Hall of Fame
A four-sport star at EKU, Goebel Ritter earned Little All-America honors in baseball, basketball, golf and track. The 1948 graduate, who also earned a master’s from EKU, came to Eastern on a football scholarship but delayed his sports career while serving in World War II where he earned two purple hearts with oak leaf clusters. F
ollowing his time at EKU, Ritter played professional basketball for the New York Knicks from 1948-51. In 151 professional games, Ritter averaged 5.1 points per game.
The Richmond native and Madison High School product then returned to Kentucky where he taught and coached basketball at Fleming-Neon, Hazard and Whitesburg High Schools. During his 10-year tenure at Hazard, Ritter led the Bulldogs to four state championships, winning the title in 1955. He was chosen for the Hazard High School Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 1991.
He later was employed by the Letcher County Board of Education as administrator at the Central Office and worked 18 years as a basketball referee. Ritter was also heavily involved with the community and his church.
