Mountain Sports Hall of Fame
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HIGGINS HIGH SCHOOL OF VICCO /HAZARD'S LIBERTY STREET HIGH "The Dragons"
VIcco, in Perry County, had a three year high school (in it's basketball beginnings, anyway) titled Higgins Colored School. According to info found at https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/2945, the school later merged with Hazard's Liberty Street.
In 1940, the Vicco Colored School was merged with the Hazard Colored School system [source: The Administration and Organization of Secondary Schools for Negro Pupils in Eastern Kentucky (thesis) by W. T. Gilbert]. Gilbert would be the long time basketball coach at Wheelwright's Palmer- Dunbar School from the 1936-37 season thru the last year of high school at Palmer-Dunbar in 1955-56. The article says it was done by Gilbert as a thesis. So he must have already been teaching and coaching if he wrote the thesis in 1940.
As I read a lot of the African-American local basketball history to grab info I absolutely cannot thank Mr. Gilbert enough for writing his thesis.
The merging date of 1940 for the two schools differs from dates in the Kentucky High School Basketball Encyclopedia that found records of Liberty High playing basketball beginning in the 1927-28 season when they went 11-7 under Coach William Gatewood in his lone season as coach.
The next season found the school coached by A.D. Puryear ( His first name was Admiral, middle name was Dewey. Dewey was the name he was most identified with) who would be the coach thru the rest of the time of Higgins High School basketball which ended after the 1935-36 season.
According to the Basketball Encyclopedia (which differs from what W.T. Gilbert wrote) Higgins then in the 1936-37 season merged with Hazard Liberty Street where Puryear would continue as head coach until the school closed after the 1955-56 season. I count 24 total years as coach at both schools. There were four seasons that teams never played-1938-39, 1939-40, 1942-43 and 1945-46.
Coach Puryear had been born in Villanow, Walker County, Georgia. According to his WWl Draft Registration he was working on a farm in that town in 1918. He died in 1978 at age 80.
Puryear also coached the football team at Liberty Street but more research needs done on that. He MAY have even coached football at Hazard High School in the mid 1950's.
Liberty's gym burned sometime in the late 1940's. Practice resumed at another gym.
According to the Kentucky High School Basketball Encyclopedia four basketball stars mentioned at Vicco Higgins High School were John Willie Combs, T.J. Hagans, Willis Higgins and Marshall Jarnigan. That school's total victories were 58 wins and 104 losses over nine seasons.
High School basketball stars listed in the Encyclopedia for Hazard Liberty were Richard "Razo" Baker, Pat Brown, Nathaniel Clinkscale, Howard "Bones" Combs, Richard Combs, Wade Cornett, Paul Daugherty, Clarence Gallaher, Dennis Gallaher, Cliff Hagans, Cecil Hopkins, Richard Johnson, J.C. Lewis, J.B. Lightfoot, Gus "Pont" Olinger, Buster Roarch, George "Went" Smith, Gabe Taylor, Phillip Thornton, Harris Walker, John "Hot John" Walker, Raymond Walker, Don Williams and Otis Williams.
Liberty High's record according to the Ky HS Basketball Encyclopedia was 221 wins and 181.
That gives Coach Puryear a total at both schools of 268 wins and 278 losses after subtracting the one season of William Gatewood as coach.
Hopefully we can find more on the sports history of these two schools and some of the great athletes as time goes on.
Liberty High School has a really good Facebook page titled Friends of Liberty.
·
HIGGINS HIGH SCHOOL OF VICCO /HAZARD'S LIBERTY STREET HIGH "The Dragons"
VIcco, in Perry County, had a three year high school (in it's basketball beginnings, anyway) titled Higgins Colored School. According to info found at https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/2945, the school later merged with Hazard's Liberty Street.
In 1940, the Vicco Colored School was merged with the Hazard Colored School system [source: The Administration and Organization of Secondary Schools for Negro Pupils in Eastern Kentucky (thesis) by W. T. Gilbert]. Gilbert would be the long time basketball coach at Wheelwright's Palmer- Dunbar School from the 1936-37 season thru the last year of high school at Palmer-Dunbar in 1955-56. The article says it was done by Gilbert as a thesis. So he must have already been teaching and coaching if he wrote the thesis in 1940.
As I read a lot of the African-American local basketball history to grab info I absolutely cannot thank Mr. Gilbert enough for writing his thesis.
The merging date of 1940 for the two schools differs from dates in the Kentucky High School Basketball Encyclopedia that found records of Liberty High playing basketball beginning in the 1927-28 season when they went 11-7 under Coach William Gatewood in his lone season as coach.
