Anyone who has bled Kentucky blue in the last 40-plus years knows good and well who Bill Keightley is. People across the nation know him as Mr. Wildcat, the long-time equipment manager for UK’s men’s basketball team.
Last night, Mr. Keightley passed away at the age of 81. Here’s a link to one of the Lexington Herald-Leader’s stories on his passing (please ignore my ability to make this a clickable link – just copy and paste it into the address bar) – http://www.kentucky.com/254/story/362648.html
My dad and I had the distinct pleasure of spending a good deal of time with Mr. Keightley on two different occasions. Anyone who knew him will say what a kind, generous, congenial person he was. From personal experience, I can vouch for that.
Both times I met him, I was with my dad at UK’s annual father-son basketball camp – once while it was operated by Rick Pitino, the other time with Tubby Smith. The first time, Mr. Keightley treated us like he had known us for years. The next time, he did the same thing, but it was obvious that he still remembered us from the year before. I have know memory of what we discussed. I just remember being blown away by how down-to-earth he was, considering his storied stature with the country’s most history-rich college basketball program.
His passing removes one more link to the old days of Kentucky basketball, a connection that is impossible to replace.
I can see it now, the negotiation going on well above us – coaches from our past, clamoring to have Mr. Wildcat take a seat next to them on their bench. Somehow, I think he’d find a way to accommodate them all.
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