Clark, Golden, Humphries highlight hall inductees

DECATUR – Ken Clark’s hair turned gray years ago, but the former Priceville star still looks like he could step onto the court and lead his team to a win.
Saturday night, Clark was one of seven local athletes to be inducted into the Morgan County Sports Hall of Fame. Also part to the 2010 induction class were Preston Brogdon, Paul Brogdon, Marvin Golden, Hulond Humphries, John “Sonny” Kitchens and Harvey Morris.
“It was really surprising when I was told I was going to be inducted into the hall of fame,” Clark said. “It was definitely a big surprise.”
During the winter of 1965, Clark played a strong role in continuing Priceville’s growing basketball tradition that included state championships in 1951 and 1955.
After a stretch of mediocre seasons, the Bulldogs returned to glory by advancing to the Class 2A state tournament at Foster Auditorium on the University of Alabama campus.
“When we got to Foster Auditorium, standing at the door was Paul “Bear” Bryant,” Clark remembered.
Bryant asked what team Clark and his buddies played for and they quickly told the Crimson Tide football coach they were from Priceville.
“Priceville? We’ve been wondering when you guys would get back here,” Bryant said.
Clark led the Bulldogs to three straight wins in Tuscaloosa to give Priceville its third state title in a span of just 14 years.
“That was 45 years ago, a long time ago,” said Clark. “Priceville had some really great basketball teams in the 50s and 60s and we did great that one year,” Clark said.
Priceville finished the 1965 season with a 32-3 record as Clark averaged more than 20 points per game in the state tournament on his way to most valuable player honors.
Clark later went on to play at St. Bernard, one of the state’s top small college programs. He was a key reserve as a freshman before stepping into the starting lineup a year later as a sophomore.
Clark wasn’t the only athlete in the 2010 induction class to rise to fame from the Hartselle area. Golden and Humphries also had strong ties to the Hartselle and Eva areas respectively.
Golden played football for H.L. “Shorty” Ogle at Decatur High School, but after a solid prep career he spent many years coaching youth sports in Morgan County.
“I won a lot of championships in my time coaching,” said Golden before Saturday’s banquet. “I guess I won a lot more than anybody else.”
In more than 20 years in coaching youth sports, Golden won two state championships in three trips to the finals.
He also might have coached in more sports and age divisions than anyone else, including 15 years in youth football in Hartselle – a program he helped organize.
He also coached girls’ softball for four years and also a year at the helm of a women’s church league softball team that went on to win a county championship.
“That was the greatest period of my life,” Golden said. “I never raised my voice to anybody and I tried to be fair to everyone.
“Everyone I coached on the football field went on to play the same position in high school. I didn’t play favorites.”
That philosophy meant that Golden’s son, Harry, didn’t get any special favors on the football field. A future starter at Hartselle High School, Harry Golden never played quarterback for his father.
“A lot of coaches would try to put their sons at quarterback, but I never played him there,” Golden said. “I didn’t want anyone to think I was playing favorites.”
Humphries had a long career in athletics as a player at Eva from 1949-55 and later as a coach at Limestone County and Falkville.
As a senior at Eva, Humphries averaged 24 points per game on the way to all-county, all-district and all-state honors. He signed with Athens College and played from 1955-57.
Humphries later served as the principal for 26 years at Randolph County, where the school’s football stadium is named after him.