The next season found the school coached by A.D. Puryear ( His first name was Admiral, middle name was Dewey. Dewey was the name he was most identified with) who would be the coach thru the rest of the time of Higgins High School basketball which ended after the 1935-36 season.
According to the Basketball Encyclopedia (which differs from what W.T. Gilbert wrote) Higgins then in the 1936-37 season merged with Hazard Liberty Street where Puryear would continue as head coach until the school closed after the 1955-56 season. I count 24 total years as coach at both schools. There were four seasons that teams never played-1938-39, 1939-40, 1942-43 and 1945-46.
Coach Puryear had been born in Villanow, Walker County, Georgia. According to his WWl Draft Registration he was working on a farm in that town in 1918. He died in 1978 at age 80.
Puryear also coached the football team at Liberty Street but more research needs done on that. He MAY have even coached football at Hazard High School in the mid 1950's.
Liberty's gym burned sometime in the late 1940's. Practice resumed at another gym.
According to the Kentucky High School Basketball Encyclopedia four basketball stars mentioned at Vicco Higgins High School were John Willie Combs, T.J. Hagans, Willis Higgins and Marshall Jarnigan. That school's total victories were 58 wins and 104 losses over nine seasons.
High School basketball stars listed in the Encyclopedia for Hazard Liberty were Richard "Razo" Baker, Pat Brown, Nathaniel Clinkscale, Howard "Bones" Combs, Richard Combs, Wade Cornett, Paul Daugherty, Clarence Gallaher, Dennis Gallaher, Cliff Hagans, Cecil Hopkins, Richard Johnson, J.C. Lewis, J.B. Lightfoot, Gus "Pont" Olinger, Buster Roarch, George "Went" Smith, Gabe Taylor, Phillip Thornton, Harris Walker, John "Hot John" Walker, Raymond Walker, Don Williams and Otis Williams.
Liberty High's record according to the Ky HS Basketball Encyclopedia was 221 wins and 181.
That gives Coach Puryear a total at both schools of 268 wins and 278 losses after subtracting the one season of William Gatewood as coach.
Hopefully we can find more on the sports history of these two schools and some of the great athletes as time goes on.
Liberty High School has a really good Facebook page titled Friends of Liberty.
Mountain Sports Hall of Fame
·
HIGGINS HIGH SCHOOL OF VICCO /HAZARD'S LIBERTY STREET HIGH "The Dragons"
VIcco, in Perry County, had a three year high school (in it's basketball beginnings, anyway) titled Higgins Colored School. According to info found at https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/2945, the school later merged with Hazard's Liberty Street.
In 1940, the Vicco Colored School was merged with the Hazard Colored School system [source: The Administration and Organization of Secondary Schools for Negro Pupils in Eastern Kentucky (thesis) by W. T. Gilbert]. Gilbert would be the long time basketball coach at Wheelwright's Palmer- Dunbar School from the 1936-37 season thru the last year of high school at Palmer-Dunbar in 1955-56. The article says it was done by Gilbert as a thesis. So he must have already been teaching and coaching if he wrote the thesis in 1940.
As I read a lot of the African-American local basketball history to grab info I absolutely cannot thank Mr. Gilbert enough for writing his thesis.
The merging date of 1940 for the two schools differs from dates in the Kentucky High School Basketball Encyclopedia that found records of Liberty High playing basketball beginning in the 1927-28 season when they went 11-7 under Coach William Gatewood in his lone season as coach.
The next season found the school coached by A.D. Puryear ( His first name was Admiral, middle name was Dewey. Dewey was the name he was most identified with) who would be the coach thru the rest of the time of Higgins High School basketball which ended after the 1935-36 season.
According to the Basketball Encyclopedia (which differs from what W.T. Gilbert wrote) Higgins then in the 1936-37 season merged with Hazard Liberty Street where Puryear would continue as head coach until the school closed after the 1955-56 season. I count 24 total years as coach at both schools. There were four seasons that teams never played-1938-39, 1939-40, 1942-43 and 1945-46.
Coach Puryear had been born in Villanow, Walker County, Georgia. According to his WWl Draft Registration he was working on a farm in that town in 1918. He died in 1978 at age 80.
Puryear also coached the football team at Liberty Street but more research needs done on that. He MAY have even coached football at Hazard High School in the mid 1950's.
Liberty's gym burned sometime in the late 1940's. Practice resumed at another gym.
