Coach – Football, Baseball, Swimming (Special Olympics), and Track
Kenneth T. Smith, also known as Coach K.T., was born in Lexington, KY, on November 29, 1946, to the late Fannie (Smith) Kirtley and Gilbert T. Smith, Sr. He was the youngest of three children, sister Anna (Smith) Johnson and brother Gilbert T. Smith, Jr., who both are now deceased. Prior to his wife’s passing, Coach K.T. was married for 56 years to fellow 2024 LAASHOF Class Member Ella W. Smith. Coach K.T. has two sons Kenneth Stewart and LaMont Smith.
Coach K.T. is a 1964 graduate of the original Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, where he was a member of the football and track teams. Upon graduation, Coach K.T. attended Tuskegee Institute, where he received a full athletic scholarship to play football. Coach K.T. is a graduate of Kentucky Vocational-Technical College where he obtained his electrical license in 1974. Professionally, Coach K.T. is semi-retired and a former member of IBEW Union. He is the co-owner and president of S & F Electrical Company. Additionally, Coach K.T. was a KHSAA baseball umpire and called games at the youth, high school, and small college levels.
Coach K.T. has been a youth football coach for 47 years. Over the years, Coach K.T.’s Meadowthorpe and Martin Luther King Park Bronco teams have won more than 300 games, multiple city championships (8), and bowl games both in Kentucky and Tennessee. Additionally, Coach K.T. was a baseball manager at Western Little League (Meadowthorpe Park) for more than 25 years. His baseball team, the Dodgers (formerly Colts) won several league championships and competed in several city tournaments. One year, he and his team fell just short of winning the Lexington Little League City Baseball Tournament, finishing as the runner-up. Briefly, Coach K.T. coached a track team (We Care) to a record-setting 400-meter relay at the Hershey’s Track and Field Youth Track Meet. While Coach K.T. enjoys and has many great memories coaching football, baseball, and track, his most rewarding experience was the time he spent coaching swimming during the Special Olympics. He still speaks fondly of the positive impact of coaching and watching athletes with disabilities to be able to achieve their goals.
Coach K.T. works diligently to prepare his athletes for the next level and beyond. As a result, many of Coach K.T.’s athletes have gone on to play various sports at the collegiate and professional levels. Because of his years of service and commitment to youth sports in the Lexington community, Coach K.T. has received numerous awards and recognition, including the following: Central/Eastern KY Chapter National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Contributions to Youth Football Award (1995), NFL Youth Coach Hall of Fame (2003), Young-King Community Volunteer Award Parks and Recreation (2004), Lifetime Service Award (2007), Dermontti Dawson Team Sportsmanship Award (2016), Kenneth “K.T.” Smith Day declared and signed by former Lexington Mayor Jim Gray on August 28, 2017, and The Norman L. Passmore Classic Award (2022).
