The history of sports in Northern Kentucky goes back a long way. A very long way. Decades. Centuries.
We know you’ve seen these lists before, but this is a different and unique way of presenting our “50 sports icons in Northern Kentucky” as we’ll provide you one per day over a 50-day span.
Hall of Fames are everywhere in NKY, the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame, High School Athletic Directors Hall of Fame, NKU, Thomas More and local high schools all have something to recognize their past.
We’ll preface this series by saying this, some of you may disagree with who should or shouldn’t be in the top 50 and that’s fine. Plenty are in the Hall of Very Good, but we feel these 50 are the one’s who stuck out to us.
Sports Editor Evan Dennison spoke and conferred with several local NKY sports history buffs to get their opinions and lists of their own and who should be “locks” for the 50 sports icons. We compiled each list and came up with the 50 of our own (maybe cheated a little by putting families in as one) to present over the next 50 days.
Hope you enjoy as summer time rolls on!
The 48th of the 50 sports icons is Maureen Kaiser, the longtime St. Henry volleyball coach who is top three all-time in KHSAA in wins.
MAUREEN KAISER
You may know Kaiser (St. Henry 1985, University of Notre Dame ‘89) for what she’s done as St. Henry’s volleyball coach – she’s 836-376 in 33 seasons, and she led the Crusaders to the 2021 state title, eight All “A” championships and nine Ninth Region crowns.
Kaiser has done a lot more.
At St. Henry, she earned 11 varsity letters in volleyball, basketball and track and field. She won the state Class A high jump in 1983, finished second in high jump and as a member of the 1,600-meter relay team in 1984, and won the long jump in 1985.
Kaiser was a U.S. Army Reserve National Scholar/Athletic selection in 1984. As a senior, she was one of four women in the nation to be honored with the Milky Way/Women’s Sports Foundation Award.
At Notre Dame, Kaiser was a four-year letter winner. Her Fighting Irish teams were 94-49, she was the team captain and Most Valuable Player in 1988, and she is among the top 10 in several solo blocks and block assists.
Kaiser is a member of three halls of fame: Northern Kentucky Athletic Directors (1996), St. Henry (2002) and the Buddy LaRosa’s (2004). Her accolades have earned her the merit of having the gym floor named after her and longtime St. Henry boys’ basketball coach Dave Faust.
Kaiser and her husband Marty live in Florence. They have three sons: Blake (26), Tyler (23) and Ethan (20) and a granddaughter, Zayvianna (7 months).
See the 50 sports icons on a day-to-day basis over the next 50 days
— Day 1: Dave Cowens
— Day 2: Shaun Alexander
— Day 3: Homer Rice
— Day 4: Dicky Beal
— Day 5: Jared Lorenzen
— Day 6: Jim Bunning
— Day 7: Tom Ellis
— Day 8: Nate Dusing
— Day 9: Jim Connor
— Day 10: Steve Cauthen
— Day 11: Irv Goode
— Day 12: Stan Steidel
— Day 13: Kenney Shields
— Day 14: David Justice
— Day 15: Morgan Hentz
— Day 16: Eddie Arcaro
— Day 17: Nancy Winstel
— Day 18: Steve Flesch
— Day 19: Donna Murphy
— Day 20: Randy Marsh
— Day 21: Mike Yeagle
— Day 22: Derrick Barnes
— Day 23: Dale Mueller
— Day 24: Dave Faust
— Day 25: Kirsten Allen
— Day 26: The Oldendick family
— Day 27: Martin “Mote” Hils
— Day 28: Nell Fookes
— Day 29: Owen Hauck
— Day 30: Becky Ruehl
— Day 31: Tom Thacker
— Day 32: Sydney Moss
— Day 33: Bob Schneider
— Day 34: The Walz family
— Day 35: John Toebben
— Day 36: Pat Scott
— Day 37: Bob Arnzen
— Day 38: Joan Mazzaro
— Day 39: Frank Jacobs
— Day 40: Adrienne Hundemer
— Day 41: The Draud family
— Day 42: Bill Krumpelbeck
— Day 43: The Molony family
— Day 44: Allen Feldhaus
— Day 45: The Maile family
— Day 46: Maureen Egan Corl
— Day 47: Bill Aker
— Day 48: Maureen Kaiser
— Day 49: John Brannen
— Day 50: Mike Bankemper