Several Wildcats Entering Lexington African-American Sports Hall of Fame
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Lexington African-American Sports Hall of Fame (LAASHOF) will induct several new members this week, including eight former Kentucky Wildcats or those with close ties to the University of Kentucky.
Those with ties to the University of Kentucky include Dermontti Dawson, Tayna Fogle, Jack Givens, James Lee, Marc Logan, Dirk Minniefield, S.T. Roach and John Shelby. More information on each inductee is listed below.
Dawson and Logan were letterwinners for the Kentucky football program, while Givens, Lee and Minniefield starred for the Kentucky men’s basketball program. Fogle was a member of Kentucky women’s basketball’s 1982 Southeastern Conference championship squad. Shelby is the father of three Kentucky Wildcats as his sons John Shelby III, JaVon Shelby and Jaren Shelby all played baseball for UK. Roach was a member of the UK Athletics Board of Directors for many years.
The 2022 inductees were nominated by the public and hand selected by the founding members of LAASHOF. Tickets to attend the event are available at officiallaashof.eventbrite.com. Those unable to attend can support the Lexington African American Sports Hall of Fame by donating at http://www.laashof.com.
Dermontti Dawson
An All-Southeastern Conference guard and one of the greatest centers in the history of the National Football League, Dawson’s story is that of a hometown hero. He is a product of Lexington’s Bryan Station High School, where he was an all-state lineman. He played guard and center at UK. He was a four-year letterman from 1984-87 and played for the ’84 Hall of Fame Bowl championship team. He was named All-SEC following his senior season and was a second-round draft choice of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Dawson achieved national acclaim during his 13-year pro career, all spent with the Steelers from 1988-2000. He was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection from 1992-98. His effectiveness was matched by his durability, as he played in 170 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in Steelers’ history. He played in 184 total games in his career, the fifth-highest mark in team history.
Tayna Fogle
A captain on Kentucky’s 1982 SEC Championship team, Fogle had an impressive four-year career with the Kentucky women’s basketball program. She played in 30 games during UK’s championship season, averaging 10.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Fogle shot 47 percent from the field that season with 55 assists and 35 steals. For her career, she played in 116 games with her senior season being the best of her career. Fogle was named the team’s most improved player in 1981. She graduated from Lexington’s Lafayette High School.
Jack Givens
A Lexington native who graduated from Bryan Station High School, Givens had a storybook career with the Kentucky men’s basketball program. The NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player in 1978, Givens scored 41 points in the championship game to power the Wildcats to a title. Givens was a three-time All-America honoree and inaugural member of the UK Athletics Hall of Fame. Givens played in 123 career games for UK, scoring 2,038 career points with 793 rebounds, 270 assists and a career field-goal percentage of 51.5. Givens was drafted 16th overall in the first round of the 1978 NBA Draft by Atlanta, playing two seasons in the NBA.
James Lee
A teammate of Givens on that 1978 national championship team, Lee had a great career with the Kentucky Wildcats after graduating from Henry Clay High School. An All-SEC honoree as a senior, Lee played in 31 games for the championship squad, scoring 350 points with 165 rebounds and 37 assists. All totaled in his four-year career, he scored 996 points with 128 assists, 589 rebounds and shot 54 percent from the field. Lee was drafted 39th overall in the second round of the 1978 NBA Draft by Seattle.
Marc Logan
Logan was an electric offensive weapon for the Kentucky football program in the mid-1980s. As a sophomore in 1984, he rushed 84 times for 400 yards and three touchdowns, adding 11 catches for 122 yards. As the MVP of the 1984 Hall of Fame Bowl, Logan scored two touchdowns on just five plays, setting two bowl records for the longest kick return (85 yards) as well as the longest play from scrimmage (63 yards). As a junior, he rushed for 715 yards and caught 32 passes for 314 yards. His senior season, he rushed for 546 yards and had 155 receiving yards. All told, he had 2,360 total yards from scrimmage with 15 touchdowns as a Wildcat. Logan went in the fifth round of the 1987 NFL Draft and had a successful 10-year NFL career with Cincinnati, Miami, San Francisco and Washington.
Dirk Minniefield
The 1979 Kentucky Mr. Basketball out of Lafayette High School, Minniefield was a three-time All-SEC performer and 1982 SEC Tournament MVP for Kentucky. During his four-year career, he scored 1,069 points for the Wildcats, adding 646 assists with 156 steals. He had a career field-goal percentage of 52.4 in 123 career games played. Minniefield was selected 33rd overall in the 1983 NBA Draft by Dallas. He played in 222 career games in the NBA, averaging 5.3 points per game with 3.8 assists per game.
S.T. Roach
A long-time member of the UK Athletics Board of Directors, Roach was a legendary basketball coach at Lexington Dunbar, helping integrate the high school game in the 1950s. As a member of the board in 1997, Roach made the motion to hire Orlando “Tubby” Smith, giving UK its first black men’s basketball head coach.
John Shelby
Shelby is the father of John Shelby III, JaVon Shelby and Jaren Shelby, who are believed to be the only three African-American brothers to play for UK baseball. Shelby graduated from Henry Clay High School and played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball, including World Series titles with the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers.
About UK Athletics
UK Athletics is a leader in college sports, sponsoring 23 varsity sports teams (12 women’s teams, 10 men’s teams plus the coed rifle team) and hundreds of student-athletes, competing for championships, ensuring their education and well-being, and providing opportunities for the present and future.
About LAASHOF
The Lexington African-American Sports Hall of Fame, Inc. (LAASHOF, Inc., pronounced “lay-shoff”) is comprised of a group of like-minded individuals who believe our local African-American sports heroes deserve to be commemorated in a special way. We are a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) corporation striving to uplift, unite, and reinvigorate our community by shining the spotlight on our sports stars from days gone by.
