Back in the day, local youths spent countless hours competing at iconic neighborhood hubs such as South End’s Carver Center, East End’s Charles Young and Dunbar Centers, West End’s Douglass Park “Dirt Bowl,” Downtown’s Salvation Army and Second Street YMCA, and North End’s Green Acres and Hollow Creek Parks, just to name a few. These same young athletes would one day thrill us on Friday nights in overcrowded high school gymnasiums and stadiums with thundering slam dunks, end-zone celebrations, out-of-the-park grand slams, and exhilarating photo finishes at rival track and field meets.

Some of these sports stars would go on to compete at the college and professional levels. As we watched them on television, and other forms of media, again we felt a sense of amazement, pride, and a connection to these home-grown sports stars and now … legends. Soon these sports stars and teams will, too, become faded memories unless our own African-American community makes a concerted effort to pay homage to our local sports heritage.

Our mission at Lexington African-American Sports Hall of Fame (LAASHOF) is to keep alive the memories and accolades of our homegrown sports legends. LAASHOF also endeavors to support local high school scholar-athletes by awarding supplemental college sports scholarships to those who receive partial athletic scholarships and could use additional financial support to pursue their academic and athletic goals.

You can help us with our mission by nominating your favorite sports phenoms, coaches, officials, and contributors for induction into our hall of fame. Please share with us their stories and successes so they can be recognized and celebrated for generations to come. Also, your nominee will remain eligible for induction for five years before having to be nominated again.

If selected for induction, your nominees will be honored at our grand event, one that will mimic the Oscars, Emmys, or BET Awards. The Lexington African-American Sports Hall of Fame Induction and Enshrinement Gala will feature a first-class dining experience, entertainment, and an after-party, giving us an opportunity to socialize, dance, and reminisce about days gone by.

All of those who are worthy of this prestigious honor cannot be selected for induction all at once. Therefore, we ask for your patience as we make our way through the annals of our forgotten history to identify, reward, recognize, and celebrate our legends from the segregated era to our current stars and contributors.

You can help support our efforts by purchasing a LAASHOF patron membership, program ad, or memorabilia, from our website store, or by making a donation, all of which can be done on our website at www.LAASHOF.com. We are a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and your donations are tax-deductible.

Along with our board of directors, advisory board, and more than forty founding team members, we hope to see you at our inaugural hall of fame banquet and induction gala in September 2022. It will definitely be a night to remember.