Kentucky Trivia
October 11, 1842, Joseph Desha, Kentucky’s 9th governor passed away in Georgetown, 14 years after he left office. His family buried him on their Georgetown property, and the state later erected a monument over his grave. In 1880, both Desha’s body and the monument moved to the Georgetown Cemetery.
On October 11, 1887, Kentucky State University formally opened. It opened as the second state-supported institution of higher learning in Kentucky under the name State Normal School for Colored Persons. During the euphoria of Frankfort’s 1886 centennial celebration, the city donated $1,500 to purchase land for a new college on a bluff overlooking Frankfort. The new school opened with three teachers, 55 students, and John H. Jackson as president.
October 11, 1912, University of Louisville played Transylvania University in Lexington at Thomas Field. Louisville won the football game 32-0.
October 11, 1924, Old Latonia hosted the “International Special Races” that pitted America’s best horses against Europe’s best. It certainly was “a feather in the cap” when the Covington track hosted this great race and affirmed the local track’s overall importance. The old track never looked better. The three spires above the grandstand stood majestically as the loud Klaxton sounded its final warning, and the field of eight horses drew near the starting line. Sixty thousand fans saw Sarazen, the pride of the East, edge Epinard, the European Champion, to set an American track record for a mile.
October 11, 1924, the Louisville Cardinals beat the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers for the 1st time in three attempts, 12-7, at Parkway Field in Louisville.
October 11, 1924, in Fred Murphy’s 1st year as UK’s head coach, the Wildcats beat the Georgetown Tigers 42-0 in the last game of the interstate match-up. The series ended with a record of 6-0 in four shutouts.
On October 11, 1936, the Keeneland Association hosted an open house to introduce the public to the new Totalizator® tote board, the 1st one in Kentucky. More than 15,000 people attended.
October 11, 1937, Night Chief Henry Jackson, Pineville Police Department, died from a gunshot by a man he and another officer had arrested the previous evening for carrying a concealed weapon.
October 11, 1946, Coach Bear Bryant lost his 1st game as Kentucky’s head football coach to 8th ranked Georgia, on the road, 28-13. It was Coach Bryant’s 4th game.
August 11, 1946, the Scott County 4-H Club and Future Farmers of America show took place on Georgetown’s Hamilton Street. Prizes totaling $735 were awarded at the show, which had four ring shows featuring 20 animals.
October 11, 1952, Army CPL Bobby Burchett from Calloway County, Marine Corps PFC John Johnson from Madison County and Army SGT Leo Kern from Harrison County, all died fighting in the Korean War.
October 11, 1958, Trooper Herbert C. Bush, Kentucky State Police, died in an automobile accident while attempting to stop a speeding vehicle in Lincoln County.
October 11, 1967, Marine Corps LCPL Randolph Duvall from Louisville died fighting in the Vietnam War.
October 11, 1968, Army SP5 Douglas Compton from Glasgow in Barren County died fighting in the Vietnam War.
October 11, 1969, Navy P01 Roy R. Whiteside from Paducah in McCracken County died fighting in the Vietnam War.
October 11, 1984, the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup took place and Her Majesty presented the winning trophy. Keeneland didn’t have an actual winner’s circle before her 1984 visit. For regular races, the winning photo took place in a circle of chalk drawn on the track; for stake races, winners received their trophy on the infield grass. Per the wishes of the Queen’s security team, Keeneland built a proper winner’s circle. Cherry Valley Farm’s Sintra won.
Apollo High School’s Rex Chapman, photographed October 11, 1985, in Owensboro. Chapman was one of the most heavily recruited high school basketball players to ever come out of Kentucky. This photo ran with a story chronicling the hype and pressure surrounding his recruitment.
October 11, 1991, 16 Kentucky State University students took over the administration building, Hume Hall, for two days.
October 11, 1994, Sue and Steven Sanders from Prestonsburg, and UK Hospital, delivered quadruplets. James, Allison, Marie, and Kathryn went home after a month’s time.
October 11, 2000, the Inez coal sludge from T. Massey Coal Company’s lifeless 72-acre, 2.2-billion-gallon waste lagoon suffered a crack and released 250 million gallons of slurry. The water supply for over 27,000 residents got contaminated, and all aquatic life in Coldwater Fork and Wolf Creek died. Martin County’s torrent of sludge was more than 20 times the volume of the Exxon Valdez’s crude oil spill in Alaska. It was twice that of its biggest forerunner among coal-mining spills, 28 years ago in Buffalo Creek, W.VA., which killed 125 people and swallowed 500 homes. Governor Paul E. Patton declared a ten-county emergency.
October 11, 2012, the Vice-Presidential Debate took place in Centre College between V.P. Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan. The Nielsen Company reported that an estimated 51.4 million people watched the debate, 18.5 million fewer than the Joe Biden-Sarah Palin debate in 2008.
October 11, 2014, Keeneland graduates finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th against three other entries for the 30th running of the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup GI at the Keeneland Racecourse. 1st place won $300,000.
October 11, 2016, Ethan Vest of Frankfort set a state record when he caught a 5.27 lbs. White Catfish in Guist Creek Lake.
On October 11, 2017, the Boy Scouts of America announced they would accept girls into their organization and establish a new program for older girls to become Eagle Scouts.
Friday, October 11, 2019, Coach John Calipari enjoyed his 10th Midnight Madness in Rupp Arena. They opened the season on November 5th against Michigan State.
On October 11, 2020, Governor A. Beshear entered quarantine after one of his bodyguards tested positive for the coronavirus. Neither he nor his family tested positive. He told the public he felt great he just wanted to “set an example.”
Positives: 852 / 80,292
Deaths: 3 / 1,252 – 1st Death 3/16/20
50&over: 1,217 / 49-30: 33 / 29&under: 2
October 11, 2021, Jujubee won the 129th Kentucky Futurity at The Red Mile, harness racing’s 1st leg of the Triple Crown.