Derby Field

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Louisville Sports Commission Press Releases

Louisville Sports Commission Announces New Board Members

Louisville, Ky. – June 21, 2021 – At its annual meeting, the Louisville Sports Commission (LSC) board of directors unanimously approved a slate of officers, committee chairs, and new and re-elected board members for its fiscal year 2022, which begins July 1, 2021. Officers and committee chairs were elected to a one-year term; board members were elected to a three-year term.

Philip S. Poindexter, president of Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co., was elected chairman of the board; Leigh Ann Barney, president of Trilogy Health Services, vice-chair; Amber Halloran, treasurer; Allison Brown, associate general counsel at Brightspring Healthcare Services, secretary; and John Willmoth, principal at Poplar Ventures, immediate past chair.

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Louisville Sports Commission and Partners Launch Sports Fun(d)

Grant Program will Support ‘More Sports. More Kids. More Places’

Louisville, Ky. – June 9, 2021 – The Louisville Sports Commission (LSC) has teamed with Gill Holland, the Sociable Weaver Foundation and the Humana Foundation, as well as local and national sports organizations, to create SportsFun(d), a grant program that will provide “more sports for more kids in more places.” The initiative’s launch was unveiled today at a press conference in Louisville’s Portland neighborhood.

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Three Native Kentuckians to be Inducted into Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame

Pete Browning, Anna May Hutchison, Clarence Wilson Comprise Class of 2020

Louisville, Ky. – Feb. 4, 2021 – Three native Kentuckians from the bygone era have been selected as the 2020 class of the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame fueled by the Kentucky Lottery (KSHOF). Comprising the 43rd KSHOF class are: Pete Browning, one of the most dominant hitters in the early days of major league baseball in the late 1800s and namesake of the Louisville Slugger baseball bat; Anna May Hutchison, a record-setting sidearm pitcher in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) during the World War II era; and Clarence “Cave” Wilson, a prep and collegiate basketball star at all-black schools and at the time, the longest-tenured player-coach for the Harlem Globetrotters in the 1950-60s.

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Alabama’s DeVonta Smith Named 2020 Paul Hornung Award Winner

Award Presented Annually Since 2010 to Most Versatile Player in Major College Football

Louisville, Ky. – Jan. 5, 2021 – Alabama senior wide receiver / return specialist DeVonta Smith, a prolific pass catcher and standout on special teams who scored touchdowns receiving, rushing and returning punts, has been named winner of the 11th annual Paul Hornung Award presented by Texas Roadhouse.

The announcement was made today by the Louisville Sports Commission (LSC), owners and operators of the Paul Hornung Award, presented to the most versatile player in major college football. The LSC created the award in 2011 along with football legend and Louisville native Paul Hornung, who passed away on Nov. 13, 2020, at age 84.

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Sports provide normalcy in an abnormal time

I remember asking my mom how she and my four oldest siblings coped during World War II with rationing, uncertainty in the war effort and my father away serving in the Navy. She said, “We learned to make do.”

Louisville’s hospitality and travel and tourism industries have been forced to “make do” during the pandemic while operating in fits and starts for much of 2020 due to COVID-19. And while many sports activities also have been affected, our segment of the industry has been fortunate to fill a critical void and provide a sense of normalcy in an abnormal time.

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