Puckett, Russ

RUSS PUCKETT ENJOYED A LONG AND VERY SUCCESSFUL CAREER IN FAST PITCH SOFTBALL, ALL IN JEFFERSON COUNTY. BORN IN 1925, THE FIRST TEAM HE REMEMBERS PLAYING FOR WAS ST. MARKS LUTHERAN IN 1936. HE WENT ON TO PLAY FOR SOUTH LOUISVILLE COAL WHO WERE KENTUCKY STATE CHAMPIONS IN 1943.

RUSS SERVED HIS COUNTRY IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN THE NAVY. ON HIS RETURN, HE WAS A VITAL PART OF THE GREAT STERLING BEER TEAMS THAT FOR A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD IN THE EARLY FIFTIES DOMINATED LOUISVILLE FAST PITCH. THE HIGHLIGHT OF THIS TEAM WAS WHEN THEY WON THE 1952 MIDWEST REGIONAL AND COMPETED IN THE WORLD TOURNAMENT.

IN 1955, RUSS PLAYED FOR CRECOS WHO WON THE METRO TITLE, AND COMPLETED HIS CAREER PLAYING FOR EASTWOOD THRU 1965. THOSE WHO PLAYED WITH AND AGAINST RUSS CONSIDERED HIM ONE OF THE LOUISVILLE AREA’S FINEST LEFT FIELDERS, ALWAYS A CLUTCH HITTER AND A DEPENDABLE FIELDER.

WE ARE PROUD AND PRIVILEGED TO BE ABLE TO INDUCT RUSS PUCKETT INTO THE KENTUCKY SOFTBALL HALL OF FAME & HONOR.