The Fredonia High School was closed in 1972, but the Yellow Jacket basketball program still maintains its place in this county’s sports history.
From a 2nd Region championship to a state rebounding record, the Yellow Jackets left their mark on the court.
Now, the Caldwell County Tigers and the Crittenden County Rockets will look to leave their mark on the Fredonia court.
The Tigers and Rockets will play a “throwback” scrimmage in the Fredonia Gym this Saturday night starting at 7:00.
Dubbed the “Havoc at the Hive,” it will be the first high school basketball game in Fredonia since the high school there was consolidated into Caldwell County over 50 years ago.
The Tigers and the Rockets will even honor a former rivalry of days gone by. Caldwell will wear uniforms representing the Fredonia Yellow Jackets while the Rockets will be dressed as the Frances Bulldogs.
Frances High School became a part of Crittenden County in 1950, but the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s were filled with spirited matchups between the two schools, which were only located about 6 miles apart.
Fredonia’s biggest claim to basketball fame was being the first school in Caldwell County to win the 2nd Region championship.
The 1953-54 Yellow Jacket squad produced a 31-6 record and a regional championship, earning a trip to Memorial Coliseum in Lexington for the Sweet 16.
The Yellow Jackets, coached by Ed Hickey, beat Charleston 54-47 in the regional final. The old scoreboard is still lit up with that score and now greets you as you enter the Fredonia gym.
The most famous Frances Bulldog was George Hart, who played at the school from 1946-50.
Hart scored 2,604 career points, which was the national record when he graduated.
During his time at Frances, Hart’s teams went 130-18 and made three 2nd Region championship games — falling each time to Frank Ramsey’s Madisonville squads.
Fredonia, meanwhile, is in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association record book thanks to 6-foot-6 center Russell Milton. Milton grabbed a state-record 48 rebounds in a 97-48 victory over the Marion Blue Terrors on Feb. 19, 1957.
Milton also scored 53 points in that contest. According to a report in the Caldwell County Times, Milton “hit 21 field baskets and 11 free tosses.”
Interestingly, Milton’s 48 rebounds were almost forgotten, but his daughter contacted the KHSAA decades later and supplied the newspaper report verifying the performance.
Milton was officially added to the state record book on Dec. 18, 2003 — nearly 47 years after the fact.
The Fredonia gym and former school building are now owned by Fredonia First Baptist Church, which is engaged in an ongoing renovation of both the gym and the school.
The facility is now called “The Hive,” which is an homage to the Fredonia mascot, the Yellow Jacket.
The Fredonia gym was one of the top gymnasiums in the 2nd Region when it was constructed in the early 1940s.
Few may remember these days, but Princeton Butler and Caldwell County played their home games at the Fredonia gym for almost a decade because of a lack of gym space on the Butler campus. The Tigers played at Fredonia from 1950 until the new Butler Gym was opened in 1959.
Crittenden County is the perfect opponent for Caldwell County’s return to the Fredonia gym.
The Rockets are now coached by former Tiger — and Fredonia native — Matt Fraliex. His dad, Earl, was a star center for the Yellow Jackets, scoring over 1,100 career points.
A few tickets still remain for Saturday’s Havoc at the Hive. Contact Presley Lamm at First Baptist Church for more information.
Doors will open at 6:30 Saturday. Former Fredonia players will be recognized prior to the scrimmage.
WPKY Radio will broadcast the festivities on 1580 AM, 103.3 FM, WPKYonline.com and on the free WPKY app. A free, live video stream will also be provided at WPKYonline.com.
