08/11/2025
It is with great Joy and Honor that we introduce and acknowledge the Inductees of the Burch High School Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2025.
But, before we do, we would like to give you a little insight into what the selection committee takes into consideration before selecting each athlete and looking at the era (time period, decade) in which they competed:
The Dynamics of Excellent Athletic Achievement
The historical significance of the Williamson Daily News All Area Team has been the subject of debate in athletic circles for many years. The award of All Area in past years was a higher hurdle to achieve in past years than recent years. This assertion is based on as early as the 1970's coverage area for the Williamson Daily News consisting of 26 high schools across Mingo, Pike, Martin and parts of Floyd and Wayne counties. By the 2000's consolidation of schools had decreased the number of schools to only fourteen.
The spots for an honorary team "pre-consolidation" era were achieved by competitors in competition with a larger number of athletes. School consolidation in our area has presented itself adversarial to athletics. The accomplishments of past local schools greatly outweigh the combining of community schools. While the assumption of combining schools would result in higher levels of accomplishment, the fact is the inverse has occurred. Today's athletic teams in our area often carry fewer team members than those of community schools. The accomplishments of rewarding play have also decreased with the loss of community schools and community support.
The greater number of schools and thriving community support for athletics produced greater competition among competitors. This competition lended itself to the selectivity of rewarding individual athletes with "All-Area" honors, an award that in its day truly exemplified noteworthy accomplishments.
The dynamics of excellent athletic achievement are often shaped by the time period. As we have discussed, the landscape of high school athletics in our region has changed dramatically in the past sixty years. For example, the number of athletes has decreased due to the consolidation of schools. Coinciding with the decrease in the number of athletes competing, the level of competitiveness has decreased as well.
How does this correlate with the issuing of honors for athletes?
The argument can be made that the barometer of achievement was more difficult and expanded the definition of "honorary" in terms of All Area and All State Teams. A member of a 1970's All Area Team may have made a more noteworthy contribution to their respective team and achieved individual statistics against and in comparison, to a wider pool of competition, than a "modern" All State player. Certainly, not minimizing the All-State player achievements, but placing the All-Area player achievements in the proper time perspective. The weight of the time period perspective must be considered in the case of individual honors. The awarding of an All-Area athlete in past years gauged against a wider range of athletes from Kentucky and West Virginia (pre-consolidation) needs to be weighted in comparison to more recent athletic achievements including All State honors. All honors should provide a source of pride for the respective athlete; we must continue to analyze accomplishments from the proper perspective. Simply, comparisons of athletic honors are impacted by the time period being analyzed.
Dr. C. Douglas Ward
Here are the inductees for the Class of 2025:
Coach:
Doug Ward, Head Football Coach
6 Seasons
Record: 37-28, 57% Winning Percentage
2 Playoff Wins
3 Playoff Appearances
Ranked No. 7, No. 9, No.10 During Playoff Years
1997 Team had 10-2 Record, Best in School History
Biggest Contribution: Changing of the Football culture - Burch Football went from losing seasons to a formidable team...
Football:
Bob Arthur, Class of 1951
1950, 1st Team All Area
1950, Selected to play in North-South All Star Game
Cecil Maynard, Class of 1952
1951, 1st Team All Area
Ned Caudill, Class of 1953
1952, 1st Team All Area
Danny Cisco, Class of 1969
1966 Honorable Mention All Area
1967, 1st Team All Area
1968, 1st Team All Area
1968, Honorable Mention Class AA All State
1968, Special Honorable Mention All Southern
Dean Kilgore, Class of 1970
1968, 2nd Team All Area
1969, 1st Team All Area
1969, Special Honorable Mention All Southern
1969, Honorable Mention All State
Richard Gravely, Class of 1975
1974, 1st Team All Area
1974, Honorable Mention All State
Willard Slone, Class of 1978
1975, Honorable Mention All Area
1975, Honorable Mention All State
1976, Honorable Mention All Area
1976, Honorable Mention All WV Area Football Team (Huntington Herald Dispatch)
1977, 1st Team All Area
Lee Fraley, Class of 1984
1983, 1st Team All Area
Basketball:
Doug Adkins, Class of 1971
1970, 2nd Team All Area
1971, Team Captain
1971, 2nd Team All Area
1971, Averaged 21 Points per Game
1971, AA Section 3, Region 4 All Tournament Team
Mike Smith, Class of 1973
1972, Team Co-Captain
1972, 3rd Team All Area
1972, AA Section 3, Region 4 All Tournament Team
1972, Averaged 15 Points per Game in the Sectional Tournament
1973, Team Co-Captain
1973, 2nd Team All Area, Captain
1973, AA Section 3, Region 4 All Tournament Team
1973, Averaged 18 Points per Game in the Sectional Tournament
Dave Hanshaw, Class of 1980 1978, Honorable Mention All Area
1979, 3rd Team All Area
1979, 3rd Team All Southern
1979, 2nd Team All State
1980, 2nd Team All Area
1980, Honorable Mention All State
Amon Mahon, Class of 1981
1978, 3rd Team All Area
1979, 1st Team All Area
1979, Honorable Mention All State
1980, 1st Team All Area
1980, Honorable Mention All State
1981, 1st Team All Area
1981, Honorable Mention All State. 2nd All Time Leading Scorer in Burch Basketball History..(1,333 Pts).. No 3 Point Line
Reggie Gravely, Class of 1985
1983, Honorable Mention All Area
1984, 1st Team All Area
1984, Honorable Mention All State
1985, 1st Team All Area
1985, 2nd Team All State
1985, WV State High School All Tournament Team.4th All Time Leading Scorer in Burch Basketball History... (1,259 Pts).. No 3 Point Line
Billy Stratton, Class of 1989
1987, 1st Team All Area
1988, 2nd Team All Area
1988, Special Honorable Mention All State
1989, 2nd Team All Area
1989, 2nd Team All State
1989, WV State High School All Tournament Team
1989, WV State Tournament Single Game Assist Record (14 Assists)
Jimmy Scott, Class of 1989
1989, 2nd Team All Area
1989, 1st Team All State
1989, WV State High School All Tournament Team
Girl's Basketball:
Helen Rose Damron, Class of 1984
1980, 1st Team All Area
1980, Honorable Mention All State
1982, 1st Team All Area
1982, Special Honorable Mention All State
1983, 1st Team All Area, Captain
Stephanie Goff Runyon, Class of 1985
1981, 1st Team All Area
1982, 1st Team All Area
1982, Honorable Mention All State
1983, 1st Team All Area
1983, Honorable Mention All State
1984, 1st Team all Area
1984, Special Honorable Mention All State
1989 State Champion Basketball Team:
Head Coach, John Maynard
Assistant Coach, Bill Smith
The Players:
Andy Brewer
Scott Caudill
Mike Davis
John Eanes
Greg Ferrell
Scott Goff
Tom Hall
Eugene Jarrell
Gary Marcum
Neil Penner
Jimmy Scott
Fred Smith
John Stanley
Billy Stratton
Jason Stratton
Attention Inductees: Each Inductee will have two (2) complimentary (FREE) Tickets available to attend The 3rd Annual Induction Dinner and Ceremony to be held August 30th at 2 PM in the commons area of Burch PK8 School (Former Burch High School). Please call Angela at 304-475-4040 to confirm your tickets.
Additional tickets for family and friends can also be purchased from Angela at the same number.
An Open Meet and Greet will be held at the same location before the Dinner And Ceremony for all ticket holders (Complimentary and Purchased) beginning at 12 Noon. We look forward to seeing everyone there.
