ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME QUALIFICATION
In order for an athlete to join the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame, he or she must have earned a baccalaureate, professional or graduate degree from LSU or by some other regionally accredited institution of higher learning, have earned one or more letters in a varsity sport at LSU, have gained national distinction through superlative
performance as an athlete and have established a personal reputation for character and citizenship which reflects favorably on the University. Former LSU athletes are eligible only after three or more years have elapsed since the conferring of his or her degree. In order for a coach or administrator to join the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame, the individual must have made significant contributions to LSU
Athletics in a capacity other than as an athlete, have gained national distinction through exceptional accomplishments in his or her field of expertise and established a personal reputation of character for citizenship which reflects favorably on the University. Former LSU coaches and administrators are eligible for nomination only after five years or more have elapsed since retiring from the profession for which the individual is nominated.
1933 NCAA CHAMPIONS
Pictured is the five-man team (from left to right) of Nathan “Buddy” Blair, Glenn “Slats” Hardin, Jack Torrance, Al Moreau and Matt Gordy, which captured LSU’s first of 31 NCAA track championships way back in 1933 with a 58-54 victory over the heavily-favored Trojans of Southern California. As LSU’s first national championship team in any sport, these men were inducted into the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class of 1937, cementing their place among the legends of the sport.
SIDNEY BOWMAN
BILLY HARDIN
HARRY CARPENTER
A three-year letterwinner at LSU from 1930-32, Sidney Bowman owns the distinction of being the first in a proud and storied tradition of LSU Olympians as he competed as part of the U.S. Olympic Team in Amsterdam in 1928 and Los Angeles in 1932. In fact, Bowman made his Olympics debut in 1928 following his high school graduation in Hammond, Louisiana, before even setting foot on LSU’s campus for his freshman season. Bowman was also inducted as part of the 1937 class.
With his induction in 1970, Billy Hardin joined his father, Glenn “Slats” Hardin, as a member of the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame following a distinguished collegiate career. Billy Hardin, who represented the United States at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, matched his father’s achievement by winning the NCAA championship in the 400-meter hurdles during his senior season in 1964. A three-time All-American and seven-time SEC champion, the younger Hardin is perhaps the greatest LSU Track & Field athlete of his era.
The most accomplished LSU Track & Field athlete of the 1950s, Harry Carpenter racked up an incredible eight SEC event titles during a brief two-year collegiate career from 1956-57, while also leading the Tigers to an SEC team championship during the 1957 season. Most notably, Carpenter captured backto-back league titles in both the 220-yard dash and 220-yard hurdles at the SEC Outdoor Championships as one of the SEC’s most dominant sprinters and hurdlers of the decade. He was honored with induction into the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1986.
CLASS OF 1937
30
CLASS OF 1970
2022 TRACK & FIELD RECORD BOOK
CLASS OF 1986
