s 1983 state champion Panthers, even though they had great depth. He was the slotback on offense and a linebacker on defense. He shared that offensive backfield with quarterback Andy Woodall, fullback Rodney Gordon, and all-state tailback Jonathan Cage
Clay was a three-year starter in football. His last two Panther teams won the district twice, the regional champion twice and a state champion his senior year. He was All-District twice, All-Southcentral twice, All WKC twice, and All-State Honorable Mention twice.
Although he exceled in these three sports in high school, it was a fourth sport that supported him financially during many of his adult years. He worked as groundskeeper and greenskeeper for PGA great Phil Mickelson’s personal practice course on Lefty’s own property.
Induction of the three new Hall of Famers will be held between games of the Mullen-Meguiar Classic, commonly referred to as the Clash of the Cats. WRUS’ Lucas Celsor will be the master of ceremonies.