48 Notable alumni of
Eastern Kentucky University
Updated:
Eastern Kentucky University is 1099th in the world, 397th in North America, and 371st in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 48 notable alumni from Eastern Kentucky University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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Lee Majors
- Enrolled in Eastern Kentucky University
- In 1962 graduated with bachelor's degree in history and physical education
- Occupations
- film producersingeractortelevision actorfilm actor
- Biography
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Lee Majors is an American actor. He portrayed the characters of Heath Barkley on the American television Western series The Big Valley (1965–1969), Colonel Steve Austin on the American television science-fiction action series The Six Million Dollar Man (1973–1978), and Colt Seavers on the American television action series The Fall Guy (1981–1986).
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Thaksin Shinawatra
- Enrolled in Eastern Kentucky University
- Graduated with Doctor of Philosophy
- Occupations
- politicianmillionairebusinesspersonentrepreneurlecturer
- Biography
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Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai politician and businessman who served as the 23rd prime minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006.
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Sam Champion
- Enrolled in Eastern Kentucky University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies
- Occupations
- weather presenter
- Biography
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Samuel James Champion is an American weather anchor with WABC-TV and Good Morning America. He formerly co-anchored AMHQ: America's Morning Headquarters and 23.5 Degrees With Sam Champion on The Weather Channel.
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Jessamyn Duke
- Occupations
- professional wrestlermixed martial arts fighterThai boxer
- Biography
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Jessamyn Laurel Duke is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. As a wrestler, she worked with WWE as part of their NXT brand. She formerly competed for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Invicta Fighting Championships in the women's bantamweight division.
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Dan Patrick
- Occupations
- sports commentatorfilm actoractor
- Biography
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Daniel Patrick Pugh, known professionally as Dan Patrick, is an American sportscaster, radio personality, and actor. He hosts The Dan Patrick Show broadcast on radio on Premiere Radio Networks and streaming on Peacock. He co-hosted NBC's Football Night in America and serves as a senior writer for Sports Illustrated. He worked at ESPN for 18 years, where he often anchored the weeknight and Sunday 11 p.m. edition of SportsCenter. He is unrelated to his partner Bill Patrick at Sports Center. He is also the host of the podcast "Dan Patrick Takes a Gamble", highlighting the world of sports wagering.
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George Floyd
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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George Floyd Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a defensive back for two seasons with the New York Jets in the National Football League. Growing up in Brooksville, Florida, Floyd attended Hernando High School, where he was selected for The Tampa Tribune's all-area football team in all three of his varsity years. Floyd played college football for the Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) Colonels, and won the 1979 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I-AA football championship.
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Potjaman Na Pombejra
- Enrolled in Eastern Kentucky University
- Graduated with Master of Business Administration
- Occupations
- businesspersonpolitician
- Biography
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Khun Ying Potjaman Damapong, formerly Potjaman Shinawatra (Thai: พจมาน ชินวัตร; RTGS: Photchaman Chinnawat), née Soypetpotjaman Damapong (Thai: สร้อยเพชรพจมาน ดามาพงศ์; RTGS: Soiphetphotchaman Damaphong) (born 22 November 1956) is the ex-wife of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and mother of the current prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
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Mallory Ervin
- Occupations
- television producerYouTuberbeauty pageant contestant
- Biography
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Mallory Christina Ervin is an American YouTube personality, former entertainer and former beauty pageant titleholder from Morganfield, Kentucky. She held the title of Miss Kentucky 2009 and was 4th runner-up to Miss America 2010. In September 2010, it was announced that she competed on The Amazing Race 17 with her father Gary Ervin. The Amazing Race was filmed in May and June 2010 and premiered on September 26, 2010. Gary and Mallory were also one of the teams to return for The Amazing Race 18, which premiered on February 20, 2011. Ervin returned to the race to join Mark Jackson in The Amazing Race 24: All Stars, after Jackson's teammate William "Bopper" Minton was deemed unfit to race for health reasons.
