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Ben Chandler has certainly made his mark on Kentucky politics and he's also the grandson of former MLB commissioner A.B. 'Happy' Chandler. On this episode of the WUKY SportsPage the current executive director of the non-profit Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky talks with Keith Elkins about his own introduction to the game, the opportunity to meet some of baseball’s greatest players and personalities, and his grandfather’s significant term as commissioner. And he is still very proud of a 3-for-3 performance in a Congressional baseball game.

Dorian Hairston was a hard-hitting outfielder for the University of Kentucky from 2013-16, batting .318 in SEC games in his junior year, and starting 31 games in his senior season. He also received numerous academic and community service honors during his time as a Wildcat. Now, he’s making his mark as a poet. His first book, “Pretend the Ball is Named Jim Crow,” published earlier this year, uses a collection of his poems to tell the story of baseball great Josh Gibson. With his poetry, Hairston gives voice to Gibson, his children, and his baseball connections such as fellow Hall of Famer Satchel Paige and Pittsburgh Crawfords manager Hooks Tinker, who is credited with discovering Gibson at an industrial league game in 1927. The poems address baseball accomplishments, life in the Negro Leagues, race issues, and tragedies in the life of Gibson, who became a widower at age 18 when his wife died giving birth to their twin children. Gibson himself died at the age of 35 in 1947, just three months before Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers.Some of this interview covers adult themes - parental discretion is advised.

Jack (Goose) Givens is among the most popular athletes ever to wear Kentucky’s blue and white. He led the Wildcats to the 1978 NCAA basketball championship, scoring 41 points against Duke in the final game. He earned All-American and multiple All-SEC honors while at UK. He is third on the all-time scoring list for UK men’s basketball with 2,038 points, behind only Dan Issel and Kenny Walker. Givens went on to play professionally in the NBA, and in Italy, Belgium and Japan. He has had a long and successful broadcasting career in college and professional basketball, and just completed his second season as the analyst for UK radio broadcasts, teaming with play-by-play announcer Tom Leach. Givens recently released a book about his life, They Call Me Goose, co-written with Doug Brunk.

For a second time, Alan Stein has brought the Legends to Lexington. The minor league baseball team opened play as a Houston Astros affiliate in 2001, following years of effort and planning led by Alan. He stepped away from the team in 2011. Now, after a year of being called the Lexington CounterClocks, the Legends are back in 2024. Alan is part of a new ownership group that has brought back the old nickname, and hopes to bring back the fan base with some new ideas as well as some familiar favorites. This conversation covers the recent developments that resulted in the “Legendary” comeback.

Marc Logan was a star running back at Kentucky in the mid-1980s. He was an outstanding rusher, receiver, and kick returner. A graduate of Bryan Station High School, he also had great success as a sprinter, including a win over Willie Gault, a 1980 U.S. Olympic qualifier and a star receiver at Tennessee and in the NFL. After much extra work to improve as a receiver, Logan led the Wildcats in receptions in his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. He was the Most Valuable Player in the Hall of Fame Bowl as Kentucky defeated Wisconsin following the 1984 season. He went on to an 11-year career in the NFL with Cincinnati, Miami, San Francisco and Washington, and was a part of two Super Bowl teams, including the champion 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX. He is a member of the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Lexington African-American Sports Hall of Fame. In this interview, he talks about favoring track over football before college, his accomplishments at UK, his Super Bowl teams, some of his NFL teammates, including Jerry Rice, Steve Young, Dan Marino and Boomer Esiason, and how a surprise call from coach Don Shula led to his signing with the Dolphins.

Derrick Ramsey had an outstanding career as an athlete, and has continued to make his mark in business, athletics administration, and government service at the state cabinet level. He is a member of the UK Athletics Hall of Fame, the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame. As the UK quarterback, he led the Wildcats to the Peach Bowl in 1976 and a 10-1 season in 1977. He went on to a nine-year career in the NFL, including a Super Bowl championship with the Oakland Raiders, and another Super Bowl appearance with the New England Patriots. He has served as Kentucky’s Secretary of the Labor Cabinet, Secretary of the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet and before that, Deputy Secretary of Commerce. He also has served on the UK Board of Trustees. He tells his story in a book titled “They Call Me Mr. Secretary” written with Dr. John Huang. Derrick’s start in the small town of Hastings, Florida, his UK and NFL careers, including his interactions with John Madden and Al Davis, are covered in this conversation, as are his longtime friendship with his high school and UK teammate Art Still, his relationship with coach Fran Curci and more.