The Owensboro Dust Bowl will return to Kendall-Perkins Park from July 19-27 after celebrating its semicentennial tournament in record fashion last year, and organizers are encouraging teams to sign up now. To the community, the Dust Bowl is more than a basketball tournament — it’s a tradition that unifies folks from all walks of life for one reason: basketball.
The Owensboro Times documented the tournament’s long-standing success in a feature story last year, including interviews with the lone surviving founder and several other key supporters of the classic. Read that story here.
After over a decade of success, long-time Dust Bowl president Byron Owen has passed the torch to William “Rippo” Hinton. Several new board members will join Hinton on his journey to preserve the tournament’s legacy while also keeping with the times.
One of those new committee members is Rafe Buckner, who extended his thanks to Johnson and looks forward to the tournament’s future.
“This year, the tournament will look more traditional,” Buckner said. “It’s been a slow transition, but we’re looking forward to a great tournament this year and some even bigger changes for 2025. We want to start pushing the boundaries.”
Buckner said vendor numbers are up, and they’re working to add more entertainment elements to the event moving forward.
“I was born and raised in this community, growing up on 7th Street,” he said. “This was everything as a kid. We looked forward to this event more than any other. The barbecue smoke in the air, playing under the stars, kids everywhere, music – you can’t beat the environment.”
Special nights for this year’s tournament include Beverly’s Hearty Slice Back-to-School Backpack giveaway on July 19, and a gospel program on July 21. Other themes include Kid’s Night on July 24, which will include hotdogs, bouncy houses, and more, as well as Pink in the Park on July 26 to raise cancer awareness.
“Sports has a way of connecting people,” Buckner said. “The basketball, barbecue, and music make for a great event that people look forward to. We’re exploring other entertainment options and plan to have a different DJ each night.”
The tournament traces its humble beginnings back to 1974, when Jerry Davenport, Gus Johnson, and Felix Thruston decided Owensboro’s Black community needed some organized sports. While Davenport and Thruston have since passed, Johnson, who now lives in Florida, was eager to discuss the tournament’s early years.
“It’s pretty amazing; I mean, we did not have something like this in mind,” Johnson said in a previous interview with the OT. “The idea was that there wasn’t much to do in the Black community and Owensboro in particular in 1973. There were no real organized sports.”
Local artist KO Lewis created a mural to honor the founders on the large wall near the courts.
The committee is currently looking for additional corporate sponsors to help offset some of the costs. There is also still time to enter a team or reserve a vendor spot.
Visit the Dust Bowl website here for more information.