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Earle Combs
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Earle Bryan Combs was an American professional baseball player who played his entire career for the New York Yankees (1924–1935). Combs batted leadoff and played center field on the Yankees' fabled 1927 team (often referred to as Murderers' Row). He is one of six players on that team who have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame; the other five are Waite Hoyt, Herb Pennock, Tony Lazzeri, Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth.
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Corey Walden
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Torrian Corey Walden is an American professional basketball player for Força Lleida of the Spanish Liga ACB. He played college basketball for Stetson and Eastern Kentucky before playing professionally in the NBA G League, Belgium and Israel. Standing at 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), he plays at the point guard position. Playing for Hapoel Holon, he was named the 2019 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP. In addition to being a citizen of the United States, Walden also has Serbian citizenship.
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Silas House
- Occupations
- opinion journalistjournalistmusic criticwriternovelist
- Biography
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Silas Dwane House is an American writer best known for his novels. He is also a music journalist, environmental activist, and columnist. His fiction is known for its attention to the natural world, working-class characters, and the plight of the rural place and rural people. House is also known as a representative for LGBTQ Appalachians and Southerners, and is among the most visible LGBTQ people associated with rural America.
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Art Lund
- Occupations
- film actortelevision actorstage actorsinger
- Biography
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Arthur Lund was an American baritone singer, initially with bandleaders Benny Goodman and Harry James, and was also a television and stage actor.
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Teddy Taylor
- Occupations
- politicianbusiness executivejournalistconsultant
- Biography
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Sir Edward MacMillan Taylor, known as Teddy Taylor, was a British Conservative Party politician who was a Member of Parliament (MP) for forty years, from 1964 to 1979 for Glasgow Cathcart and from 1980 to 2005 for Southend East.
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Sam Holbrook
- Occupations
- baseball managerbaseball umpire
- Biography
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Samuel Woodford Holbrook is an American retired Major League Baseball umpire. He made his MLB debut in 1996 and was promoted to crew chief in 2017. Holbrook worked the World Series in 2010, 2016, and 2019. He retired following the 2022 season.
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J. C. W. Beckham
- Occupations
- lawyerpolitician
- Biography
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John Crepps Wickliffe Beckham was an American attorney and politician who served as the 35th governor of Kentucky and a United States senator from Kentucky. He was the state's first popularly-elected senator after the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment.
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Greg Gibson
- Occupations
- baseball umpire
- Biography
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Gregory Allan Gibson is an American former Major League Baseball umpire who worked in the National League from 1997 to 1999 and throughout both major leagues from 2000 to 2022. He was promoted to crew chief for the 2022 season.
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James Rainey
- Biography
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James E. Rainey is a United States Army general who serves as the commanding general of United States Army Futures Command since 4 October 2022. He previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans, and Training from June 2021 to October 2022. Before that, he served as commanding general of the United States Army Combined Arms Center, commandant of the United States Army Command and General Staff College and commanding general of Fort Leavenworth. Prior to that, he commanded the Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan. Rainey was born in Brockton, Massachusetts but grew up in Akron, Ohio. He attended Eastern Kentucky University and was commissioned in 1987 as an infantry officer through ROTC.
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Vermont Garrison
- Occupations
- military officer
- Biography
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Vermont Garrison was a career officer in the United States Air Force, and a flying ace credited with 17.33 victories in aerial combat. He was one of only seven Americans to achieve ace status during World War II, then again against jet fighter opposition during the Korean War. In 1966, Garrison participated in his third war, as vice commander of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, and flew a full tour of bombing and fighter missions over North Vietnam.
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Yeremiah Bell
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Yeremiah Neavius Bell is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Eastern Kentucky Colonels and was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL draft.