According to the Kentucky High School Basketball Encyclopedia four basketball stars mentioned at Vicco Higgins High School were John Willie Combs, T.J. Hagans, Willis Higgins and Marshall Jarnigan. That school's total victories were 58 wins and 104 losses over nine seasons.
High School basketball stars listed in the Encyclopedia for Hazard Liberty were Richard "Razo" Baker, Pat Brown, Nathaniel Clinkscale, Howard "Bones" Combs, Richard Combs, Wade Cornett, Paul Daugherty, Clarence Gallaher, Dennis Gallaher, Cliff Hagans, Cecil Hopkins, Richard Johnson, J.C. Lewis, J.B. Lightfoot, Gus "Pont" Olinger, Buster Roarch, George "Went" Smith, Gabe Taylor, Phillip Thornton, Harris Walker, John "Hot John" Walker, Raymond Walker, Don Williams and Otis Williams.
Liberty High's record according to the Ky HS Basketball Encyclopedia was 221 wins and 181.
That gives Coach Puryear a total at both schools of 268 wins and 278 losses after subtracting the one season of William Gatewood as coach.
Hopefully we can find more on the sports history of these two schools and some of the great athletes as time goes on.
Liberty High School has a really good Facebook page titled Friends of Liberty.
·
HIGGINS HIGH SCHOOL OF VICCO /HAZARD'S LIBERTY STREET HIGH "The Dragons"
VIcco, in Perry County, had a three year high school (in it's basketball beginnings, anyway) titled Higgins Colored School. According to info found at https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/2945, the school later merged with Hazard's Liberty Street.
In 1940, the Vicco Colored School was merged with the Hazard Colored School system [source: The Administration and Organization of Secondary Schools for Negro Pupils in Eastern Kentucky (thesis) by W. T. Gilbert]. Gilbert would be the long time basketball coach at Wheelwright's Palmer- Dunbar School from the 1936-37 season thru the last year of high school at Palmer-Dunbar in 1955-56. The article says it was done by Gilbert as a thesis. So he must have already been teaching and coaching if he wrote the thesis in 1940.
As I read a lot of the African-American local basketball history to grab info I absolutely cannot thank Mr. Gilbert enough for writing his thesis.
The merging date of 1940 for the two schools differs from dates in the Kentucky High School Basketball Encyclopedia that found records of Liberty High playing basketball beginning in the 1927-28 season when they went 11-7 under Coach William Gatewood in his lone season as coach.
The next season found the school coached by A.D. Puryear ( His first name was Admiral, middle name was Dewey. Dewey was the name he was most identified with) who would be the coach thru the rest of the time of Higgins High School basketball which ended after the 1935-36 season.
According to the Basketball Encyclopedia (which differs from what W.T. Gilbert wrote) Higgins then in the 1936-37 season merged with Hazard Liberty Street where Puryear would continue as head coach until the school closed after the 1955-56 season. I count 24 total years as coach at both schools. There were four seasons that teams never played-1938-39, 1939-40, 1942-43 and 1945-46.
Coach Puryear had been born in Villanow, Walker County, Georgia. According to his WWl Draft Registration he was working on a farm in that town in 1918. He died in 1978 at age 80.
Puryear also coached the football team at Liberty Street but more research needs done on that. He MAY have even coached football at Hazard High School in the mid 1950's.
Liberty's gym burned sometime in the late 1940's. Practice resumed at another gym.
According to the Kentucky High School Basketball Encyclopedia four basketball stars mentioned at Vicco Higgins High School were John Willie Combs, T.J. Hagans, Willis Higgins and Marshall Jarnigan. That school's total victories were 58 wins and 104 losses over nine seasons.
High School basketball stars listed in the Encyclopedia for Hazard Liberty were Richard "Razo" Baker, Pat Brown, Nathaniel Clinkscale, Howard "Bones" Combs, Richard Combs, Wade Cornett, Paul Daugherty, Clarence Gallaher, Dennis Gallaher, Cliff Hagans, Cecil Hopkins, Richard Johnson, J.C. Lewis, J.B. Lightfoot, Gus "Pont" Olinger, Buster Roarch, George "Went" Smith, Gabe Taylor, Phillip Thornton, Harris Walker, John "Hot John" Walker, Raymond Walker, Don Williams and Otis Williams.
Liberty High's record according to the Ky HS Basketball Encyclopedia was 221 wins and 181.
That gives Coach Puryear a total at both schools of 268 wins and 278 losses after subtracting the one season of William Gatewood as coach.
Hopefully we can find more on the sports history of these two schools and some of the great athletes as time goes on.
Liberty High School has a really good Facebook page titled Friends of Liberty.
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