Fred Vinson
The athletes who excel that have come from our area usually have gone on to successful lives. Here is one that went on to reach the pinnacle in his profession and shine a positive spotlight on the area.
Born in Louisa in 1890, Fred Vinson received primary and secondary schooling in Louisa and nearby Catlettsburg. He then graduated from Kentucky Normal College in 1908 ( A two year college that opened in the fall of 1906 in Louisa) and earned an A.B. Degree from Centre College in 1909, followed by an L.L.B. in 1911 from that institution, producing the highest average GPA in the history of that law school. From 1911 to 1923 he practiced law in Louisa, serving briefly as city attorney and commonwealth attorney. He also was an outstanding athlete at Centre and around our area.
Vinson was born in 1890 and in the Louisa newspaper of February 25, 1908 he is listed as a junior at Centre.He graduated from high school and then Ky Normal School in Louisa at a younger than usual age.
It is known that Vinson was a baseball player in his early days, but the documentation is sparse. He played for the Louisa town team as early as July 04, 1907 when a box score in the Paintsville Herald has him listed as going 0-3 at the plate against Paintsville’s town team according to J.R. VanHoose’s research in the Paintsville Herald. Vinson played shortstop.
In the spring of 1909, while attending Centre College he joined the school’s baseball team for a baseball tour of eight games in the state, winning them all according to The Big Sandy News. In 1910 Vinson was named captain of Centre’s baseball team (see clipping with box score vs. Kentucky).
One game he played at Centre was against Trinity College, which is now Duke University. He went five for five with two doubles and six stolen bases. He also turned in some spectacular fielding plays, but the credit was given mistakenly to a teammate in a newspaper the next day. In 1915 Vinson played semi-professional baseball for Paintsville. J.R. Van Hoose reported that in 1916 Vinson was playing for the team in Louisa while working as an attorney. He was not a power player, but was described as a “small ball” player. Short hits, including bunts.
He had a tryout with the Cincinnati Redlegs, but failed to make the cut. He turned down a tryout with the St. Louis Browns.
Another sport that he enjoyed was shooting. Vinson at 16 years of age was also the Secretary of the Gun Club in Louisa. The club hosted clay pigeon shooting.
Before starting law school Vinson had signed a contract to play professionally for a Lexington, Ky team. His mother made a trip to Lexington and bought out that contract for 25 cents. Her son was not going to waste his time playing sports when he had a bright future ahead of him. His mother must have been a woman of vision and wisdom.
Vinson served in many roles as an attorney. One was as city attorney in Louisa. Vinson would serve his country in the First World War, later going into politics. He served as a US Representative (1924-1929 and 1931-1938) and played in the annual Congressional baseball game.
Franklin Roosevelt appointed Vinson to serve on the US Court of Appeals, and he was confirmed by the Senate. He would serve in other capacities, notably as Sec. of the Treasury for over a year during the waning years of WWll to stabilize the economy through part of 1946. President Harry Truman then appointed him Chief Justice of The Supreme Court.
Vinson was offered the Baseball Commissioner’s job in 1952 but turned it down. He served as the 13th Chief Justice of The Supreme Court. Fred Vinson passed away in 1953 while still Chief Justice. He was the last Democratic Chief Justice.
An interesting side note is that Vinson’s portrait hangs in the hallway of the chapter house of the Kentucky Alpha-Delta chapter of Phi Delta Theta at Centre College in Danville. The portrait, affectionately known as “Dead Fred,” was carried by fraternity members to football and basketball games.
