Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky Tweets

July 26, 1863, John J. Crittenden, born in “Virginia” but what is now Kentucky, died in Frankfort. John was the 22^nd Secretary of State of Kentucky, 17^th governor, 15^th and 22^nd U. S. Attorney General, and a U.S. Senator from Kentucky.

Kentucky Trivia:  The J stands for Jacob and/or Jordan.

July 26, 1889, Bourbon County lynched James Kelly, a black male, for rape.

July 26, 1892, Jailer Kavanaugh Tipton and Deputy Sheriff Thomas Howard Montgomery County Regional Jail died when a horse thief shot him after he attempted to arrest him in a house near Mount Sterling.

July 26, 1894, Nicholas County lynched William Tyler, a black male, for rape.

July 26, 1907, Deputy Sheriff Carlo Brummet, Harlan County Sheriff’s Office, died in a shootout while attempting to serve a warrant on a man for seduction.  Deputy Brummet located the man on top of Cumberland Mountain, on the Kentucky – Virginia border, when the shootout began.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Powderly native Jewel Franklin Guy, born in 1926 in Muhlenberg County.

July 26, 1945, the last of the 1942 Harlan election fraud trials ended abruptly.  The U.S. said they failed to make a case against the election commissioners and four tabulators, charged with conspiracy to pad A.B. Chandler’s majority 2,421 votes in 10 precincts.

July 26, 1945, Don Thompson, a 20-year-old southpaw, hurled an 8-0 shutout victory for the Louisville Colonels over the Hoosiers at Parkway Field.  It was the first no-hitter in the city since 1882.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Pikeville native Woody Blackburn, born in 1952.  Woody was a PGA Tour golfer who won the Walt Disney World National Team Championship in 1976 and the Isuzu-Andy Williams San Diego Open in 1985.

July 26, 1953, Marine Corps PFC Louis W. Baldwin died in Covington in Kenton County died in the Korean War.

July 26, 1967, Army PFC Michael R. Harris, Jr. from Hopkinsville in Christian County and Army PFC Jerry R. Holbrook from Mayking in Letcher County, died in the Vietnam War.

July 26, 1968, Patrolman Donald Ronnebaum, Covington Police Department, died when a tractor trailer struck him while assisting at the scene of an accident on the highway.

July 26, 1970, Earle Combs became a member of the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, N.Y.

July 26, 1971, Army CPL Ralph E. McElrath from Paducah died in the Vietnam War.

July 26, 1971, Muhammad Ali (32-1) fought Jimmy Ellis (30-6) in Houston Astrodome.  A month before the bout, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Ali’s draft conviction and quashed his five-year prison sentence.  Ellis was a sparring partner who had fought more than 1,000 rounds against Ali.  He even had Dundee in his corner with Ali’s blessing.  But Ali stung Ellis with a straight right in the fourth round and treated the rest of the fight as if it were a sparring session, and the referee stopped the fight in the 12th round after Ali threw another hard right, sending Ellis into the ropes.

July 26, 1976, Charlie Whittingham repeated a sweep in the Sunset Handicap, with “Caucasus” running first, “King Pellinore” second, and “Riot in Paris” running third.

July 26, 1980, Joe Bowen finished his stilt walk from Los Angeles to Bowen in Powell County, the furthest distance ever walked on stilts, 2,985 miles.  He began the journey on February 20.

July 26, 1991, Aaron Jordan, 13, of Jessamine County gave his lamb a pep talk before they competed at the 4^th annual lamb show sponsored by the Fayette County Lamb Club and the Fayette County 4-H Council at UK’s E.S. Good Barn.

July 26, 2008, Commentator scored a dominant, front-running victory in the $750,000 Whitney Handicap at Saratoga Race Course with John Velazquez up.  “This is a good illustration to anyone – don’t ever give up,” said Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito, who also won the race with Commentator in 2005.  Commentator joined five-time Horse of the Year Kelso and Discovery, both three-time winners, as the only repeat winners of the Whitney.

July 26, 2011, Lexington native Collin Cowgill made his MLB debut for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

July 26, 2018, Patrick Baker’s brother and sister-in-law hosted a political fundraiser for Governor M. Bevin in Corbin.  They raised $21,500 to retire a debt from the governor’s 2015 campaign.  Bevin then granted Patrick a pardon for murder in December 2019.  In January 2022, the feds sentenced Patrick to 39 years in prison for the same murder with no parole.

On July 26, 2020, the White House Doctor recommended Kentucky close bars and reduce restaurant capacity.  Governor A. Beshear then announced 316 new cases and four new deaths.  The governor had already issued a mandatory mask order and limited gatherings to 10 or fewer people.  Meanwhile, N. Pelosi blasted the GOP for “stalling” on the second and newest trillion dollar relief package, while President Trump extended the rent moratorium.