Honoring a Hometown Star

By Carol Perkins 

Retired Teacher and Author 

 

His right leg is shaking uncontrollably as he scans the crowd, searching for his parents, who are more nervous than he is. The cheerleaders lead the crowd in the traditional spelling of Metcalfe, but his heart is beating so loudly he can barely hear. The clock ticks down to tip-off, and Douglas MacArthur Clemmons, a freshman, listens for his name to be called among the starting line-up. Cortez Butler, his coach, shakes his hand as he takes his place among the upperclassmen: senior players such as John Paul Blevins, Henry Allen Froggett, Jim Walden, Dennis Clemmons, Don Pierce, and Donald R. Forbes. As soon as the ball is tossed to his team, however, he forgets the crowd and the sound of his beating heart. Doug Clemmons holds his own. That was the team of 1959-60. 

 He would go on to four years of “glory days” as a Hornet. His team made it to regionals almost every year, winning or coming in second at districts. Bowling Green High School’s gym hosted the regional tournament back then, before Diddle Arena existed. He was on the All-District Tournament Team for four consecutive years and made the All-Regional Team three times. Trophies-he still looks at them and smiles at the years of wearing number “24” for the Hornets. 

 “One thing none of us my age will forget was the crippling snowstorm that almost kept us from playing in Bowling Green. Fans put chains on the tires and drove us there. After we won the first game, they collected money for us to stay in a hotel.” Doug said. For many, this was their first time in a hotel. 

 During that time, he recalls, he played against so many exceptional players, but the one who remained a friend for a lifetime was Clem Haskins of Campbellsville. He was also friends with Dwight Smith from Campbellsville and played for Western. He passed away at a young age in a car accident. They were fierce competitors, but friends off the court. “My job was to guard them, and that was a JOB.” 

 Not only was Doug an outstanding basketball player, but he also played on the first Metcalfe County football team. The high school had recently merged with our three county high schools, and Cortez Butler (basketball coach) and Ralph Reece (baseball coach) formed a team, knowing very little about the sport. “Boys like to hit things, so we had a huge turnout to play. Some quit after the first tackle.” Howard Bruce Keel then took the role of football coach and relocated his family to Metcalfe County, where they have remained. 

 When football ended, basketball began, followed by baseball, and Doug played all three sports, winning awards every year. Ralph Reece was his baseball coach and led Doug and the team to district titles and regional play. Doug was no stranger to the sport, having played for his elementary school (as he did in basketball) and in pick-up games wherever a group of boys gathered. The courthouse yard was the perfect gathering place. 

 By his senior year, scouts began recruiting this exceptional player. “I’d look in the stands and see a face I didn’t know and figured out it was a scout. Talk about nerves!” The OVC schools were after him. He had scholarship offers from Duke, Florida State, Cincinnati, the University of Tennessee, Western, and others. “It was a rat’s race around here,” he said. The University of Louisville even offered him a football scholarship. “I thought about all these schools, but it was Eastern Kentucky College (later University) that showed the most interest when President Martin and the Vice-President showed up at my house. I signed with Eastern and became a Colonel.” He was the first Metcalfe County basketball player to earn a scholarship to a four-year college.  

 After graduation, he taught PE in Metcalfe County, and then Uncle Sam had other plans. He spent nearly two years in the Army, and when he came home, he resumed his teaching position. During this stint in the Army, when he had a weekend pass, he and Runell Glass, who also taught in Metcalfe County. “She has sat on more bleachers than any parent/mother/wife of a coach than she can count,” Doug said. He taught for twenty-eight years and was a substitute for fifteen more. During his career, he coached basketball for 2 years, football for 17 years, and baseball for 21 years. “I love Metcalfe County and the students. I still go to the games.” 

 Indeed, he does. This year marked his fifty-seventh district tournament. “I missed some when I was in college and the army, but none since. I’ve probably not missed many football or baseball games, either. Sometimes I sit in the car!” 

 “When I look back, I think of the support I had from this community. I always say I had four Dads: my dad, Hank Clemmons; Cortez Butler; Ralph Reece; and Howard Keel. I can’t leave out my mother, Jewel, who made sure I had what I needed ready for every game.” 

 Doug and Runell have two children, Ann (Ralphie) Willis of Bowling Green and David (Karla) Clemmons of Edmonton, plus six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. “I follow whatever they do,” he says. Both Ann and David played for the Hornets, and later David coached. 

 Doug Clemmons played basketball as long as he could by joining pick-up games at Bowling Park. “When the players kept getting younger, and I was getting older, I didn’t want to get hurt, so I quit.” As we move into the regional and state tournaments, Doug Clemmons will have his eye on the ball, because basketball is in his soul, and Metcalfe County is in his heart.