This is part one of a two-part series showcasing the newest members of the Pineville Schools Hall of Fame. Part two will be published in Wednesday’s edition of the Daily News.

A whole new group of individuals will be enshrined in Pineville High School history on Saturday as six former Mountain Lions, one honorary Mountain Lion and one football team enter the Pineville Schools Hall of Fame. The group includes one distinguished alumni, two school professionals, one legendary athlete, two modern era athletes and one honorary inductee.

Those individuals are: John E. Mason, Dorman Crabtree, Fred Bishop, Bud Bennett, Valerie Saunders, Florence Roe Bush and Barbara Evans. The group was recognized on Friday at the Pineville-Harlan game.

Below is a brief biography for each inductee:

1953 Mountain Lion football team

The 1953 Pineville football team had several players returning who had endured two losing seasons, and they were intent on no letting that happen again. They began their mission with new head coach Walter Green and assistant coaches Carl Eagle and Orville Engle.

The SEKC championship Mountain Lions were undefeated and able to pull-off wins against some exceptional teams. Five games were shutouts and three teams were held to only one score. Only one team scored more than once.

Pineville outscored their opponents 173-32 and ended Middlesboro’s 26-game winning streak. Three members were named to the All-SEKC team: Bobby Stone, Fred Roper and Ledger Howard — who was also named Player of the Year. Coach Green was named Coach of the Year.

Dorman Ray Crabtree

The family of Dorman Ray Crabtree moved from Stearns to make Pineville their home in 1941, where he began as a sixth-grader in Pineville Independent Schools. Crabtree’s acclamation came easily as he was selected to the ever-so-popular Safety Patrol by principal Ted Gilbert.

That same year, the football coach, Walter Grabbuck, encouraged Crabtree to practice with the team. He went on to letter four years in football and became a powerhouse of a lineman.

In 1945, the Lions had a winning season, as well as 1946, and in 1947 they became CVC Champs. Crabtree was named first team All-CVC tackle as a junior and second team All-CVC his senior year — on offense and defense.

Crabtree graduated May 1948, attended Union and Eastern State Colleges, and returned to Pineville, where he was hired as a stock boy for JJ Newberry Co. Within a year, he was offered the opportunity to train as a manager, married his sweetheart, Lois Calloway, and moved to Winchester.

In 1974, he received a call from AF Dawahare offering him a managerial position with Dawahare’s in the Fayette Mall, which he accepted and oversaw until 1977, when he and his family purchased a franchise Karmelkorn and opened it in the Lexington Mall. This became the most successful of the endeavors of the Crabtree family.

Fred Louis Bishop

From the Class of 1973, Pineville’s own Fred Bishop is considered one of the most outstanding athletes of the modern era. He became a very familiar name throughout the mountains of Southeastern Kentucky and across the state.

In 1972, Bishop received the coveted Junior Athletic Cup, and his high school career reflects a four-time All-SEKC selection in basketball, a three-time All-State honoree in football and a four-year regional track champion in multiple events.

As a freshman, he was a member of the mile relay team, which placed first in the region. As a sophomore, he was a member of the second place 880 relay team and individually placed first in the 220-yard dash in the region. As a junior, his 880 relay team won the region and Bishop placed first in the long jump and triple jump.

As a senior, Bishop once again led the 880 relay team to another first place victory in the region. He individually placed first in the long jump, first in the triple jump, and represented Pineville again at state.

In basketball, Bishop lettered five years. As a freshman, he was second-team All-SEKC. He was chose first-team All-SEKC as well as All-51st District as a sophomore, junior and senior. That year, Bishop became a part of history when the Mountain Lions became the first to reach the Regional finals, beating Cumberland and Jackson County before losing to Clay County.

A star on the gridiron as well, Bishop was an offensive end and a defensive back. As a sophomore, he was a first-team end, first-team safety and named to the Associated Press All-State Team. As a junior, he was a first-team All-SEKC end as well as a safety, the SEKC Player of the Year, and an All-State honoree by multiple publications.

As a senior, he was once again first-team All-SEKC end and safety and first-team All-State by the Courier Journal and Lexington Herald. He received a football scholarship to the University of Kentucky and was selected to the prestigious Kentucky High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2014.