Six inductees of the third class of the Lewis County Schools High School Athletic Hall of Fame, which will be honored between junior varsity and varsity boys basketball games against Lawrence County on Saturday (February 3).
The varsity game is scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. start.
Inductees include: Harold Billman, Bill Robinson, Melissa Bloomfield, Leland “Tiny” Roberts, Dennis Brown, and the 1978 Lewis County football team.
The Hall of Fame was established in 2020 to recognize the athletic achievements of players, coaches, administrators and contributors from each of the four high schools (Vanceburg High School, Tollesboro High School, Laurel High School and Lewis County High School) that have existed in the past century in Lewis County.
Inductees will be honored with a reception and a wall of honor will display the names of each of the Hall of Fame inductees in the lobby of the Lewis County Middle School gymnasium.
Members of the community may nominate any former athlete, coach, administrator or contributor to the Hall of Fame Committee for consideration for induction. The deadline for nomination forms to be submitted is December 1 of each year.
Applications should be sent to:
Lewis County High School Principal
Attn: Athletics Honors and Awards Committee
79 Lions Lane
Vanceburg, KY 41179
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2023 Lewis County Schools High School Athletic Hall of Fame Bios
Harold Billman
Few players could light up the scoreboard like Billman did during his time at Vanceburg High from 1956-59. A teammate of Ralph Davis as a freshman, Billman’s ascent coincided with Bob Wright’s return as VHS mentor in the fall of 1956. His scoring jumped to 18 points per game in 1957, then to 21 points per game as a junior.
That set the stage for a historic senior season in 1958-59. Billman scored more than 700 points that season, an average or more than 26 per game as the Lions finished 21-6. Included in that total was a career-high 42 against South Portsmouth that broke Davis’ school-record 41. Billman’s mark would stand for nearly 12 years.
Billman was named honorable mention all-state by the Associated Press in both the 1958 and 1959 seasons. Billman compiled a 74-42 mark during his four seasons as a Lion. Billman was also a standout baseball player. In 1959, he led the Lions to a district championship victory over Maysville, the defending state champions.
Melissa Bloomfield English
At a time when Lewis County’s girls’ basketball program needed stability and success it found both in the form of the quick, sharp shooting guard. Bloomfield started six years for the Lady Lions, graduating in 1998 as the school’s second all-time leading scorer (boys or girls) with 2,059 career points.
Bloomfield joined the team during a time when it enjoyed single-digit wins in seven of eight seasons under three different coaches. Though she carried high expectations from middle school forward, she helped lift the program back to respectability.
Bloomfield earned All-Eastern Kentucky Conference honors in all six of her seasons while being named to the 62nd District All-Tournament team on four occasions. The Lady Lions qualified for the 16th Region tournament three times in her career (1994, 1994 and 1998).
She saved her best for last as she averaged better than 15 ppg during her junior and senior seasons while the Lady Lions won 15 games each year – tied for the most wins in a season in school history to that point.
Dennis Brown
Few, if any, people can say they have had an up close and personal view of the accomplishments of Lewis County’s teams over the past four decades like Dennis Brown.
As Publisher of the Lewis County Herald and President and General Manager of WKKS Radio, Brown has made a life of covering the county he calls home. Brown’s roots run deep.
A Lewis County High School graduate where his father, the late Gordon Brown, taught for many years. Dennis worked at the local radio station as a student at LCHS in 1978 and graduated from Morehead State University in 1984 having earned a bachelor’s degree in communications.
He and his father formed Brown Communications, Inc. in 1984 and purchased WKKS. While the radio station carried Lewis County games for several years, he expanded it and even added play-by-play of Tollesboro High School basketball games in the late 1980s.
In 1987, he joined The Lewis County Herald and by 1991 became its publisher, where he still manages the day-to-day operations while covering Lewis County news, special events, and sports.
Brown has not only chronicled the wins and losses, triumphs and accomplishments of hundreds of Lewis County student-athletes over the past 40 years with the highest levels of professionalism, information that otherwise would be lost to history has survived and been used to tell a more complete history of the county thanks to his efforts.
Leland “Tiny” Roberts
Though the man Roberts followed to Vanceburg was only the head coach for one season, the assistant dedicated his life to his adopted home of Lewis County. Nearly everyone who learned under Leland “Tiny” Roberts, whether it was generations of Lewis County football players or students in his business classes, came away with a deep appreciation and a great “Coach” story.
Roberts remains the longest tenured assistant coach in Lewis County football history. Starting his coaching career in the fall of 1970 under head coach Hal Lockhart, he worked under Bill Robinson, Woody Robinson, and Arthur “Corky” Prater in four different decades until his retirement. A line coach by trade, Coach Roberts taught impeccable technique and his linemen played a critical role in 3 district champions (1974, 1978 and 1985) while 1978 remains the only football team in Lewis County history to enjoy an undefeated regular season.
Even after his retirement, Coach was a familiar site on the sidelines, giving encouragement to the coaches and players alike. However, Coach was not only an inspiration on the field, but in the classroom and in the lives of his players. He would help players with personal issues and encouraged them to make good decisions. He would tutor young men and women to help them improve their grades and give them the courage to succeed, when in many cases, he was the only one encouraging them.
Coach Roberts continues to make an impact on the football program and players he loved when he left his home and other financial resources for the football boosters upon his passing in 2013 to help make sure the players are cared for when needs arise, including college scholarships.
Bill Robinson
When Lewis County went searching for stability for its fledgling football program in 1971, not only did it find a caretaker but also one of northeastern Kentucky’s most innovative coaches.
Robinson led Lewis County’s program to unprecedented heights during his 11-year tenure from 1971-81.
The only LCHS football coach to finish his tenure with a winning record, Robinson won 61 games and the school’s first two district championships (1974 and 1978) while recording to date the only undefeated regular season in school history in 1978. His teams also won Eastern Kentucky Conference titles in 1974, 1976 and 1978.
In a time when the wishbone and I-formation were coming to prominence, Robinson’s early teams were nearly a half-century ahead of its time as the Lions featured a wide-open offense that filled the air with passes from standout quarterback Arthur “Corky” Prater.
At the time of his graduation, Prater the second all-time leading passer in state history with 6,842 yards, while his offenses still hold three of the top four highest-scoring seasons more than 40 years after he coached his final game. He didn’t just innovate on the offensive side of the ball, however.
His defenses still hold three of the top five years of fewest points surrendered. His years are still considered the glory years of LCHS football.
1978 Football Team
During the magical autumn of 1978 the football team at Lewis County set a standard of excellence that every team has been chasing since.
That year the Lions completed a 10-0 regular season mark. Part of what makes the team so memorable is the way it did it. The team found itself in close games nearly every week and still managed to march through the season unblemished on the way to the Eastern Kentucky Conference and district championships.
The team’s defense only allowed 116 points during the regular season and remains one of the top defenses in school history. This team also had outstanding special teams as sophomore Ernie Robinson kicked 21 extra points and 5 field goals during the season (records that still stand today) and his foot was the deciding factor in at least five games.
Aaron Polston led the team’s balanced offensive attack by setting a new single-season rushing record with 1,160 yards.
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