Two 21st century Panther greats and a legendary coach of the middle 20th century will be inducted into the Russellville Alumni Association Athletic Hall of Fame Friday in between games of the Class of the Cats/Mullen-Meguiar Cat Classic.
The inductees are the late Coach Stumpy Baker, current Panther football coach Mikie Benton, who was a multi-sport star as a Panther, as was his teammate and fellow inductee, Dustin Sydnor.
Here’s a look at the careers of the new Hall of Famers:
Coach Stumpy Baker
Throughout the decade of the 1960s, Clarence ‘Stumpy’ Baker coached Russellville football, the first five years as an assistant under Coach Waymond Morris and the last five as head coach. He was an integral part of the Panthers’ first two state finalist teams.
He and Morris came to Russellville together in the summer of 1960. Football City had endured a miserable winless season in 1959 under a one-year head coach. They immediately turned the Panthers into contenders. Three key players on that first team—Dr. George Hill and the late Dicky Bagby and Larry Johnson—are members of the Russellville Alumni Association Hall of Fame, an elite group Baker is now joining.
Classification and playoff football were in their infancy when Morris and Baker led the 1964 Panthers to the state championship game on the University of Kentucky’s football field. Hall of Famers General Jerry Humble and the late Garry Todd were key players on that team, as were fellow 50 Greatest Panther Footballers Joe Hicks and the late Gary Silvey and Bennie Cox. The Panthers were beaten by Elkhorn City in the finals after star linebacker and fullback Humble was injured early in the game.
Morris left to coach Daviess County High School in his native Owensboro after that season, taking Assistant Coach Howard Wren with him. Baker became head coach.
His second team, the 1966 Panthers, put together an undefeated season until losing 6-2 to Dayton in the state finals. Both teams blocked a punt, but Russellville had to settle for a safety while Dayton fell on theirs for a touchdown. Baker’s team almost pulled off the win in the final minutes when Garry Todd took quarterback Freddie Atkinson’s pass to the Dayton two-yard line. The Panthers couldn’t get the ball into the end zone before the game ended. In addition to Todd and Atkinson, starters Donnie Baggett and the late Ricky Stack and Henry Noe were among the 50 Greatest, as were reserves Toby Nichols and the late Larry Duffey.
Two of Baker’s top players were brothers Brad and the late Chris Watson. Brad is the only RHS graduate to become a member of an NFL team so far. He was on the Practice Team of the Washington Redskins before becoming a member of the first-ever Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Chris became a member of the U.S, Army Academy team at West Point.
If the 1966 state finals that ended 6-2 is Russellville’s most famous loss, the runner-up in that category would be Coach Baker’s last game, a scoreless tie in the 1969 regional finals that was declared a Tompkinsville win, based on overtime statistics. It was the only season that tiebreaker was used by the KHSAA. Hall of Famers on that team were Duffey and quarterback Virgil Benton. They are joined on the 50 Greatest squad by teammates Billy Costello, Bob Tattitch and Dennis Cabbage.
Baker’s head coaching record at RHS was 32-19-2 over a five-year span. His teams won the district twice, the SKY League twice, the WKC once, and a state semifinal. He was named state Class A Coach of the Year in 1966,
While he was at RHS, he was head coach of the girls track team and an assistant basketball coach. He also was the designated leader of several Senior Trips to Washington and New York.
After leaving Russellville, he became an assistant coach at both his alma mater, Western Kentucky University where he had played for the Hilltoppers, and Morehead State University. He returned to the area to become the second head coach of Logan County’s new football program. He had led the Cougars to their first two district championships before his untimely death of a heart attack at age 58. Before his death, he joined with Russellville Hall of Fame Coach Ken Barrett in creating the Clash of the Cats football game.
Stumpy Baker had married RHS graduate Freida Burchett, who became principal of Russellville Middle School. They have two sons, Chris and James Baker.
