50 NKY sports icons in 50 days: Day 4, Dicky Beal

The history of sports in Northern Kentucky goes back a long way. A very long way. Decades. Centuries. 

We know you’ve seen these lists before, but this is a different and unique way of presenting our “50 sports icons in Northern Kentucky” as we’ll provide you one per day over the next 50 days. 

Hall of Fames are everywhere in NKY, the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame, High School Athletic Directors Hall of Fame, NKU, Thomas More and local high schools all have something to recognize their past.

We’ll preface this series by saying this, some of you may disagree with who should or shouldn’t be in the top 50 and that’s fine. Plenty are in the Hall of Very Good, but we feel these 50 are the one’s who stuck out to us.

Sports Editor Evan Dennison spoke and conferred with several local NKY sports history buffs to get their opinions and lists of their own and who should be “locks” for the 50 sports icons. We compiled each list and came up with the 50 of our own (maybe cheated a little by putting families in as one) to present over the next 50 days.

Hope you enjoy as summer time rolls on!

The fourth of the 50 sports icons is Holmes lightning quick point guard Dicky Beal, who continued to thrive at the University of Kentucky.

DICKY BEAL

Dicky Beal’s playing card at the University of Kentucky. Beal, a 1980 Holmes grad, was recently inducted into the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame. File Photo

The 1980 Holmes graduate helped lead the Bulldogs to a state runner-up finish in 1978 and the state semifinals in 1980, compiling a 92-12 record in his four years in a Holmes uniform. Beal played point guard for the Bulldogs and was the 1980 Ninth Region Player of the Year, selected to the All-State Tournament Team and named first team All-State. He was also awarded the prestigious Sweet 16 Ted Sanford Award.

Beal was one of the top recruits in the country coming out of Holmes before signing with the University of Kentucky. At UK, he played in 111 career games and tallied 301 assists, 133 of them coming his senior year where he was named the NCAA Mideast Regional Most Outstanding Player. Huge of heart and talent, Beal thrilled Kentucky fans with his electric style of play. Beal and his 1984 teammates were recently honored at Kentucky’s game against Georgia back in January.

Beal was later drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the fourth round of the 1984 NBA Draft. He is now a manufacturing business representative and lives in the Greater Cincinnati area. He was inducted into the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame in June of 2024.

See the 50 sports icons on a day-to-day basis over the next 50 days

— Day 1: Dave Cowens

— Day 2: Shaun Alexander

— Day 3: Homer Rice