During the 82nd season of Russellville football, the men who have been designated the 50 Greatest Panthers of all-time are to be honored on the final Saturday of the Logan County Tobacco & Heritage Festival.
The Russellville Alumni Association generally holds a Meet & Greet on the Friday evening before the parade, but the gathering has been moved to Saturday to accommodate this special event. Greg Owens, who directs athletic alumni activities for the city schools, has been planning and organizing this special occasion for over a year.
The late Homer Chapman is the first of the 50 chronologically while current WKU football starter Tacorian ‘Coco’ Darden is the youngest.
The 50 are as follows:
The 30s: Homer Chapman
The 40’s: John Williams, William Owen Chapman, Kenneth Knight
The 50’s: Jim Sanford, Larry Ludwig, James Holman, Huey Hinton, Jere Hopson, Granville Taylor, James ‘Sonny’ Duncan, Johnny Guion
The 60’s: Larry Johnson, Gary Silvey, Bennie Cox, Jerry Humble, Joe Hicks, Garry Todd, Fred Atkinson, Donnie Baggett, Ricky Stack, Henry Noe, Toby Nichols, Larry Duffey
The 70’s: Billy Costello, Bobby Tattitch, Virgil Benton, Dennis Cabbage, Kenny Hancock, Phil Todd, Jimmy Smith
The 80’s: Tommy Wilkins, Oscar York, Bernard Bellamy, Jonathan Cage, Sonny Green, Brian Fruits, Rodney Gordon, Eric Coker, David Britt, Darwin Washington, Brad Brown
The 90’s: Onassa Duncan, Andre Morris, Andy Britt, Courtney Coker
The 00’s: Teco Dickerson, Dustin Sydnor, Mikie Benton
The 10’s: Coco Darden
Greatest Coach: Ken Barrett
Greatest Team: 1950 Panthers
The RHS Alumni Association along with the R Club are hosting a Meet and Greet for all Panther friends and alumni, Saturday, Oct 14, at 3 p.m. in the RHS Lobby. The 50 Greatest Football Panthers, Greatest Team, and Greatest Coach will be honored at 5 p.m.