NKY Sports Hall of Fame to induct six new members on October 19; John Popovich to speak at luncheon

By Andy Furman
NKyTribune reporter

Six new members will be inducted into the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame, Wednesday, October 19.

John Popovich, the former TV sports legend and Sports Director at WCPO TV Channel 9, will be the guest speaker at the ceremonies.

The inductions will take place at The Garden of Park Hills (1622 Dixie Highway) and will commence at 1 p.m. The meeting and ceremony are free and open to the general public.

Popovich graduated in 1969 from Struthers High School near Youngstown, Ohio where he worked at a student-operated radio station, WKTL. When it came time to pick a college, Ohio University was the perfect fit.

“Both of my brothers went to Ohio University,” he said, “so I already knew a lot about the place. “I knew the school had a great reputation for communications and since that’s what I wanted to study; it was perfect.”

In 1979, Popovich was hired at WCPO TV and that was his final career stop. About a year into his time at WCPO, the station asked Popovich to start an 11:30 p.m. Sunday night program called Sports of All Sorts. He hosted the program for 33 years and then spent the remainder of his time at WCPO as the weekday 6 and 11 p.m. sports anchor. He retired in 2019 as the best TV storyteller in Cincinnati.

The inductees include:

• Bob Ward

The Dixie High School grad says 1956-57 was probably the best year in the school’s athletic history. They won the Recreation Bowl in football, won the Region in basketball and track. During the 1956 football season, they pulled an upset over Corbin in that Recreation Bowl — and upset Louisville Faget and beat Highlands 21-20 in the last game of the season.

Their only loss – a 7-0 decision to Newport; and had they won would have claimed the state title.

Ward played football and ran track, and in 1957 won the Region – still the only Region title in school history. They won the 880-relay with Ward running anchor – he finished second in the 220-yard dash and third in the 100-yard dash.

• Jeff Wright

In 1973 he successfully defended his 180-yard low-hurdle tile as a student-athlete at Dayton (Ky.) High School. He was, at the time, recognized as one of the top all-around trackmen in the state. 

He placed second in the 120-yard-high hurdles; his record in the low-hurdles was 23-0, and a neat 22-1 in the high hurdles.


In three seasons, he won eight regional titles, two state championships., two state runners-up and one third in the state.

At Brevard College he was an NJCAA 10th Region champion in 120-meter-high hurdles; 400-meter intermediate hurdles; and set the school record in the event.

He finished the season ranked fourth in the nation. He completed his education at Eastern Kentucky University and set a school record as part of the 4×200 relay team.

Wright coached girls’ jayvee basketball at Dixie Heights High School (1979-2003) and complied a record of 183-146; with one jayvee Region championship.

He coached girls’ cross country with a career mark of 1,244-385 with four Regionals, and one Conference championship – and he coached girls track and field with an 864-389 mark with three Regionals and one Conference championship. He also coached boys’ cross country with a 736-556 record with two regional runners-up.

He coached at Scott high and continues his coaching career at Ludlow High School.

• Charlie Walton

A three sport athlete – Football, Basketball and Track – at Dayton High School – he played middle linebacker on the football team and was named All-State his junior and senior seasons. He played college football at Eastern Kentucky University; and was a member of the Ohio Valley Conference championship team in 1966.

His Dayton basketball team was District champions his junior year. He later coached basketball in the Covington and Boone County school system for 10 years.

A six-year starter on the track team, he won the Regional high jump his senior year.

• Randy Ogden

An outstanding football and track star at Dixie Heights High School, Ogden was team captain of the football team and was first team All-Conference his senior year.

His coaches named him offensive back of the year by accumulating the most points on game film and was also named the defensive back of the year.

He was team captain of the track team his senior year, and a member of the mile-relay team that held the school record 34 years. Team members were Paul Kennedy, Ron Oliver and Dave Marquett.

• Fred Ogden

A great outdoorsmen who started the Latonia Gun Club (behind the Rosedale Swim Club) – before moving to Independence.

He staged clinics for gun safety and The American Crow Hunters Association was formed after World War II. They held a national tournament each year – crows, they felt, were destructive to corn crops and the farms welcomed hunters.

The first time Ogden – “Count Crow” – entered a National Crow Shoot was 1958. At the time, the record was 27 crows in three hours – Ogden bagged 45 and won the national title. A brand-new Browning 12-gaughe shotgun was the trophy.

Ogden was recruited by the Cincinnati police Department to shoot pigeons on the downtown buildings. He would shoot as many as 500 a-day.

• Dan Jenkins

A Beechwood High School swimmer, Jenkins was the 1993 State Champion in the 100-yard butterfly event.

He swam for the Beechwood Swim Club and the University of Kentucky.

The NKY Sports Hall of Fame

The Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame started in October 1983 for the purpose to recognize and honor individuals for outstanding athletic achievements and overall contributions to the sports scene in Northern Kentucky.

Categories include team sports, managers, coaches, umpires, sponsors, league or tournament managers, park owners, sports writers, media members and sporting goods owners.

Effective January 1, 2015, the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame and the Behringer-Crawford Museum (BCM) reached an agreement that the museum will become the curatorial arm for the Hall of Fame and collect and preserve sports memorabilia and related artifacts for posterity.