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TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

On May 14, 1857, a Louisville jury, backed by the judge, found four black men innocent of murder.  A mob ensued immediately and dragged the four men out of jail, shot one of the defendants, and hanged the other three as the crowd cheered insanely.

Thursday, May 14, 1885, Joe Cotton won the 11th Kentucky Derby for owner J.T. Williams, trainer Abraham Perry, and jockey Erskine “Babe” Henderson.  The mile and half ran in 2:37 ¼ over a good track to win $4,630.  Midway native Abraham Perry became the 1st African-American trainer of a classic race winner mentioned in post-race reports.

Friday, May 14, 1886, Ben Ali won the 12th Kentucky Derby in a record-setting performance in a controversial race. Owner James Ben Ali Haggin could not place a large bet on his winning stallion. In 1886, C. M. White purchased the pooling privileges (wagering rights) for the Derby for $30,600 and demanded that all the Derby bookmakers pay him a $100 fee to operate at the track. The bookmakers refused to pay. News traveled fast in the horse racing circuits of Haggin’s ill-treatment in Louisville, causing many horsemen to boycott the Kentucky Derby during the 1890s and early 20th century. Bookmakers returned for the 1887 Derby, but the damage was done. The field quality dropped, profits reduced dramatically and the track faced disclosure until a syndicate led by Matt Winn bought Churchill in 1903.

Monday, May 14, 1888, the gelding Macbeth II won the 14th Kentucky Derby for Chicago Stable, trainer John S. Campbell, and jockey George Covington.  The mile and a half went in 2:38 ¼ over a fast track to win $4,740 in a seven-horse field.  Macbeth II was the 3rd of nine geldings to win the roses.

Wednesday, May 14, 1890, Riley won the 16th Kentucky Derby, in a field of six, going a mile and a half in 2:45 over the first muddy track for the race.  Fayette County native jockey Isaac Murphy won his 2nd of three Derbies and trainer Edward C. Corrigan won his only one.  The winning connections received $5,460.

On May 14, 1890, Belle Brezing opened for business on a gloomy night.  A Derby upset meant her clients would argue the outcome over beers and bourbon, making for a good night at the bar.  Madam Belle by MaryJean Wall pg: 1

On May 14, 1897, an employee climbing the belfry of the Fayette County Courthouse to wind the clock at 9:45 a.m. dropped a match that caught the wooden dome of the building’s rotunda on fire.  Within minutes the fire spread to the 2nd floor, where the County School Superintendent was administering a test to 50 students who evacuated quickly.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Pebworth native Earle Bryan Combs, born in 1899 in Owsley County.  Nicknamed the Kentucky Colonel; he played his entire career with the New York Yankees.

On May 14, 1914, ex-Governor William Bradley announced his intent to retire from politics upon completing his U.S. Senate term due to his general health decline.  Hurrying to board a streetcar following his announcement, Bradley suffered a severe fall, sustaining two broken fingers, head trauma, and internal injuries.  He died nine days later.

May 14, 1919, Patrolman John T. Collopy, Lexington Police Department, died after being struck by a vehicle on Walnut Street as he and another officer attempted to stop it for driving without headlights.

On May 14, 1919, the 44th Preakness hosted the Derby winner for the 1st time.  The Derby ran four days earlier.  The $25,000 Preakness purse paid better than the Derby.  Sir Barton won easily in a full field and then won the Belmont on June 11 over two others, winning the Triple Crown before the term existed.

May 14, 1924, the Kentucky Horse Show opened in Louisville, the Democratic State Convention adjourned in Lexington, and Kentucky women met in Crab Orchard to discuss politics in their annual meeting.

May 14, 1927, Whiskery won the 53rd Kentucky Derby by a nose in 2:06 over a slow track, in a field of 15.  Harry Payne Whitney won the Derby with his 1st starter, Regret, in 1915, and 12 yeas later with his last, Whiskery.  Unfortunately, he left Churchill Downs with a bad cold and did not see the race.  Winning trainer Fred Hopkins also won the Preakness, ran five days earlier with Bostonian.  Hall of Fame jockey Linus “Pony” McAtee won his 1st of two Derbies.  The winning connections split $51,000.

May 14, 1931, striking miners reached 5,800 following the Battle of Evarts, leaving barely 900 working miners in the region.  The violence in Evarts nine days earlier continued to motivate the miners to fight for better working conditions.

May 14, 1947, Jessamine County Sheriff Harvey Partin, left, and Nicholasville Police Chief Carl Bruner examined parts of a confiscated 50-gallon moonshine still.

May 14, 1951, a Kenton County grandy jury warned city officials to make sure slot machines did not return to Covington, or there would be consequences.

May 14, 1952, Vice President Barkley, orating at a Philadelphia steelworkers convention, received a cup of water from a union leader.  Alben paused, pushed the cup of water to the podium’s edge, turned to the man, and said, “Thank you, my friend, that’s very kind and thoughtful of you, but I am from Kentucky.”

May 14, 1968, Army SP4 Michael Lynch from Louisville died in the Vietnam War.

May 14, 1969, Army SP4 Joe E. Bragg from Lawrenceburg from Anderson County and Marine Corps LCPL Floyd J. Parks from Owensboro and Marine Corps James B. Smith from Louisville, all died in the Vietnam War.

May 14, 1970, Army 1LT William J. Brewer from Erlanger in Kenton County and Army CPL James Portwood, Jr. from Lexington, died in the Vietnam War.

May 14, 1971, Army CPL Phillip S. Glass from Mt. Eden in Spencer County died in the Vietnam War.

