Dennis (Wild Man) Walker is set to be the guest speaker as three former athletes will be inducted into the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame, Wednesday, September 15th at the Villa Hills Civic Club.
Joe Brennan, President of the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame made the announcement.
Dennis Walker, aka Wild Man, served as the Sports Commando for WEBN-FM (102.7) reported on the big games, and the big concerts and met all the stars along the way for 27 years.
And the Sports Rocker lumped them all together in his recently released Wild Man: The Book co-written with Gerry Schultz.
Wildman Walker
But for all the interviews and commentaries it was the billboard stunt that garnered the 70-year-old Walker into Cincinnati folklore.
Walker went up on a downtown Cincinnati billboard August 24, 1991 – and the deal – he wouldn’t come down until the Bengals won a game.
On November 3rd – a full two-months from the beginning of the season, the 0-8 Bengals hosted the Cleveland Browns and thanks to Bengals’ cornerback Eric Thomas’ block of a Matt Stover field-goal try, the Bengals prevailed 23-21.
And Walker returned to earth.
Walker will have his book at the event for sale and autographs.
The inductions and meeting are open to the public and commence at 1 p.m.
The September inductees include:
Steve Funke — A graduate of Simon Kenton High School and Georgetown College; he played football at SK (1986-90) and was named Best Defensive Lineman 1989, MVP and again Best Lineman in 1990 when he served as team captain. In track, he won the 1991 Kentucky High School Athletic Association State 2A Discus Championship.
At Georgetown College, he was a member of the 1991 NAIA National Championship team. After graduation he coached – and taught – at Twenhofel Middle School, winning a state (football) title in 2018. He has coached the Simon Kenton track team 25-plus years.
Mac Cooley – Mac is a Simon Kenton and Centre College grad. He played both football and basketball at SK – won all-Northern Kentucky Coach’s Association honors his senior year as a tight end. He won the same honor in basketball and was also named to the All-Tournament team in 1991, 33rd District.
He played football at Centre College; and after graduation started his coaching career which took him to Hancock County High School (basketball); Simon Kenton and Lloyd High School (both football).
He is presently principal at Tichnor Middle School.
Bob Gavin – Bob Gavin was a three-sport star athlete at Ludlow High School., He was starting guard on the football team and earned Honorable Mention as a senior; he tossed a no-hitter as pitcher for the baseball team and played basketball as well.
He was a Medic Corpsman and served in the Navy for 20 years. He’s still active as a paramedic.
NKY Sports Hall of Fame
