Neville Stone

Neville Stone was born Neville Earl Stone on July 30, 1886, in Earlington, Kentucky, the son of Thomas Henry Stone and Annie Laura Goodell Stone. He attended the preparatory school at South Kentucky College in Hopkinsville before enrolling at the State College of Kentucky. Known by the nicknames “Nervy” and “Big League,” Stone became one of the university’s most versatile early athletes, competing in football, baseball and basketball.

The 5-foot-8, 152-pound forward played for Kentucky during the 1907–08 basketball season. Used as a substitute forward, Stone was valued for his versatility and dependability and could be called upon to replace nearly any player in the lineup. A contemporary yearbook noted that he stepped into Walter Fox’s place after Fox suffered an ankle injury. Although he did not earn a basketball letter, Stone was part of Kentucky basketball’s formative first decade and belonged to the generation of multi-sport athletes who helped establish the university’s early athletic tradition.

Stone earned greater distinction in football and baseball. He played varsity football in 1906 and 1907 and directed Kentucky’s offense at quarterback, earning praise for his speed, judgment and accurate passing. On the baseball diamond, Stone played from 1906 through 1908 as a catcher and outfielder. Nicknamed “Big League,” he was described in the yearbook as probably the team’s best player, a strong catcher and dangerous hitter whose appearances at the plate regularly sent opposing outfielders deep.

Stone graduated in 1908 with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree. He belonged to the Brooks Engineering Society, served as an associate editor of The Transit and completed a joint thesis with Irbie Benjamin Earle titled “Location of Pump Holes for Daniel Boone Coal Mines, Daniel Boone, Ky.” He later became a prominent highway and bridge contractor with offices in Madisonville and Paducah, directing road, bridge, drainage and paving projects throughout western Kentucky. Stone died suddenly in Paducah on October 16, 1940, at age 54 and was buried in Odd Fellows Cemetery in Madisonville.