At 4:40 p.m., Friday, May 14, 1975, President Ford landed in Louisville to campaign for anther term using the theme of Peace, Prosperity, and Trust.  The large anti-bus protest never materialized, but many people stood in the rain chanting, “We want Regan.”  U.S. Ambassador to E. Germany John S. Cooper, former Senator T. Morton, and others greeted Ford who had served for 21 months.  At, the rally, Ford predicted correctly he would win the Kentucky May primary.

On May 14, 1982, Henry Vance, 39, a former Fayette County narc officer, resigned as the chief assistant to Kentucky House Speaker Bobby Richardson (Glasgow).  Earlier in the day, police announced Vance supplied Bonnie Kelly with the gun that killed a Florida prosecutor in January.  It was all falling apart for Lexington’s cocaine and quaalude scene.

Kentucky Trivia:  Henry Vance, 77, and Bill Canan, 74, both Lexington narcotics officers, died days apart in March 2020 and rested in the same Lexington funeral home together.  Both obituaries claimed they lived out their post-penitentiary lives in a forgiving community that didn’t give their infamy a second thought.  People eulogized Vance as a “yellow dog” Democrat and upstanding civic leader, they honored Canan as a decorated Vietnam veteran, and granted him a full military burial.  Neither obituary mentioned their criminal convictions or lengthy federal prison sentences.

On May 14, 1988, the Carrollton bus collision occurred on I-71 in Carroll County.  Going the wrong way, an impaired driver collided head-on with a church youth group bus causing the deadliest drunk driving incident in U.S. history.  Of the 67 people on the bus, 27 died.  This is the same number of deaths as the 1958 Prestonsburg bus disaster.  In the aftermath of the disaster, several family members became active Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) leaders.  One mother, Karolyn Nunnallee, later became the organization’s national president.

On May 1, 1990, a Franklin jury found Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ward “Butch” Burnett, 49 and two co-defendants guilty of theft.  The jurors believed he billed the state illegally for two charter plane flights before he entered office in 1988.  He booked both planes through Governor Wilkinson Plane Services.  In 1989 Butch already received a year in prison in an unrelated case.  Butch died at age 59.

May 14, 1996, for the 8th year in a row, Ashland Oil, Inc. honored teachers by presenting ten of them a Crystal Apple Award and $2,500 in a State Capitol ceremony.  Governor Paul Patton participated.

On May 14, 2000, Larry Lubbers pitched the 1st no-hitter in the history of the Louisville River Bats.  Also, Freedom Hall went silent a few miles away as Muhammad Ali and his wife, Lonnie, stood hand-in-hand to receive honorary degrees from UofL.  After administrators laid ceremonial hoods over the couple’s shoulders, a speaker broke the silence with, “We Love You, Ali.”

May 14, 2004, Army SGT James W. Harlan, 44, of Owensboro, died in Iraq, when a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb next to his vehicle fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

By May 14, 2008, Kentucky gave around $400,000 per year from tax dollars to the coal industry for public campaigns promoting mining, including strip mining.  A non-profit, the Kentucky Foundation, aka Kentucky Coal Association, controlled the money.  The campaigns focused on classroom programs that carried a pro-coal message.

May 14, 2013, Detective Bobby W. Branham, Louisville Metro Police Department, succumbed to complications of a gunshot wounds sustained 41 years earlier in the 300 block of East Oak Street.

May 14, 2014, Police Officer Charles David Howley, Oldham County Police Department, died one day after being exposed to refrigerant while searching a daycare center following reports of smoke in the building.

On May 14, 2016, 90-year-old Dale Faughn cemented his status as the oldest regular blood donor.  Mr. Faughn, from Madisonville, donated 254 units of whole blood, according to Guinness World Records.

May 14, 2016, Louisville native Dean Kiekhefer broke into the big leagues for the St. Louis Cardinals.

On May 14, 2018, Nevada lost its monopoly on legalized sports betting, but the state took it in stride after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a federal ban.  Governor Beshear made the 1st Kentucky bet five years later.

May 14, 2019, Amazon broke ground in Hebron for a new Air Hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.  The monopoly 1st set roots in Kentucky in 1999 with two fulfillment centers.  Today, Kentucky is home to more than 15 Amazon fulfillment, sortation, and customer service centers.  Jeff had invested more than $8 billion in the state and created more than 12,500 full-time jobs.

May 14, 2020, former Kentucky First Lady, Phyllis George Brown, 70, passed over.

May 14, 2021, Governor A. Beshear announced Kentucky would return to total capacity everywhere and fully on June 11, 2021.  It would have been sooner, but the governor wanted to wait till more adolescents received vaccinations.

On May 14, 2022,  M. McConnell travelled to Ukraine to support more endless wars on behalf of big oil and the MIC.  He met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, an ex-actor/comedienne who is worth $22 million today.  Thomas Massie and Mitch McConnell are two different calibers of men.

On Sunday, May 14, 2023, while Kentuckians celebrated Mother’s Day, many peers expressed sorry for the sudden passing of Lamin Swann who represented Fayette County in the Kentucky House on January 1, until his death.

On May 14, 2024, the Lugar Center rated Rep. B. Guthrie the most bipartisan congressman in the Kentucky delegation, ranking 125th out of 436 members.  In the Senate, Schumer and McConnell were excluded, but Paul ranked 69th out of 98 members.  The Great Compromiser may have been disappointed.
125th – Guthrie  0.02155
137th – Rogers  -0.03641
216th – Barr  -0.45199
296th – McGarvey  -0.82740
312th – Comer -0.91989
353th – Massie  -1.10046

On May 14, 2024, Andy Barr, APAIC’s favorite Kentuckian, celebrated Israel’s Independence Day.