Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky Tweets

March 13, 1775, “monday I set out from prince Wm to travel to Caintuck on tuesday Night our Company all got together at W. prises on Rapedan which was Abraham banks Philip Drake Eanoch Smith Robert Whitledge & myself three abrams Dogs leg got broke by Drakes Dog…”  This was a diary entry made by William Calk who was traveling with Judge Richard Henderson.
The Kentucky by Thomas D. Clark pg: 46

March 13, 1886, Perryville native Elizabeth Madox Roberts died.  Elizabeth was a novelist and poet, primarily known for her novels and stories set in central Kentucky’s Washington County, including The Time of Man (1926), “My Heart and My Flesh,” The Great Meadow (1930), and A Buried Treasure (1931).

March 13, 1897, Officer Henry Layne of the Hopkinsville Police Department was killed by a drunk man.  Officer Layne had told the man to stop gambling and go home, but the man suddenly pulled out a gun and shot him.  Two other officers at the scene killed the suspect.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Corbin native George McAfee, born in 1918.  McAfee won three NFL Championships, was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  As of 2018, he still holds the NFL record for punt return average in a career.

On March 13, 1921, Richard James, a black male, was lynched for murder in Woodford County.  It was one of the last documented lynchings in Kentucky.

March 13, 1945, Bandana native Morris E. Crain died in WWII when a house defended by his men came under intense German attack.  He ordered the men to withdraw while he held the position alone.  The Germans set the house on fire and he died.  For this, he received the Medal of Honor.  Bandana is in Ballard County.

Kentucky Trivia:  Six Kentuckians received the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War:  Charles C. Fleek, Don Jenkins, Billy L. Lauffer, Gary L. Littrell, David P. Nash and Joe C. Paul.

March 13, 1950, the General Assembly amended earlier acts establishing licensing fees for theaters, defined as buildings “in which moving pictures, vaudeville, musical entertainment or plays are regularly given,” to include “open-air or drive-in theaters.”  This reflected the greater prosperity and mobility of Kentuckians after World War II.

March 13, 1951, Army SGT Wilbur C. McCarthy from Daviess County died in the Korean War.

March 13, 1959, Louisville hosted Kentucky in McGaw Memorial Hall and won 76-61.  Coach Peck Hickman beat Coach Rupp’s team, who finished the season at #2.

March 13, 1963, Muhammad Ali (18-0) fought Doug Jones (21-3-1) in Madison Square Garden.  Before a sold-out Garden crowd (the first sellout there since Rocky Marciano vs. Joe Louis in 1951), Jones hurt Clay early and often, staggering him in the first round.  By the middle rounds, Clay, realizing he was in a real fight, started using his powerful jab.  While the ringside judges gave Clay a narrow victory, the crowd thought Jones had won and booed Clay unmercifully.  The disputed bout was named Fight of the Year for 1963 by Ring Magazine.

March 13, 1968, Army SP4 Ruben N. Tackett from McRoberts in Letcher County died in the Vietnam War.

March 13, 1971, Ricky Vance from Paris caught a Kentucky record Common Carp weighing 54 lbs., 14 ozs. in South Fork Licking River.

March 13, 1971, WKU beats Jacksonville to reach the semi-finals of the NCAA basketball tournament.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Murray native Leigh-Allyn Baker, born in 1972.  She gained fame for her recurring role as Ellen on Will & Grace.

March 13, 1981, after pleas from Clay City residents, the only doctor in the Clay County town, changed his mind about resigning.  Instead, he requested and received resignations from three members of a board that oversaw his work.

March 13, 1988, Kentucky, the regular-season champion, beat Georgia 62-57, giving the Cats their 17^th SEC tournament title.  However, as part of NCAA sanctions imposed upon the program in 1989, the SEC schools’ presidents voted to strip them of both titles.

March 13, 1992, the Kentucky House easily passed Governor Brereton Jones’ plan to set up off-track betting parlors and use some of the profits to reward horse breeders.  The criticism was using taxpayer money to guarantee purse money promises.

March 13, 1992, Salvatore “Sammy Bull” Gravano testified against John Gotti.

March 13, 2000, Rep. Fred Nesier blamed illegal Hispanic immigrants for spreading disease in Kentucky and draining the local food banks.  He made the statement because he wanted officials to enforce federal immigration laws.  Lancaster Rep. Napier reminded Rep. Neiser his family migrated to the U.S. just years ago.

March 13, 2010, a Kentucky bred and Keeneland graduate won the GII $300,000 Rebel Stakes ran at Oaklawn Park.  Over half the entries were Keeneland graduates.

March 13, 2011, UK, led by Heather Greathouse and Ethan Settlemires, won the school’s first NCAA Rifle team championship.  Kentucky had recorded 16 “Top-10” finishes since 1994.

March 13, 2018, Patrolman Scotty Hamilton, Pikeville Police Department, died as he and a Kentucky State Police trooper conducted a criminal patrol.  As Patrolman Hamilton checked the area, a man shot him in the head.  The criminal is serving life with no parole.

March 13, 2020, 26-year-old Breonna Taylor died after being shot six times in her apartment by three Louisville police officers who used a No-Knock warrant to force entry.  They were investigating her boyfriend, who lived through the tragedy.  The news made national headlines.  Oprah Winfrey bought Louisville billboards want the police to be held accountable.

March 13, 2020, the first Kentuckian who tested positive for coronavirus recovers.  Three more people tested positive for a total of 14, with no deaths.  President Trump declares a national emergency to fight the flu strain.

March 13, 2021, Kentucky saw the ninth straight week of declining covid-19 cases.  Five hundred and twenty people were in hospitals due to the flu strain.  Meanwhile, in Frankfort, legislators told the press the ethics bills were not just aimed at the current governor.

March 13, 2021, a Kentucky bred won Oaklawn Park’s GII $1,000,000 Rebel Stakes for three-year-olds.  This was the 61^st edition.