What a team!
When water cooler talks of all the great basketball teams-both boys and girls- in our state’s great sports history, seldom if ever do we hear mention of the early Ashland girls teams. They dominated as much then as the Laurel County girls did under Coach Roy Bowling in the mid to late ‘70’s. The only sound reasoning behind no one talking of them is due to it being so long ago.
Let’s begin with the 1921 state championship team. The 1922 Ashland Kittens won the state title again. Both teams went 19-0. In 1923 they wore out opponents in District Tournament play (there were no Regionals at that time) and went to the State semifinal round before falling. In 1924 the Kittens, as they were called (as opposed to their boys team, the Tomcats) were back at it, taking it all once again with a 19-1 record, defeating Georgetown’s Buffalette’s (as opposed to their boys team, the Buffaloes) in the championship round. In 1925 the Kittens were in the State Tournament once again, only to fall in a draw that would send them against the Buffalettes in the quarterfinals. The Buffalettes prevailed. The 1926 Kittens fell in the 1st round of State Tournament play.
In 1927 the format had changed to Class A and Class B teams in the State Tournament, based on school size. Changes also did away with a lot of teams in the State Tournament as that year there were not only Districts but also Regions, narrowing the field for State Tourney play. There were six Regions. The two class champions would then face off for the State championship. Due to its size Ashland played in Class A, the larger schools side of the tourney. Georgetown had been in the State Tournament many times in the early years and had gone by the name of “Georgetown,” but had changed their official name to Garth for four seasons beginning in the 1925-26 season. The girls tournaments ceased after the 1932-33 season until 1974-75.
Looking at the boys’ side, Garth went back to using the name Georgetown again in the 1957-58 season. Georgetown/Garth were very dominant in those early womens’ State Tournaments and their games with Ashland must have been much anticipated matches. Class A and Class B winners in a Region would play each other to determine the Regional overall champion, but both would play in the State Tournament in their own class. The two winners then played each other for the overall State championship.
Ashland had won the 6th Region one that included Maysville, Jenkins, Paintsville, Stanton, Germantown (near Maysville),Prichard, Mt. Sterling and Ashland. Ashland’s Kittens would go to the Class A final before falling to their old nemesis Garth.
The 1928 Carr Creek boys team played as a Class B team, winning the Class B title then holding Ashland to four OT’s before eventually falling. They and the Ashland boys also went on to play in Chicago in the National Tournament. Carr Creek won several games there while the Tomcats of Ashland won it all.
Ashland’s 1928 girls were awesome too. All five starters were seniors. They had gone all of the regular season losing but one game: to the Garth/Georgetown Buffalettes in overtime. That loss was avenged at the end of the season when Ashland defeated them 23-6 at home, as well as in the first round of State Tournament Class A play where the Kittens rolled to a 23-14 victory. They then disposed of Providence and Danville to win the Class A championship and then defeated Class B champs Oddville 23-10 to once again claim the State title. The Kittens, according to a newspaper account of the time, averaged a point per minute all year while allowing their opponent a ¼ point average per minute played. That 1928 championship gave the girls team four championships in the first eight years of the State Tournament.
Alice Rhodemyer was the center on that team, with forwards Mildred Belt and “Red” Ashworth. At the guard positions in the starting lineup were Wilma Hamm and Thelma Young. At the State Tournament sportswriters picked what they said should have been an All-State team, though there wasn’t an official All-State team. Their choices included three of the Kittens: Rhodemyer, Ashworth and Young.
Ashland was coached from the 1920-21 season through the 1932-33 season by Walter B. Jackson. Jackson was principal at the junior high school and made no additional money for coaching until he won a couple of State titles. Then he received a few hundred dollar raise. He believed in basketball knowledge, physical fitness and a fighting spirit that made the first two effective. His claim that none of his girls ever fainted on the court was a source of pride.
Remarkably, the Kittens, with all five starters graduated from that championship team of 1928, came back in 1929 and won it all again! And they were undefeated with a 21-0 record. They defeated the Garth Buffalettes in the final round of Class A and Oddville in the championship game. That season the number of regions was increased to eight as the state’s teams grew in number.
The Kittens won the 8th Region again in 1930 but fell to eventual State champions Hazard in the 1st Round of State play.
In 1931 the Kittens returned as they won the 8th Region again, defeated Hazard and Horse Cave and Hardinsburg to capture the Class A title but fell to Class B champs Woodburn in the State championship round.
In 1932 the Regions had expanded to 16. Ashland was now playing in the 14th Region and won it again. They then fell to Earlington in the first round of Class A play in the State Tournament.
In 13 seasons under Coach Jackson the Ashland Kittens had an outstanding record of 239-18. Five of those 13 seasons (If I counted correctly) resulted in State Championships.
