VANCEBURG – Six inductees headline the second class of the Lewis County Schools High School Athletic Hall of Fame, which will be honored between games of boy-girl basketball doubleheader on Saturday at Lewis County Middle School.
Inductees include: Bob Bane, Marty Dummit, Stephanie Fraley-Lawhun, Gary Kidwell, Glen McDaniel and the late John Lykins.
Bob Bane – Few people ever get to live life entirely on their terms and change their hometown through sheer will and determination, but Bob Bane is the rare exception. Bane scored 1,943 points, good enough for third all-time at Tollesboro High School, but that is only telling half the story. Together with his younger brother Alan, they helped create the spark for Tollesboro’s winning basketball tradition. Bane’s career began with a bang – as a freshman he was a member of a team that took down a dynasty.
That 1955 Tollesboro team under coach William ‘Teence’ Ryan won 21 games, the most in school history to that point, and ended the career of legendary Maysville coach Earle D. Jones with a 47-45 upset in the 39th District tournament. After 18 wins the next year, things got even better as the 1957 team finished 25-3 and followed with 20 more wins in 1958. The team’s 84-31 record was the best stretch in history to that point and the 2nd best mark in the 70-year history of Tollesboro basketball. To put this accomplishment in perspective, in the 4 years preceding Bane’s arrival, Tollesboro won 18 games total. The school had enjoyed only five winning seasons in 30 years – it had four during his tenure. Bane averaged 24 points per game in 1957 and 25 points in 1958. He was named honorable mention All-State by the Courier-Journal in 1958. Bane attracted interest from numerous colleges but he followed his true love – farming – as a lifelong vocation in his hometown.
Marty Dummitt – Dummitt has the honor of being Lewis County’s first state-championship athlete, a feat he accomplished not once but twice. The track and field standout made the Class 2A State Track and Field Meet his own personal playground in 2005 and 2006. Blessed with an ability to jump like few in northeastern Kentucky have before or since, combined with a flawless technique, Dummitt qualified for the 2005 state meet at the University of Kentucky in the high jump. He completed a personal best 6- foot-4 inches, which was good enough for the state championship. Dummitt returned to the state meet for his senior year in 2006. Again, he cleanly cleared the 6-foot-4 mark during the final round, which was good enough for back-to-back state championships in the event. Dummitt was named to the Ashland Daily Independent All-Area team in 2005 and 2006 and earned first team all-state honors in 2006 by the Kentucky Track and Cross Country Coaches Association. Dummitt’s high jump marks still stand as Lewis County track and field program records nearly two decades after his graduation.
Stephanie Fraley – Fraley seemingly did it all for Lewis County on the basketball court in the late 1980s.
Fraley scored 2,125 career points, a total that stood for nearly 25 years as the school’s all-time career mark. She still holds the single-game scoring record with 50 points set during her senior season. She led the Lady Lions to a pair of 62nd District runner-up finishes and berths in the 16th Region tournament in both 1989 and 1990. In 1990, she was not going to be denied as she scored a Lewis County postseason record, boys or girls, with 44 points as the Lady Lions upset East Carter in the 62nd District Tournament.
For her exploits, Fraley was named All-Area by the Ashland Daily Independent in 1989 and 1990 and honorable mention All-State by the Courier-Journal in 1990. Fraley was also a standout on the newly minted Lady Lion softball team, which began play in slow pitch in 1988. She helped lead the team to a winning record in its second season and a 12-12 mark in 1990.
Gary Kidwell – A longtime supporter of high school athletics in both Lewis County and northeastern Kentucky, Kidwell has been a player, coach, administrator, official and supporter of student-athletes in Lewis County for seven decades and counting. Kidwell began as a player in the late 1950s under head coach Bob Wright until a heart ailment forced him to miss most of his high school career. Cleared to play his senior year, he helped the Lions to an 18-win season in 1961. After his first coaching stint at Millersburg Military Institute, Kidwell returned home in 1967, where he served as an assistant and later head basketball coach for 20 years, head baseball coach for 15 and assistant football coach for 10, as well as athletic director for nearly two decades. The Lions baseball team won 217 games, the 1977 10th Region championship and a state quarterfinal appearance during his tenure, as well as an additional seven district titles and 2 regional runner-up (1984, 1986) finishes. His Lions basketball teams won 153 games and three consecutive 62nd District championships in 1976-78. After retiring from coaching, Kidwell found a busy second career, first as LCHS athletic director, baseball and softball umpire and later Commissioner of the Eastern Kentucky Conference and member of the KHSAA Board of Control. Kidwell continues to serve the people of Lewis County and highlight the accomplishments of its student-athletes as sports editor of the Lewis County Herald and as host of Saturday Morning Sports on WKKS radio, both positions he has held since 1975.
