March 16, 2025
UK football’s Tim Couch, Dennis Johnson, 1998
University of Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch, left, talked with incoming freshman Dennis Johnson during the Wildcats’ football media day on Aug. 13, 1998, at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington. As a standout defensive lineman, Johnson was Kentucky’s Mr. Football in 1997, and USA Today’s and Sports Illustrated’s national defensive player of the year. Johnson played three years at UK and was a third-team All-American and a first-team All-Southeastern Conference player. He left UK early to enter the the NFL draft and played in the league for three years. On March 23, 2015, he was named Woodford County’s head football coach. Photo by David Stephenson | Staff
Charlie Daniels, 1981
Charlie Daniels performed Jan. 4, 1981, at Rupp Arena in Lexington. The singer and songwriter, known for his contributions to country, bluegrass and Southern rock music, has played Rupp Arena six times (1976, ’77, ’79, ’81, ’82 and 2003). Daniels’ best-known hit was The Devil Went Down to Georgia, which reached No. 3 on the Hot 100 in September 1979 and won a Grammy Award that year for best country vocal performance. In 1980, Devil became a major crossover success on rock radio stations when it was included on the soundtrack for the movie Urban Cowboy, starring John Travolta. Daniels appeared in the movie as himself. Photo by Ron Garrison | Staff
I-75 bridge repair, 1983
Carlos Wall had a bird’s-eye view of the Kentucky River on Oct. 4, 1983, as he used an electronic chipping hammer on the Interstate 75 bridge at Clays Ferry. The northbound lanes were being repaired, and one lane was closed as Wall removed some bulging concrete from the wall. Photo by Charles Bertram | Staff
Henry Clay wins Sweet Sixteen, 1983
Greg Bates’ put-back at the buzzer gave the Henry Clay Blue Devils a 35-33 triple-overtime victory on March 19, 1983, over Carlisle County in the finals of the Boys’ Sweet Sixteen Tournament in Lexington. It was Henry Clay’s sixth state title in boys basketball and its first since 1924 when the school was known as Lexington High. Henry Clay has not won another crown since this 1983 title. The 19,200 at Rupp Arena were given high drama as every possession became a test of wills in what has been described as one of the most spine-tingling Sweet Sixteen games ever played. Each team had a chance to win at either the end of regulation or the two other overtimes. With four seconds left in the third extra period, Steve Miller shot a 15-footer from the left baseline. It rimmed out, but Bates snagged the rebound and put it in as the horn sounded. “I was just in the right place,” he said of his dramatic shot. “He sure was,” said Miller, who was voted the tournament MVP after scoring 69 points and grabbing 34 rebounds in four games. “The play was supposed to have me shooting from the free throw line, but it didn’t work out that way. But this way turned out just great.” Bates scored nine points for Henry Clay and was named to the All-Tournament team. The win capped the Blue Devils season with a flourish, winning its final 18 games for a 32-2 record. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
John Calipari at UMass, 1996
University of Massachusetts coach John Calipari had a word with Marcus Camby during the second half of the NCAA Final Four semifinal game against Kentucky on March 30, 1996, in East Rutherford, N.J. UK won, 81-74, and went on to win the 1996 NCAA title, defeating Syracuse in the final. After eight years at UMass, this was Calipari’s final game as coach of the Minutemen. He went to the NBA to coach with the New Jersey Nets and Philadelphia 76ers before coming back to the college ranks at Memphis. He has been the Kentucky head coach since 2009. Photo by Charles Bertram | Staff
Fayette County courthouse, 1960
Interior of the “Starry dome” in the Fayette County Courthouse, which was scheduled for an extensive remodeling job in 1960 and 1961. Construction of Fayette County’s fifth courthouse began in July 1898 and was finished on Feb. 1, 1900. The courthouse was a Richardson Romanesque style, a three-story stone masonry building, with a dome, a clock and a cupola (with a weather vane). In 1960 and 1961, the interior was extensively renovated to provide more courtrooms and offices. These renovations included removing the interior “Y” stairs and closing off the dome. The last trial was held in the courthouse in 2002, and in 2003, the Lexington History Center opened. In 2012, the courthouse was closed to the public after lead paint and asbestos was found in the upper floors. Renovation of former the courthouse could cost $38 million, a March 2015 report said. Published in the Lexington Herald-Leader on Aug. 28, 1960. Herald-Leader Archive Photo
Kentucky NCAA fans, 1998
From left, Corey Hendrick, 11, of Noonan, Ga.; Sandy Snapp and Lisa Johnting of Falmouth; and Mason Baker, 10, of LaCenter cheered the Wildcats on March 15, 1998, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta during the NCAA second round game against St. Louis. UK won 81-61 on their way to the NCAA championship game, when they defeated Utah 78-69 in San Antonio. Photo by Michelle Patterson-Thomas | Staff
Boys’ Sweet Sixteen, 1985
Mike Mitchell, left, and Danny Johnson reacted after a 68-66 loss to Mason County in the first round of the Boys’ Sweet Sixteen state basketball tournament on March 20, 1985, in Rupp Arena. Today, Johnson keeps his Sweet Sixteen experience close to his heart even though the Knights lost the heartbreaker. “It was such a big part of my life, I still look back on it fondly,” he said. Johnson went on to play at Centre College and helped the Colonels reach the Division III national semifinals in 1989. “I’ve gotten to do a lot of cool things in sports, like getting to that final four,” Johnson said. “But playing in Rupp Arena in the Sweet Sixteen is still probably at the top of my basketball list.” Johnson and Trey Griffin, who also played for the Knights in 1985, will mark the 30th anniversary of their Sweet Sixteen experience in the best way imaginable: watching their sons take the Rupp Arena court for Lexington Catholic in the 2015 Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Sweet Sixteen. Photo by Ron Garrison | Staff
Blue Grass Airport, 1974
UK-themed shoes, 1989
In May 1989, the Lexington Jaycees hoped to raise $26,000 for the homeless by selling these imitation Reebok white leather tennis shoes with the University of Kentucky logo. The Jaycees hoped to sell 7,500 of the shoes, said Brian Gardner, then president of the Lexington civic organization. The Jaycees received the shoes through Stan Widman Distributing Co. of Omaha, Neb., Gardner said at the time. The distributing company had acquired the shoes at reduced prices. Photo by Michael Malone | Staff
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