Athletic director Mark Townsley, former principal Matt Bishop and girls basketball coach Randy Glover have been instrumental in getting the Hall of Fame process up and running.
“It was something that needed to be done here at Carlisle,” Townsley said.
Community members are encouraged to nominate worthy individuals. There are guidelines and nomination forms on the school website (www.carlisleindians.org), and the selection committee meets in early December each year to vote.
The 2015 class was introduced before the Dixie-Carlisle varsity boys basketball game Jan. 16. A dinner reception was held the previous evening.
The first class had six members: Richard Chamberlain, Eddie Crowe, Gene Fogle, Charles (Doc) Laughlin, Larry McIntosh and Gene South.
Here’s some information on the 2015 inductees:
Bud Chamberlain
The 1932 Carlisle graduate was a basketball standout who went on to play at Cedarville College. He was the first CHS athlete to receive financial aid to play college basketball.
Chamberlain was a teacher and basketball and baseball coach at Carlisle. His hoop squads won the school’s first Warren County championships in 1944 and 1946, and his baseball team was the county champion in 1945.
He served as athletic director for several years and became Carlisle’s first elementary principal in 1956. He was named assistant superintendent in 1968 and retired in 1975.
Chamberlain made numerous other contributions to the school district and community before his death in 2008 at 94. He drove a school bus for many years and was a longtime official scorekeeper at basketball games. He was the first president of the Carlisle Historical Society and a charter member of the Carlisle Lions Club.
Sam Franks
The 1967 Carlisle graduate was a letterman in football and baseball. He played on the 1963 freshman football team that shut out every opponent and won the first football trophy in school history. He was on the 1966 baseball squad that advanced to the state Final Four, the only CHS team to make it to that level.
Franks worked for 24 years in the district, coaching football and baseball. He’s best known as the head baseball coach, winning a school-record 227 games in 16 seasons (1982-97). Twenty-eight of his players went on to play college baseball.
Franks was Carlisle’s athletic director from 1997 to 2005 and was responsible for many upgrades to the school’s outdoor athletic facilities. He was inducted into the Miami Valley Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2000.
In 2005, his baseball jersey was retired and the diamond was renamed “Sam Franks Field.” Carlisle hosts the “Sam Franks Classic” every spring.
Tony Herold
In 1958, while in eighth grade, Herold was a member of the first undefeated junior high basketball team (18-0) in Warren County history.
He played baseball, football and basketball at CHS and also ran track. Herold was part of two Warren County championship track squads, played quarterback for the football team and was an honorable-mention All-Ohio guard in basketball.
He attended the University of Louisville on a basketball scholarship (1962-66) and the Louisville Presbyterian Seminary (1969-72). He earned a chemistry degree from Louisville in 1966.
Herold has lived in Colorado since 1974. He is married to Susan Smallwood, formerly of Franklin.
Mike Ledford
The 1959 Carlisle graduate received 10 varsity letters in football, basketball, track and baseball. He played in the school’s first football game in October, 1956, and threw the first touchdown pass in school history.
Ledford also played on two Warren County league and tournament championship basketball teams. He advanced to the state track meet as a pole vaulter.
Ledford received an academic scholarship to Ohio State and played freshman basketball there. After graduating from OSU, he taught biology at Carlisle and coached football, basketball and track for the Indians. He finished his coaching career at Dayton Belmont (basketball and golf).
He was a member of Miami University’s summer basketball staff and received an award from the Ohio Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. As a voting member of United Press International, Ledford was involved in the selection of the All-Ohio basketball teams.
Jennifer Parr
A 1997 Carlisle graduate, Parr collected 977 points, 360 assists and 222 steals during an outstanding career with the girls basketball program. She was an honorable-mention All-Ohio player and still holds the school record for assists.
Parr received a basketball scholarship to Xavier University, and the Musketeers went to the NCAA tournament three times and the NIT once during her career.
She started 34 games as a senior, averaging 6.7 points and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 42 percent from 3-point range, as XU went 31-3 and reached the NCAA Elite 8. Parr nailed a career-high six 3-pointers in a game against Dayton.
After graduating from Xavier, she coached varsity girls basketball at Colerain, Middletown and Madison.
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