Plaque unveiled honoring Breds' first football coach, Bill McKee

Bill McKee, Harrison County’s first football coach, was honored Saturday, April 27 at a plaque unveiling ceremony at the high school football stadium. Dozens of friends and family came to pay homage to the memory of a man whose impact still echoes.

You’d have to look hard to find a football dynasty in Kentucky with deeper roots than the McKee family’s. Bill McKee caught the football bug from his father, William Miles McKee, who played for Centre College in the late 1920s.

Bill McKee played football in the dirt at Buena Vista before transferring to Cynthiana High School. He than followed in his father’s footsteps, playing at Centre.

When the opportunity came for Bill to start a team at Harrison County High School, he jumped at the chance.

His tenure at the helm of the Thorobreds lasted 10 years before he moved on to a highly successful career in Georgia, where he eventually became athletic director over all 26 high schools in Dekalb County.

The McKee dynasty includes his nephew, Jim McKee, who has been wildly successful as the coach of the Scott County Cardinals. “Papa Bill” loved pacing the sidelines with Jim.

He also loved to see his grandsons play football.

There were lots of Bill McKee stories told Saturday. His son, Ross, spoke of his twins’ introduction to the game as second graders.

Young Chase McKee found himself making a run with the ball, and his grandfather ran 50 yards down the sideline alongside him. “They scored together,” Ross said.

At the time, he exulted, “That was Chase’s first touchdown!”

A winded Bill said, “I believe it was my last!”

Jim McKee served as master of ceremonies/sports commentator for Saturday’s event, which was structured as a football game with a pregame, postgame, and four quarters and halftime. Leading into each, he provided colorful commentary featuring names of his uncle’s Harrison County players.

Bill Selin had the pregame honors, playing the National Anthem on his silver trumpet.

Bill McKee’s sister, Betsy Clyde, took the first quarter, offering many thank you’s to those who made the plaque possible.

Son Ross McKee took the ball for the second quarter, describing his father’s career in Georgia and telling stories, such as the time he caught a flasher.

He also mentioned U.K. coach Fran Curci spending the night while on recruiting trips through Georgia. Curci and his father would litter the dining room table with papers of player stats, discussing likely prospects.

Ross spoke at length about his father’s impact on so many lives, which was a common theme Saturday afternoon.

He quoted his father as saying, “’Football’s not just a sport, it’s an ecosystem.’ ” All the parts have to work together, including elements such as the cheer squad and marching band.

Jim Furnish provided the halftime show. He described McKee’s players as “farm tough” and spoke of working in the fields all day and then showing up for practice.

Tom McKee, Bill’s brother, starred in the third quarter with more stories then passed the ball to his son, Jim, who took over for the fourth quarter.

“He uplifted people with his interactions,” he said, challenging those gathered to do likewise, to make the choice to lift someone up rather than pull them down.

Teddy Taylor had the postgame honors, describing the huge influence Bill McKee had on the rest of his life. He met McKee when he pulled over in a white convertible and started talking, trying to convince him to join the team.

“’You could be the best player ever to come out of Harrison County,’ ” McKee coaxed.

He talked of the band and firetrucks that would greet a victorious Harrison team. “’That’s how good we’re gonna be,’ ” McKee assured him. “’We are gonna have a program here that they’re gonna talk about forever.”

Together, they cruised the hamlets of the county, recruiting.

Because of Bill McKee, he said, “My life turned completely around.”

“Everything he said came true,” said Taylor, who starred on the field for McKee and then went on to become an All-American college player and a coach at Eastern Kentucky University under Roy Kidd.

Love of Harrison County football runs deep in the McKee family. “There’s not a Friday night that I don’t get on my phone to see how Harrison County did,” Jim McKee shared.

And it all began with Bill McKee.