John T. Shelby was born in Lexington, Kentucky on February 23, 1958. He attended high school at Henry Clay High School where he grauated in 1976. Shelby was a great athlete in high school where he excelled in baseball and basketball where he was all-area. He is part of a long history in Henry Clay baseball. He is one of the many that have went on to play college baseball and also part of handful of players to go on and play professional baseball. He was part of the state championship in 1973 as a Freshmen (the only team in program history to win a state championship). He went on to only play one year of collegiate baseball at Columbia State Community College in Columbia , Tennessee. Although his tenure was short he was part of one the more memorable teams in its program's history. In 1977, Columbia State won 42 games (the most in program history) and had a winning percentage of .824 (the third best in program history). Columbia State is well known for its athleic acomplishments. It's most notable sports program is baseball. The program has won 20 divsion championships, 15 state championships, and 6 world series apperances.