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Roy Kidd
- Enrolled in Eastern Kentucky University
- Studied in 1950-1954
- Occupations
- head coach
- Biography
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Roy Lee Kidd was an American collegiate football league player and coach. He served as the head coach at Eastern Kentucky University from 1964 to 2002, compiling a record of 314–124–8. Kidd's Eastern Kentucky Colonels won NCAA Division I-AA Football Championships in 1979 and 1982 and were runners-up in 1980 and 1981. His 314 career victories are second-most in NCAA Division I-AA/FCS history, trailing only those of Grambling State's Eddie Robinson. Kidd was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2003.
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Nick Mayo
- Years
- 1997-.. (age 28)
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Nicholas William Mayo is an American professional basketball player for Hiroshima Dragonflies of the B.League. He played college basketball for the Eastern Kentucky Colonels and left as the program's all-time leading scorer.
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Christian Friedrich
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Christian Louis Patrick Friedrich is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Colorado Rockies in 2012 and also played with the San Diego Padres. Friedrich also pitched in the KBO League for the NC Dinos.
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Ken Keen
- Years
- 20th Century
- Biography
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Purl Kenneth Keen is a retired United States Army officer. He last served as the commander of the Office of the Defense Representative, U.S. Embassy Pakistan and before that served as Military Deputy Commander of United States Southern Command.
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Mike Harmon
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Mike Harmon is an American politician who served as the Kentucky auditor of public accounts from 2016 to 2024. He was previously a Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives for the 54th district. He was a 2011 candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, but lost in the primary.
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Larry Kirksey
- Born in
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United States - Occupations
- head coachAmerican football player
- Biography
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Larry Kirksey is an American former football coach. He has 17 years' experience coaching in the NFL and an additional 22 years of coaching experience in the college ranks.
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Danny C. Reeves
- Occupations
- lawyerjudge
- Biography
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Danny Clyde Reeves is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
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Crystal Wilkinson
- Occupations
- author
- Biography
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Crystal E. Wilkinson is an African-American feminist writer from Kentucky, and proponent of the Affrilachian Poet movement. She is winner of a 2022 NAACP Image Award and a 2021 O. Henry Prize winner; she is a 2020 USA Fellow of Creative Writing. She teaches at the University of Kentucky. Her work has primarily involved the stories of Black women and communities in the Appalachian and rural Southern canon. She was appointed Poet Laureate of Kentucky 2021.
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Josh Anderson
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Joshua Aaron Anderson is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2007 to 2009 for the Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, and Kansas City Royals.
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Antwaun Molden
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Antwaun Molden is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Houston Texans in the third round of the 2008 NFL draft. He played college football for the Eastern Kentucky Colonels.
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Bob Babbage
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Bob Babbage is an American public leader, business and civic entrepreneur. Babbage is the leading lobbyist of Babbage Cofounder, a firm specializing in government relations and business strategies for public decisions. He was elected as Kentucky State Auditor and Kentucky Secretary of State.
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Soufiane Bouchikhi
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
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Soufiane Bouchikhi is a Belgian long-distance runner. He represented his country in the 5000 metres at the 2017 World Championships narrowly missing the final. At the 2019 World Championships in Doha he made the 10 000m final and finished 13th. In addition, he won the silver medal in the U23 category at the 2012 European Cross Country Championships.
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Gregory N. Stivers
- Occupations
- lawyerjudge
- Biography
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Gregory Neil Stivers is the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky.
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Michael Evanoff
- Years
- 1961-.. (age 64)
- Biography
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Michael Turner Evanoff is an American security expert and government official who served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security. Prior to assuming that role, he served as Vice President for Asset Protection & Security for Walmart from 2014 to 2017. Evanoff previously served as Chief Security Officer at Coca-Cola and as Global Director of Security at Och-Ziff Capital Management. From 1985 to 2011, he served as a special agent in the Department of State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, where he held senior positions with the Overseas Security Advisory Council, NATO Office of Security, Secretary of State protection detail, and eight U.S. missions overseas. In his capacity at the State Department, he provided personal protection services to former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
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Chuckie Campbell
- Years
- 1981-.. (age 44)
- Occupations
- songwriter
- Biography
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Charles Edward Campbell, known by his stage and pen name, Chuckie Campbell, is an American musician, poet, fiction writer, editor, publisher, and educator. He holds a B.A. in communications with an emphasis in Public Relations and a minor in Religion from Lee University, an M.A. in English and Creative Writing from Eastern Kentucky University, and a PhD in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Southern Mississippi.
