Earle Bryan Combs left the mountains of eastern Kentucky at 17 to be a schoolteacher, and ended up enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. After young Earle eventually turned his attention to a career in baseball, he earned a spot as centerfielder and leadoff hitter for the famed New York Yankee “Murderers Row” lineup of the late 1920’s and
early 1930’s. The 1927 World Champion Yankee team, which of course also featured Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig among a lineup including five Hall of Famers, is thought by many to be the greatest team in baseball history. However, through all the fame and notoriety gained from his successful baseball career, Earle never changed. A devoted husband and father, he practiced the values learned growing up in Pebworth, Kentucky; honesty, hard work and an unassuming modesty and adherence to “The Golden Rule,” all his life.
This
plaque honoring Earle Combs hangs in the National Baseball Hall of
Fame in Cooperstown, New York. He was inducted in 1970.
(click for larger image)
This
marker for Earle Combs on the Madison County Historical Society
Heritage Walk of Fame is located in the sidewalk in front of the
Madison County Courthouse in Richmond, Kentucky. It was
installed in August 2011 and was dedicated on September 10, 2011.
As the eighth individual so honored on the Walk of Fame, Earle joins
other notable Kentuckians with Madison County ties such as Daniel
Boone and Kit Carson. (click for
larger image)
