Leitchfield and Brownsville natives, and a Fort Knox High School graduate, have been selected to the 2021 class of the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame.
In total, six individuals with strong Kentucky connections who have made outstanding contributions to sports have been selected to join the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame fueled by the Kentucky Lottery (KSHOF).
Selected for the high honor were Grayson County native, the late John Asher; Edmonson County native Keith Madison; and Fort Knox High School graduate Romeo Crennel.
John Asher – A native of Leitchfield, Asher was a well-known sports journalist and public relations expert who parlayed an award-winning career in radio news into a public relations position at Churchill Downs and recognition as the preeminent expert on the Kentucky Derby.
Asher worked in radio news for three decades, earned five Thoroughbred racing Eclipse Awards and the Scripps Howard National Headliner Award while at WAVE and WHAS radio stations in Louisville the 1980s and 90s, while being named the Associated Press Large Market Reporter of the Year in Kentucky seven times.
He was an accomplished play-by-play announcer for basketball, baseball and horse racing, including stints with the Louisville Redbirds, the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Boy’s Sweet Sixteen and Latonia Racetrack.
For 20 years (1997-2018), he was one of the most important public relations professionals in Thoroughbred racing, rising to the level of Vice President of Racing Information at Churchill Downs while earning numerous awards for his work in the industry. Asher passed away at age 62 in August 2018.
Keith Madison – A Brownsville native, Madison was head baseball coach at UK for 25 years (1979-2003), leading the Wildcats to 737 wins, third-most in SEC history when he retired, and second-most wins for any coach in any sport in UK history behind Adolph Rupp.
Madison was 26 when he took over at UK, the youngest Division I head baseball coach in history at the time, and coached 17 players who eventually played in the majors, including 2006 Cy Young winner Brandon Webb.
He coached nine UK All-Americans, 20 first-team All-SEC selections, 89 SEC academic honors award-winners and led UK to two NCAA appearances. In 1999, he was pitching coach for Team USA; in 2007, he was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame; and in 2013 earned the Lefty Gomez Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to amateur baseball.
Madison is a former president of the ABCA and currently chairman of the board. He and his wife, Sharon, devote their time to youth baseball instruction and baseball mission work.
Romeo Crennel – Currently Senior Advisor for Football Performance for the Houston Texans, Crennel graduated from Ft. Knox High School, then was a four-year starter in football for WKU (1966-69) and team captain as a senior.
Following one season as a graduate assistant coach at WKU, he was a fulltime defensive assistant in college for 11 years at WKU, Texas Tech, Mississippi and Georgia Tech. In 1981, Crennel moved on to a career in the NFL that stands at 38 years and counting.
His first stop was special teams coordinator with the New York Giants, and he moved through the ranks and was defensive coordinator for five Super Bowl wins – two with the Giants (1986, 1990) and three with New England (2001, 2003, 2004).
Crennel was named NFL Assistant Coach of the Year in 2003 by the Pro Football Writers of America. He was head coach at Cleveland four seasons and interim head coach for a season at both Kansas City and Houston.
Others selected for the 44th KSHOF class were Dwane Casey, member of the 1978 University of Kentucky NCAA Basketball National Champions who earned NBA Coach of the Year honors; Rachel Komisarz Baugh, an SEC-champion swimmer at UK and assistant coach at the University of Louisville who set five U.S. records and one world record and earned Olympic gold and silver; and Elmore Smith, an All-American basketball player who led Kentucky State University to back-to-back NAIA Championships who still holds the NBA single-game record for blocked shots.
A selection committee comprised of 15 sports media professionals from throughout the commonwealth selected this year’s class.
(Photo l-r: John Asher, Keith Madison)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@105.com