John Lykins – Lykins graduated in 1953 as one of the school’s best all-around athletes. He led the Lions to their first 16th Region championship game and was named honorable mention all-state as a senior. At the time of his graduation he was likely the first member of the VHS 1,000 point club with 1,001 unofficial points. Lykins was also a baseball standout for the Lions and later played for two seasons (1958-59) in the Cleveland Indians organization. Following his career at Vanceburg, Lykins was a standout basketball and baseball player at Georgetown College from 1953-57. He later served as head coach at Frankfort and Franklin County for 11 years and compiled a 211-99 record, including the 1967 11th Region championship for the Flyers. During this time Lykins was a special recruiting assistant to Adolph Rupp from 1964-71, and later served as an assistant to mentor Dr. Robert Davis at Auburn for five seasons (1974-78). Auburn beat national runner-up Kentucky in 1975 and its 18 wins were the most for the Tigers in a dozen years. Lykins later became the first Caucasian head coach in the history of Kentucky State University in 1982.
Glen McDaniel – McDaniel represented Lewis County athletics’ brief stint in the 10th Region with an all-state resume. McDaniel came to Lewis County before his sophomore year and over the next three years became one of the school’s best all-time athletes. A two-time honorable mention all-state selection in basketball, McDaniel scored 1,567 points in his career, good enough for third on the Lewis County all-time scoring list at the time of his graduation in 1969. McDaniel was slowed by an injury early in his senior season but he saved his best for last as he powered the Lions into the 10th Region tournament with 23 points in a district semifinal upset of 22-game winner Tollesboro. While his contributions on the basketball court are impressive, his baseball career is legendary. After pitching the Maysville Carnation knothole team to a national championship as a 12-year-old, McDaniel’s arm only got stronger. He pitched an amazing seven career no-hitters and led the Lions to the 1968 EKC championship. He regularly matched zeroes with the area’s best, including future Big Red Machine ace and McKell High legend Don Gullett, a later summer teammate on the American Legion baseball circuit. McDaniel’s pitching prowess earned him a scholarship to Morehead State University. Longtime Cincinnati Reds scout Gene Bennett called McDaniel a sure professional prospect until an arm injury suffered with MSU ended his career.
The Hall of Fame was established to recognize the athletic achievements of players, coaches, administrators and contributors from each of the four high schools (Vanceburg High School, Tollesboro High School, Laurel High School and Lewis County High School) that have existed in the past century in Lewis County.
“It’s an honor to welcome these six individuals to the Hall of Fame,” said Jamie Weddington, superintendent of Lewis County Schools. “Each of this year’s inductees contributed their unique skills to their teams and their chosen sports and helped build the success we see today, not only in the athletic arena, but in each of our communities throughout Lewis County. For that we are forever grateful.”
A reception will be held for the inductees before the Lewis County-Scott girls’ basketball game at noon on Saturday, followed by a ceremony before the Lions take on Paintsville in the boys’ game at 3:30. A wall of honor will display the names of each of the Hall of Fame inductees in the lobby of the Lewis County Middle School gymnasium, where high school games are played.
“It is great to see the community come out and honor these people who gave so much for each of the four schools in Lewis County,” said Lewis County Principal and Committee Chairman Jack Lykins. “We were overwhelmed by the support shown to the inaugural class and we hope it grows each year. With the help of our generous community sponsors we are able to build a lasting tribute to each class with plaques and a tv screen in the lobby of our middle school gymnasium.
Lewis County Schools High School Athletic Hall of Fame
79 Lions Lane Vanceburg, Ky. 41179
(606) 796-2823 lewis.ky.schools.us/lewiscountyhighschool.aspx
Our county values our history and each of our student-athletes who have made the commitment to represent them for the past century. I’m thrilled we are able to do this each year.”
Members of the community may nominate any former athlete, coach, administrator or contributor to the Hall of Fame Committee for consideration for induction. The deadline for nomination forms to be submitted is Dec. 1 of each year. Applications should be sent to: Lewis County High School Principal, Attn: Athletics Honors and Awards Committee, 79 Lions Lane, Vanceburg, Kentucky 41179.
