Virginia “Shorty” (Harris) Combs ’22 was a pioneering figure in both education and athletics, whose legacy continues to inspire. She was the first female student-athlete at Kentucky Wesleyan College to earn postseason honors, helping lead the 1921 KWC Panthers girls’ basketball team to a state championship and earning All-State honors as a forward.
After graduation, Virginia continued her impact on sports by coaching the first girls’ basketball team at Whitesburg High School during the 1923-24 season, laying the foundation for future generations of female athletes. She was later inducted into the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 1997.
In addition to her athletic achievements, Virginia had a distinguished career in education. She taught English and journalism in the Letcher County School System for 40 years, founding the school’s newspaper and organizing clubs such as the Nurses Club and Beta Club at Whitesburg High School. She encouraged her students to better themselves through education, church involvement, and self-discipline.
Virginia was also a devoted writer, contributing a popular weekly column, “Family and Friends,” for over 40 years in the Whitesburg Mountain Eagle. She authored two books and was posthumously inducted into the University of Kentucky School of Journalism Hall of Fame in 2001.
Her dedication to both education and athletics earned her numerous honors: induction into the Letcher County Hall of Fame in 1991, induction into the KWC Alumni Hall of Fame in 2006, the Outstanding Alumna of the Year award from Kentucky Wesleyan College in 1994, and the renaming of KWC’s Most Outstanding Women’s Basketball Player Award in her honor in 1996. In 1998, she received the “Heroes, Saints and Legends” award at Wesley Methodist Village.
Keep an eye out as we continue highlighting more amazing KWC alumnae throughout #WomensHistoryMonth! This year, we honor nearly 135 years of female alumnae, as KWC was one of the first co-ed higher education institutions in the Commonwealth, welcoming female students since the early 1890s.