The 50 Greatest Panthers who have played for the Russellville football program over the 82 seasons since it began in 1935 have been named.
At least those named are the 50 greatest according to a committee headed by Greg Owens, a 1973 graduate of Russellville High School who spends an extraordinary amount of time finding ways to honor Panther alumni through the Russellville Alumni Association Hall of Fame and countless ceremonies at Rhea Stadium along with the Kelly Russell Classic in baseball.
Panther teams have recorded 512 wins, 3 state championships (1980,1983 and 1990), 3 state runners-up 1964,1966 and 1987, 13 regional championships, 23 district championships and 3 undefeated regular seasons (1950,1966 and 1984) plus many Western Kentucky Conference and SKY League championships.
Owens wrote on his R Club Facebook page: “Every decade of Panther Football is represented by at least one player. Of the 50 players, 21 were linemen and 29 were backs, 25 played in a state championship game, 4 were SKY League Players of the Year, 7 were named to at least 1 Prep All American team, 47 were mentioned on at least 1 all-state team.
“All 50 were either All WKC, All SKY or mentioned on at least 1 all-state team, several multiple times. 26 played college football, one on a National Championship team and there are 3 sets of brothers.”
Also wearing Greatest titles are Coach Jimmy Haynes’ 1950 Panthers as Greatest Team, and Ken Barrett as Greatest Coach
Owens wrote: “The 1950 "Golden Panthers" finished the regular season with a record of 10-0. They were ranked #2 in the state overall, and this was well before the class system started in Kentucky. They were crowned Western Kentucky Conference champions, outscoring their opponents by an average of 31-6 and recorded 5 shutouts.
“Ken Barrett coached our Panthers from 1976-1997, winning 161 games and losing 102. Under his leadership we won three state championships, 1980, 1983 and 1990, finishing second in 1987. He was the 1984 State Coach of the Year and is a member of the KHSAA and Russellville Alumni Association's Athletic Hall of Fame.”
The honorees are as follows:
Greatest Team: Undefeated and Second Ranked Overall 1950 Golden Panthers
Greatest Coach: Three-Time State Champion Ken Barrett
1930s: Homer Chapman
1940s: John Williams, Owen Chapman, Kenneth Knight
Undefeated 1950 Golden Panthers: Jim Sanford, Larry Ludwig, James Holman, Huey Hinton
1950s: Jere Hopson, Granville Taylor, Sonny Duncan, Johnny Guion
1960s: Larry Johnson, Larry Duffey
1964 State Runner-Up: Joe Hicks, Jerry Humble, Gary Silvey, Bennie Cox, Garry Todd
1966 State Runner-Up: Freddie Atkinson, Henry Noe, Donnie Baggett, Ricky Stack, Toby Nichols, (Garry Todd)
1970 Regional Finalist: Billy Costello, Bobby Tattitch, Virgil Benton, Dennis Cabbage
1970s: Kenny Hancock, Phil Todd, Jimmy Smith
1980 State Champions: Tommy Wilkins, Bernard Bellamy
1983-84 State Champs and 24-Game Win Streak: Jonathan Cage, Oscar York, Brian Fruits, Rodney Gordon, Sonny Green, Eric Coker
1987 State Runner-Up: David Britt, Darwin Washington, Brad Brown
1990 State Champs: Andre Morris, Andy Britt, Onassa Duncan
1990s: Courtney Coker
2000s: Teco Dickerson, Dustin Sydnor, Mikie Benton, Tacorian ‘CoCo’ Darden
The players, Coach Barrett and members of the 1950 team will be honored on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 4 p.m. at Russellville High School. That will be between the Logan County Tobacco & Heritage Festival Parade and many class reunions that night. Many of the honorees most likely will be at the Alumni Association’s Meet & Greet in the deGraffenried Lobby at RHS the night before.
Of the 50 Greatest Players, 39 are still living. The deceased are Homer Chapman, John Williams, Kenneth Knight, Jimmy Sanford, Larry Ludwig, James Holman, Jere Hopson, Bennie Cox, Gary Silvey, Garry Todd and Larry Duffey.
Many outstanding players did not make the list, including the only two former Panthers who played in the NFL—Brad Watson and Tony Banfield; Bob Ballance who played for the University of Kentucky; Chris Watson, Josh Ryan, Jeff Ashby and Brandon Morris, who played for military academies; Coach Barrett’s son and grandson, Keb Barrett and Barrett Croslin, who quarterbacked their teams to great heights; Jerry Allen, who caught 110 of Jimmy Smith’s passes in two years; outstanding defenders Ricky Posey and Joe Foster from the 1970s teams; Andy Woodall, quarterback of the 1983 state champs whom the late long-time Offensive Coordinator Buddy Linton said was the quarterback he would choose for a big game; running backs Randy Smith and David McCormick, lineman Jeff Smotherman and defenders Tim Williams and Dickie Shifflett from the first state championship team; legendary barefoot punter Kyle Rushing; Randy Cowan, the only player to start on both sides of the ball on Coach Stumpy Baker’s regional finalist team that ‘lost’ a scoreless tie in overtime; Clay Parrish, the most versatile player, and linemen Al Smithand Brent Wilkins during that 24-game win streak; the talented Gough family—Michael, Reggie and Jonathan; great leaders like Hugh Waltrip, Andy Guion, Larry Johnson Jr. and Rusty Burchett; many outstanding players in the great runs Coach John Myers’ teams have mounted in recent seasons; and the list goes on.
Owens concludes: “I would like to thank all R Club members that participated in this long and very gratifying process. I learned that "Panther Pride" is alive and well in Russellville. The Panther Alumni that gave their time and expertise in selecting this awesome team all took this task very seriously and wanted it done the right way.”