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Don McNay
- Occupations
- journalist
- Biography
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Donald Joseph McNay was a chartered financial consultant and specialist and analyst of lottery, living in Lexington, Kentucky. He was also a financial author and The Huffington Post contributor.
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Papa Oppong
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Papa Kwaku Oppong is a Canadian former professional basketball player in the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL). He is currently a teacher at Knob Hill Public School in Toronto, Ontario. Oppong competed with three different college basketball teams from 2006 to 2010. He played with Coffeyville Community College as a freshman, Panola Junior College as a sophomore, and Eastern Kentucky of the NCAA Division I as a junior and senior.
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Eula Bingham
- Enrolled in Eastern Kentucky University
- In 1951 graduated with Bachelor of Science
- Occupations
- toxicologist
- Biography
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Eula Bingham was an American scientist, best known as an Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) during the Presidency of Jimmy Carter. During her tenure as the head of OSHA, she eliminated more than 1,000 pedantic regulations and shifted the agency's focus to health and safety risks, establishing strict standards for workers' rights to know about their exposure to hazardous substances.
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Jabs Newby
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Jabulani "Jabs" Newby is a Jamaican-Canadian professional basketball player for the Brampton Honey Badgers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). Newby played college basketball for Eastern Kentucky University and Gannon.
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Kyle McGrath
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Kyle Daniel McGrath is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres.
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Marcus Adams
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Marcus "Chunky" Adams is a Canadian football defensive tackle who played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) for eight seasons. He also was on the rosters of the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL, the Colorado Crush and Spokane Shock of the Arena Football League, and the Peoria Rough Riders of af2 throughout his professional career. He played college football at Eastern Kentucky.
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Dallas Robinson
- Occupations
- bobsledder
- Biography
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Dallas Robinson is an American soldier and bobsledder.
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Garfield Smith
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Garfield Smith is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA). He was drafted with the tenth pick in the third round of the 1968 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics. In two seasons in the NBA, Smith averaged 2.7 points per game and 2.1 rebounds per game. Smith also played one season in the ABA for the San Diego Conquistadors where he averaged 3.7 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game.
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Frank Kremblas
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Francis Michael Kremblas Jr. is an American minor league baseball manager. He previously managed the Indianapolis Indians Triple-A team from 2009–10, and was a former minor league player in the Cincinnati Reds farm system from 1989 to 1996.
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Gary Odom
- Born in
- United States
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Gary Odom is an American politician from Nashville, Tennessee, and the former Democratic Minority Leader of the Tennessee House of Representatives. He was elected to represent the 55th district, which is part of Davidson County.
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Eric Stutz
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Frederic George Stutz, is an American professional basketball player for AB Castelló of the LEB Oro.
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Dwight Butler
- Years
- 1963-.. (age 62)
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Dwight D. Butler is an American politician and was a Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives representing District 18 until January 2015.
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Win Ballou
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Noble Winfred Ballou was an American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in 99 games, 71 of them as a reliever, in Major League Baseball between 1925 and 1929 for the Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns and Brooklyn Robins. The native of Mount Morgan, Kentucky, stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall, weighed 170 pounds (77 kg), and threw and batted right-handed. He spent his college days at Eastern Kentucky University.
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W. H. Lyon
- Occupations
- head coach
- Biography
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William Hillyer Lyon was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) in 1899. During his one-season tenure at Ole Miss, Lyon compiled an overall record of three wins and four losses (3–4). Lyon was born in 1872 in Boonton, New Jersey. He was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
