‘Your dad won the game.’ Longtime LexCath coach Tommy Starns dies at 86.
Tommy Starns, who led Lexington Catholic’s boys’ basketball team to three Sweet 16s in a coaching career spanning three decades, died Thursday night at the age of 86.
“Tommy Starns never got enough credit for being an outstanding coach,” former Herald-Leader high school sports writer Mike Fields wrote in a post for the Kentucky High School Athletic Association on Friday. “Competing in the 11th Region against coaching icons such as Al Prewitt at Henry Clay, Bobby Barlow at Bryan Station, Jock Sutherland at Lafayette, and Nolan Barger at Tates Creek, Starns managed to lead the Knights to the state tournament three times — in 1966, 1977 and 1985. He had 371 career victories.”
Mark Starns, who has followed in his father’s coaching footsteps and was recently named the head coach at Apollo High School in Owensboro, said his father suffered a heart attack Thursday night at his home in Lexington.
Starns stepped away from Lexington Catholic twice due to health issues, but in his first comeback he led the Knights to the 1985 11th Region title. He retired from coaching after that season at the age of 51 as the grind of teaching and coaching began to wear on him. Later rejuvenated, he made a second comeback, taking on the role of boys’ head coach and athletics director for a fledgling Lexington Christian Academy in 1989. Starns retired again after two years at LCA and helping usher the Eagles into KHSAA play.
Starns had had a serious life-threatening complication from colon surgery in 1979 that sidelined him from coaching for two years. He developed gas gangrene, a bacterial infection, and had to be flown to Duke University’s hospital for an emergency surgery. He remained hospitalized there for two months.
“We were fortunate to have him for almost 87 years,” Mark Starns said. “My brother-in-law said it best last night when he was talking to us after Dad had gone … He said, ‘Guys, your dad won the game. He overcame the complications back in 1979’ — that was going into my senior year (at Lexington Catholic) — and he was OCD about keeping his diabetes in check.”
Also during his time at LexCath, Starns led the Lady Knights to three state titles as a cross country coach and led the girls’ track team to a state title and 13 consecutive region crowns. His boys’ track teams won seven region titles and had a state runner-up finish.
Starns graduated from Henry Clay and was a high school teammate of Prewitt, who became a Blue Devils’ coaching legend. Both were part of the Blue Devils’ run to the 1952 Sweet 16 as players. Starns coached at Lexington Junior for four years after a stint in the Air Force and took the LexCath job in 1964.
In addition to his son Mark, Starns is survived by his wife Phyllis, daughters Diana Ham and Susan Pergram and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Another son, Richard Starns, preceded him in death. Milward Funeral Directors is in charge of arrangements. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at its Southland Christian Church-Nicholasville Chapel, Bldg A. A service will be held there at 1 p.m. Thursday.
This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 4:25 PM.
