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 the next 50 days.
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 second one of the 50 sports icons heads to Boone County and football star Shaun Alexander.
SHAUN ALEXANDER
The Boone County Rebel is one of the most accomplished football players in Northern Kentucky history.
After winning Mr. Football in 1994, Alexander then went on to play at Alabama before being drafted in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks.
At Alabama, he earned All-SEC honors in the nation’s premiere conference and even warranted Heisman Trophy consideration headed into his senior year. With his burst onto the scene in his freshman season with the Crimson Tide, the College Football Freshman Player of the Year Award is now called the Shaun Alexander Award.
With the Seahawks, he was named MVP of the league in 2005 and set a number of franchise records with the Seahawks.
Obviously what he did in the NFL and at Alabama stand out, but how about his senior season at Boone County? Alexander ran for 3,166 yards and 54 touchdowns! According to the KHSAA record book, that’s the third most rushing yards in a season and tied for second most touchdowns all-time in one season. Alexander ran for 6,657 yards in his Boone County career, 3,433 yards in his college career at Alabama and 9,453 yards in his NFL career.
That’s 19,543 yards (11.1 miles) for those keeping score at home. Alexander has been up for the NFL Hall of Fame a few times, but fallen short of the votes necessary to be inducted.
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