Tomorrow a native son of Lexington returns to coach the South Carolina Gamecocks against Kentucky in the same city where he led Tates Creek High School to the Sweet 16 nearly 20 years ago. His name of course is Darrin Horn....but everytime I hear his name, I think of another former Lexington, Kentucky native who made waves on the sports scene, former UK student, "The School Boy" Darrin Van Horn. Remember him? Van Horn for a short time put boxing in Kentucky on the map, gaining the IBF Middleweight title and having a host of fights that gained national attention. Back in the days when networks showed boxing matches for free, Van Horn fought on NBC, often in his home state, in fights that generated attention across the sports world.
Van Horn won the championship twice and finished his career with a 52-4 record. But he is often forgotten as a Kentucky sports legend. I remember watching Van Horn often as a kid and every time I hear the South Carolina coach mentioned, I wonder what the School Boy is doing now. Here is a video of one of his fights....(notice Van Horn's sweet bowl cut!)
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Tomorrow a native son of Lexington returns to coach the South Carolina Gamecocks against Kentucky in the same city where he led Tates Creek High School to the Sweet 16 nearly 20 years ago. His name of course is Darrin Horn....but everytime I hear his name, I think of another former Lexington, Kentucky native who made waves on the sports scene, former UK student, "The School Boy" Darrin Van Horn. Remember him? Van Horn for a short time put boxing in Kentucky on the map, gaining the IBF Middleweight title and having a host of fights that gained national attention. Back in the days when networks showed boxing matches for free, Van Horn fought on NBC, often in his home state, in fights that generated attention across the sports world.
Van Horn won the championship twice and finished his career with a 52-4 record. But he is often forgotten as a Kentucky sports legend. I remember watching Van Horn often as a kid and every time I hear the South Carolina coach mentioned, I wonder what the School Boy is doing now. Here is a video of one of his fights....(notice Van Horn's sweet bowl cut!)
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
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