Hall of Fame
Eddie Childress was a member of Lake Kelly’s first recruiting class. The Madisonville, KY native played wing in the 1971-72 and 1972-73 seasons after transferring to APSU from Martin Junior College (TN), where he was honorable mention junior college All-America. An outstanding perimeter player, Childress also became a superb defender during his career. As a junior, he was third on the team in scoring (13.9 ppg) and rebounding (5.5 rpg) in Kelly’s first APSU season as the Govs went just 10-14. For the 1972-73 team – considered by many to be the best in school history – he averaged 13.2 points per game – second behind James “Fly“ Williams. He also averaged 4.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. His 73.4 percent free-throw shooting ranked fifth in the OVC. Childress’ outstanding season was capped by a first-team All-OVC selection. He later was the 1972-73 Joy Award co-recipient as voted by the coaches. Childress died of cancer on August 5, 1983.
