Monday, July 29, 2002
Farmer, Cooksey among 2002 inductees into Ky. Hall of Fame
The Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Richie Farmer, the Clay County prep star who played a key role in Kentucky's basketball resurgence in the early 1990s, and Patti Cooksey, who returned to horse racing after a bout with breast cancer, were among the nine 2002 inductees into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame.
Farmer, now 33, was Kentucky's Mr. Basketball in 1988 after leading Clay County to three state championship games and the 1987 title. He scored 51 points in Clay County's loss to Ballard in the 1988 championship game.
The 6-foot guard arrived at Kentucky with the program in ruins from stiff NCAA penalties. His freshman year, the Cats went 13-19, their first losing season since the 1920s. Rick Pitino arrived the following season and by Farmer's senior year, Kentucky was a national power again.
His college career ended in UK's 104-103 loss to Duke in the 1992 East Regional final, a game widely regarded as one of the greatest college basketball games ever played.
Farmer now lives in Manchester with his wife and three children.
Cooksey, now 44, is one of only two female jockeys with more than 2,000 victories. She was the first woman to ride in the Preakness and the second to ride in the Kentucky Derby.
Diagnosed with breast cancer last year, Cooksey had a mastectomy last September. She was fit enough to exercise horses by the spring and finished second in her first race back on June 27.
Cooksey is the all-time leading female jockey at Churchill Downs.
The other inductees, announced Sunday, include:
• Rodney McCray, a key member of Louisville's first national championship squad and one of four Cardinals to surpass 1,000 career points and rebounds;
• Sonny Collins, a star running back at Madisonville High School who became Kentucky's all-time leading rusher in the 1970s;
• Maurice Moorman, an all-state offensive lineman from St. Xavier High School, who played for the 1970 Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs;
• Johnny Owens, a former University of Kentucky golfer who won back-to-back state amateur titles in 1963 and '64;
• Wes Strader, the voice of Western Kentucky basketball and football for 36 seasons and the longtime voice of the Kentucky state high school basketball tournament;
• Guy Strong, a member of Kentucky's 1951 national championship squad and a longtime high school and college coach;
• Danny Sullivan, a Louisville native who won the 1985 Indianapolis 500.
The nine additions bring the total number of Hall enshrinees to 176. Bronze plaques commemorating their achievements will be displayed in the corridor of Freedom Hall.
The induction ceremony is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 9 at Louisville's Galt House East.
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Farmer, Cooksey among 2002 inductees into Ky. Hall of Fame
