After an exciting 1976 season which included winning the Peach Bowl, UK football had another memorable season in 1977. They were able to go 10-1 in 1977 which is the second-best record in University of Kentucky football history. The one loss for UK football came to them in the second game of the season against Baylor. After that second game loss, UK dominated even the toughest of teams, beating LSU 33-13, Georgia 33-0 and even Florida 14-7. UK also beat their rival, Tennessee, at home, 21-17. Despite having an incredible season record, UK was unable to attend a bowl game because they were under NCAA sanctions for recruiting violations.
The 1977 season for UK football was quite impressive and memorable, largely due to the efforts of senior quarterback, Derek Ramsey. However, this exciting season may never have happened for Ramsey, as in 1975 he almost transferred. In Ramsey’s sophomore year in 1975, the UK coaches wanted to move him to tight end instead of quarterback; Ramsey said he was going to transfer the next day. Ramsey ultimately stayed at UK once the coaches changed their decision, which led to the remarkable 1977 season.
Mike Martin was a starting linebacker on the 1977 UK team and was one of the star defensive players for the team. He recalls the only loss of the 1977 season, against Baylor, and how for some reason they were not playing as a team. Martin also expressed some frustration with certain players that started on defense in that game against Baylor, but did not go into detail. Martin explained that in the Baylor game they were simply outcoached, but that UK was ultimately the better team. Martin also expressed his admiration of the 1977 UK football team, saying that they dominated that season, and no UK team since them has been better.
Since being a star player at UK, Martin created a multi-million-dollar company. A few years out of college Martin asked his mom to show him how to make her pie recipe; one that Martin loved. Martin started making the pies and would give them out to friends and neighbors as gifts. The pies were a hit, so in 1992 Martin started selling them. 32-years later and now Mike’s Pies is a 20-million-dollar company.
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