Dustin Sydnor
One of the quickest players in Russellville High School history, Dustin Sydnor exceled in both track and football. He was a four-year starter at Rhea Stadium for Coach John Myers and has been named one of the 50 Greatest Players in RHS Football History.
Sydnor has been declared the leading Panther rusher ever with 3,633 yards. He also is the school record holder in career touchdowns with 36. He was Honorable Mention All-State in 2007.
In track, he won the state championship in the 200-meter dash. He holds the school record in that event and also in the 100. His 100-meter record is 10.6 and his record time in the 200 is 21.6.
Together with Benton, he is part of the school records in both the 4x100 and 4x200 relay events.
Dustin comes from a great RHS sports lineage. His dad, Dennis Sydnor, was a key member of Coach Floyd Burnsed’s 1975 state championship track team. Dennis spent many years as Russellville boys track coach and is one of the newer members of the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
Dennis and Dustin Sydnor become the second father-son duo in the RHS Hall of Fame, joining Tom and Nathan Thompson.
His mother, Rochelle Sydnor, is part of the Jackson family, which has played roles in Russellville sports for decades. She is also a civic leader and is a key member of those who plan and lead the annual Eighth of August Emancipation Celebration.
Dustin is married to the former AnnLinton Smith. Her dad, the late Mike Smith, was quarterback of the first Panther team to win a district football championship in nine years in 1979. Her grandfathers, Buddy Linton and Ken Smith, played big roles in RHS football history.
Mikie Benton
Mikie Benton has demonstrated great skills as a high school athlete, as a starter in SEC football, and as a coach.
The Bentons and their descendants have been part of Russellville sports for what seems like ages. Mikie’s dad, Michael Benton, was one of a three-man rushing attack for the 1964 state finalists, joining Garry Todd and Mike Murphy. Another Benton quarterback and multi-sport standout, Virgil Benton, is a member of the Hall of Fame.
A graduate in the Class of 2008 like Sydnor who was as good or better at track than at football, Mikie joins Sydnor on those two record-setting relay teams and on the 50 Greatest Panthers honor roll.
As a Panther gridder, Benton rushed for 700 yards and passed for another 700 as a senior. He also had another matching pair of stats that year, rushing and passing for 28 touchdowns, 14 of each. That year he led Coach John Myers’ team to a Class 3A district championship. The Panthers continued winning before losing to eventual state champion Louisville Central.
He had nine career interceptions on defense, which helped pave the way for his starting in the University of Kentucky secondary his final two seasons at UK.
Mikie Benton RHS Class of 2008. RHS Track 2005-08. State runner up 110 high hurdles in 2006. State Champion in 2007 and 2008. School record 14.30. Broke 30 year old record in triple jump 47 ft 1 in. Held by HOF Forrest Killebrew in 1976. RHS Basketball 2004-08. Panther Football 2004-07. Played qb and DB for Coach Myers. accounted for 28 touchdowns his senior season Rushing for 14 and passing for 14. Had 9 career interceptions, Leading Panthers to District championship losing to eventual AA State Champion Louisville Central in 2007 Honorable Mention All State in 2007. Earned scholarship at UK and starting defensive back for two seasons. Returned to Coach Myers staff and was named his successor in 2017. State runner up in 2021 earning Class A State Coach of the Year in 2021. Also named on of "50 Greatest Panthers" in 2016. .
In track, he was state champion in the 110-meter hurdles twice after finishing as state runner-up as a sophomore. He set three school records, joining Sydnor on those two relay teams and breaking the triple jump record set by Hall of Famer Forrest Killebrew three decades earlier with an eye-popping 47 feet, 1 inch.
He also started in basketball for Coach Dennis Pardue.
When his academic and athletic career at UK ended, Mikie came home to teach and to coach under his former RHS coach. Then when Myers left before the 2017 season, Benton was named head football coach, breaking through two former ceilings. He is both the first African American and first former Panther to become the head football coach at RHS.
In 2021, Mikie Benton was named state Coach of the Year while guiding the Panthers to the state finals for the first time in 31 years.