Horse Cave star dead at 75

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, February 21, 2001

ASHLAND (AP) Carl Helem, a native of Horse Cave who became a Harlem Globetrotter, is dead at the age of 75.Helem died Saturday at Kings Daughters Medical Center in Ashland. Nicknamed Kingfish, he was the 15th player designated a member of the Globetrotters Legends team.Helem was the last surviving member of the 1944-45 Horse Cave team that won the state championship in the all-black Kentucky High School Athletic League.He later played for Tennessee State, leading the team in scoring his freshman year and twice being named All-Midwest.Helem played for the Globetrotters from 1948 to 1955 and was a member of the first Globetrotters team to tour overseas, which was in 1950.After his basketball career, he worked at Ashland Oils Catlettsburg refinery for 35 years, retiring in 1990.Services will be at 1 p.m. EST Thursday at New Hope Baptist Church in Ashland.Steen Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.

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