Son of legendary Tolu player Harry Hardin at All A Classic

Rocket boys' head coach Denis Hodge visits
with Stan Hardin at the Frankfort Convention Center
where the Lady Rockets were getting ready to play.

Meet Stan Hardin, whose father Harry Hardin, played on the renown 1931 Tolu basketball team that won the Class B state title before losing to DuPont Manual 34-23 in the combined championship game.

Stan Hardin is a member of the All A Classic Board of Directors and was selling State Tournament T-shirts just off the edge of the court during Wednesday’s opening round All A games where Crittenden County is playing.

He is a former high school basketball coach, winning two KHSAA state championships at Louisville Fairdale in 1990 and 1991.

Hardin’s father was among the famous Tolu boys who defied all odds and ended up on the state’s largest stage 86 years ago. Much has been made about the legendary Tolu team and there is a popular story that the boys got sick eating bananas while in Lexington for the state tournament and lost the combined championship game because of bellyaches.

“My dad say that’s not true. He said (Dupont) was just better,” Stan Hardin said.

Harry Hardin played at Western Kentucky and went on to become a successful high school coach for almost 20 years at Drakesboro, Fairdale and Louisville Southern. He was later principal at Fairdale where he had coached from 1938 to 1950. Harry Hardin was an all conference player at Western during his collegiate playing career.

In adulthood, Stan has never gone back to Tolu, but wants to visit there and take his daughter.

“I think I was there when I was really little,” said the 78-year-old.

Hardin was proud to see Crittenden County in the tournament at Frankfort. Before Wednesday, his last brush with Rocket athletics was 2009 when he was Athletic Director at Louisville Holy Cross. Crittenden's football team went to Holy Cross that season and won a playoff football game.

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