At halftime of Friday night’s Grayson County football game against Nelson County, three former athletes will be inducted into the GCHS Athletics Hall of Fame.
Robert Douglas “Doug” Thompson
To many, when you ask the question of who the best athlete is to ever suit up for the Cougar Football team, the answer is the same; Doug Thompson.
Thompson was a three-year varsity letterman in football and basketball. In addition, he was selected to the Louisville Courier-Journal’s First Team All-State team and played in the East/West All-Star game.
Thompson was the biggest part of the first winning season for the Cougar football program in 1978. As a junior, he rushed for 1,503 yards and scored 17 touchdowns for the team that finished 7-4.
The next season, he performed at an even higher level, rushing for 1,764 yards and 23 touchdowns on 198 carries. Those totals combined for an average 176 yards per game and an unbelievable 8.9 yards per carry.
After graduating in 1980, Thompson played one year of football at Georgetown College where he was named Freshman of the Year.
He tragically passed away in 2015 but is survived by his children Joseph and Shauna Dean, his brother Billy Thompson, sister Angela Thompson and 4 grandchildren.
Tyler W. Green
One of the top tennis players in school history will also find his name enshrined on Friday evening.
Tyler Green was a member of the Grayson County Tennis team from 1990-95 and the basketball team from 1991-93.
While he was a member of the first Cougar Basketball team to make the Sweet 16, it is his accomplishments on the tennis courts that he continued after leaving GCHS.
Green played on the Centre College tennis team from 1995-99. While at the NCAA DIII school, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. After that, he attended the University of Cincinnati where he earned his Masters degree in 2002 and his Ph.D. in 2005.
Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Thomas More University in Crestview Hills.
He is married to his wife Erinn and has three children: T.J (9), Caroline (6) and Mary Kate (2). His parents Hub and Merry Lynn Green both live in Caneyville and his big sister is current GCHS tennis coach Sherry Vincent.
Dale Baldwin
Very few GCHS graduates can say that they have been a part of a team that won a national championship, even fewer can say that they have done that three times.
Dale Baldwin participated in cheerleading, football, and JV basketball while at Grayson County, but it was track and field where his name is etched into Cougar history. Baldwin broke school records in the Pole Vault while wearing the orange and blue.
Following graduation, he attended the University of Kentucky where he received a degree in Business Administration. While in Lexington, he was a UK Cheerleader for four years and also served as a coach for one year. Those five years helped him account for three national championships.
Currently, Baldwin lives in Simpsonville where he is married to Angela. His mother is Carol Baldwin and his sister is Jennifer (Jimmy) Wells.
Friday’s game is scheduled to kick off at 6:30 pm at Cougar Stadium. If you are unable to attend, you will be able to watch coverage of the game on K105’s Facebook/YouTube pages beginning with the Locker Room show at 6:00 pm. We will also stream the ceremony during that broadcast.
By Sam Gormley, Play-By-Play Announcer/Local Sports
Reach Sam at sam@k105.com
(Headline Photo L-R: Doug Thompson, Tyler Green, Dale Baldwin)
