8 Edward Tierney

Edward Tierney was born Edward Joseph Tierney on October 26, 1912, in Ashland, Kentucky, to John Joseph and Katherine Frances Sweeney Tierney. He attended Holy Family High School in Ashland before continuing his education and basketball career at the University of Kentucky.

A reserve guard under Adolph Rupp, Tierney appeared in three games during his junior season in 1933–34. Kentucky completed an undefeated regular season before losing to Florida in the Southeastern Conference Tournament, finishing 16–1. Playing behind an established backcourt, Tierney gained his first varsity experience during one of the program’s early successes under Rupp.

As a senior in 1934–35, Tierney played in 10 games and scored nine points as Kentucky finished 19–2 and shared the SEC championship with Louisiana State. The Kentuckian called him the “Battling Irishman” and praised his dependability off the bench. At the postseason banquet, Rupp and other speakers honored Tierney alongside fellow graduating seniors Dave Lawrence and Jack Tucker, and he received a varsity letter.

Tierney’s campus life extended well beyond basketball. A member of the class of 1935, he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and belonged to Triangle fraternity, Pershing Rifles, Guignol, and student engineering organizations. His senior entry also listed football and track among his activities. The Kentuckian credited him with a university boxing championship at 155 pounds, while a December 1933 Kentucky Kernel report recorded a university intramural wrestling title in the same weight class.

After college, Tierney became a project engineer for the state of Kentucky, retiring in 1978. He remained connected to UK through its Alumni Association and the K-Men’s Association, which named him a joint recipient of its K-Man of the Year honor with Talbott Todd in 1976. He also belonged to the Kentucky Society for Professional Engineers and was a Kentucky Colonel.

Tierney had three sons—Dennis Joseph, Michael Edward, and Bryan Ashley—and seven grandchildren at the time of his death. A member of Frankfort’s Church of the Good Shepherd, he died on May 29, 1980, at age 67, in King’s Daughters Memorial Hospital in Frankfort. He was buried in Ashland Cemetery, returning to the community where his story began.