Lexington’s oldest high school basketball rivalry renewed at historic 1950s-era gym
Lexington’s oldest high school basketball rivalry stepped back in time Sunday night as Henry Clay hosted Lafayette in one of its historic gyms as part of the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame’s “Glory Road Project.”
The Blue Devils donned throwback uniforms with blue striping on gold that hearkened to the 1950s when Henry Clay played its games at what was then Lexington Junior High and is now Lexington Traditional Magnet School on North Limestone.
Henry Clay’s current players took well to the old environs, shooting a robust 61 percent from the field with 11 3-pointers in a 91-68 rout of the Generals.
“It’s an honor to be part of this,” Blue Devils junior guard Jackson Stephan said. “Carrying on the tradition of those who wore the jersey before us. It’s a great experience.”
Stephan scored a game-high 32 points with four of those 3s.
“We’re a good shooting team when we’re on,” he said. “We put it on full display tonight.”
Legendary Henry Clay coach and player Kirk Chiles was among those on hand for the game and dedication. The Glory Road Project previously came to Lexington to honor the old Dunbar High School gymnasium in 2023 and has bestowed its plaques at a number of historic venues across the state.
“I think it’s great. It’s a really neat concept,” said Chiles, who played for Henry Clay in the late 1960s and coached the Blue Devils from 1998 to 2006, a run that included 11th Region titles in 2003 and 2005. As for being a player “that was only 58 years ago, 1967,” he said. “They’ve refurbished this place.”
Also in attendance were former Henry Clay players Jack Tracy, Joe Duff and 1984 Mr. Basketball Steve Miller. A few from Lafayette attended, as well, including late 1970s players Tony Wilson and Kenny Minnifield, current head coach and former player Vince Sanford and former coach Don Adkins, who presented the Glory Road plaque on behalf of the KHSBHF.
The gym and the rivalry
Henry Clay and Lafayette are tied for the most Boys’ Sweet 16 titles with six. The Blue Devils, who last won a state title in 1983, lead the all-time series with Lafayette 99-93 over the 85 years of its existence and have won the last six in a row. According to Henry Clay, the average score in the previous 191 meetings is Blue Devils 51, Lafayette 49.5. Lafayette’s last state title came in 2001.
Tracy and Duff graduated from Henry Clay in 1951 and 1952, respectively, and have the distinction of having played at both Henry Clay’s old gym at its former Main Street campus and the junior high gym.
Henry Clay played its games from 1928 to 1950 on Main Street, but the growth of the school brought about Lexington Junior High and the use of its gym until 1970 when the new high school opened on Fontaine Road.
“The crazy thing about it is that we never practiced here,” Tracy said. “We practiced over on Main Street and came over here for our games. So, when you walked into the gym there was nothing on the wall or anything blue and gold.”
Today’s Henry Clay players got a taste of both venues as they had a shootaround at the Main Street gym on Thursday ahead of Sunday’s game. The old Main Street school has served as the Fayette County Public Schools’ Central Office for decades now.
“It’s been fun to share the tradition, the history with this young generation,” Henry Clay coach Daniel Brown said. “If you don’t put it out there, I’m not sure they know about it. And for somebody like me who’s been around 20 years of Henry Clay and understands what it’s like, it’s been fun to share it with them.”
Difficult path ahead
The Blue Devils (13-4) had four players reach double figures scoring against Lafayette, including senior guard AJ Dixon who came off the bench with 12 points in his first game back since taking time off to recover from a stress fracture. Lafayette (8-11) also had four players in double figures, led by Tyler Hunt’s 20 points.
The Blue Devils’ task ahead is to figure out how to gain ground in a 42nd District that includes No. 3 Frederick Douglass and No. 5 Bryan Station. Both topped Henry Clay in their first of two regular season meetings.
“We’ve got to just keep playing hard and keep doing what we do,” Stephan said. “Those district games are huge for our district seeding. We’ve got Scott County coming up. We’ve got to win that for sure.”
Lexington’s ‘Basketball Week’
Sunday’s Henry Clay-Lafayette game was also part of Lexington’s “250Lex Basketball Week” celebration as part of the city marking its 250th anniversary.
High school games that are part of this commemoration include the highly anticipated rematch between Frederick Douglass and Bryan Station on the Northside on Friday. All nine Lexington high schools have games highlighted by 250Lex this week.
