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Official Program Welcome from Gov. Bobby Jindal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Welcome from Lt. Gov. Scott A. Angelle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Welcome from Natchitoches Mayor Wayne McCullen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Welcome from NSU President Dr. Randy Webb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Welcome from LSWA President Garland Forman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Tracing the History of the Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Hall of Fame Selection Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 2010 Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism - Norm Fletcher, Ted Lewis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 2010 Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award - Gerald Boudreaux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Hall of Fame Artist, Chris Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Remembering Clif and Carolyn Thorn, Hall of Fame Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Members of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Recipients of the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
2010 Hall of Fame Inductee Profiles Mark Carrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 J.T. Curtis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Lee Hedges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Ben McDonald . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Mike Vining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Teresa Weatherspoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Larry Wilson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 Orlando Woolridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 Profiles of Previously Elected Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
Louisiana Sports Writers Association President
Parent Organization of the Hall of Fame Garland Forman Bunkie Record
Executive Vice President
Lori Lyons New Orleans Times-Picayune
Vice President/Sports Information
Michael Bonnette LSU Sports Information
Treasurer/Past President
Kent Lowe LSU Sports Information
Secretary
Jim Kleinpeter New Orleans Times-Picayune
Hall of Fame Chairman
Doug Ireland Northwestern State Sports Information
www.lasportshall.com
Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame 500 Front Street, Natchitoches, LA 71457 Telephone - (318) 238-4255 Email - lasportshall_doug@live.com
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Dear Inductees and Guests: On behalf of the Northwestern State University family, welcome to Northwestern and the City of Natchitoches. The induction ceremonies for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame are one of the highlights of the year in our community. All of us are pleased that you took time to be part of this wonderful event. I offer my congratulations to each of the inductees along with their friends and families. These individuals make us all proud to be from Louisiana. We are especially proud of our own Norm Fletcher who is one of the recipients of the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism. Norm did play by play for Northwestern for a number of years and did an outstanding job of describing the exploits of our student athletes. He has also been an integral part of the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies each year. This year's class of inductees adds greatly to those who have been previously chosen for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Their accomplishments are an example of what can be done through hard work and dedication to excellence. Northwestern State is honored to be a part of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Our university, which just completed celebrating its 125th anniversary, strives for excellence just like each member of the Hall of Fame. Throughout its history, Northwestern has produced outstanding graduates that have gone on to successful careers in a variety of fields including education, nursing, business, law, medicine and the arts. Today, more than 9,000 students from throughout the United States and the world study at Northwestern. Thank you for your support of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. I look forward to welcoming you back to Northwestern and Natchitoches many times in the future.
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June 26, 2010 It is with a great deal of pride, in my final weekend as president of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, that I welcome you to this year's induction weekend for the 2010 class of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. For 50 years I have admired the athletes and sports journalists from Louisiana - the athletes as we all applauded their achievements and the sports writers for the way they have recorded sports history. Tonight, we are privileged to add athletes, coaches and sports journalists to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. We are pleased that family, friends, and sports enthusiasts are here to recognize the accomplishments of these distinguished 11 honorees. For the past several years the LSWA, along with the city of Natchitoches and the state of Louisiana, have been working hard to give all honorees a permanent home with a Hall of Fame museum. Ground has been broken and within the next 18 to 24 months this dream will become a reality. This building will be one of the showcases of the state's museum system. There are many state officials to thank, including Governor Bobby Jindal and former Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu. We thank Natchitoches Mayor Wayne McCullen for all his work for the Hall of Fame and of course the many state legislators, both past and present, here locally and all around the state, who have spent countless hours pushing the project forward to create a permanent home for the Hall of Fame. We should not forget the contributions made by the members of the LSWA and the Hall of Famers for making this museum a reality. I want to personally thank Hall of Fame chairman Doug Ireland and past president Kent Lowe for their tireless efforts in working with the state museum system, and the architects, in making sure that this project will tell the full story of our sports legends and sports history. Also thanks to the staff at the Natchitoches Events Center for their help in making our induction night ceremony a lasting memory for these Hall of Famers. Thanks to all the people at Northwestern State University, the home for so many years of the Hall of Fame memorabilia and the Hall of Fame ceremony. Thanks to NSU Vice President Jerry Pierce, the founding father of the Hall in Natchitoches, along with the continued support from him, President Dr. Randy Webb, Athletics Director Greg Burke and all the members of the NSU athletics staff. Thanks as well to Ronnette Pellegrin and others from Doug's staff, and the many more volunteers who bond together to host us each year. Together their warmth and attitude make any visitor feel a part of the community. Along with the Hall of Fame athletes and coaches, we also congratulate the latest recipients of the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism -Ted Lewis and Natchitoches' own Norm Fletcher . Each has played a major role in telling the sports story in Louisiana through their hard work, research, promotion and tireless efforts. We also salute this year's winner of the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award - Gerald Boudreaux, a nationally-renowned basketball referee. Former New Orleans Saints head coach Mike Ditka once said, "Success is about having, excellence is about being. Success is about having money and fame, but excellence is being the best you can be." Each new member of the Hall of Fame strove to reach their full potential in excellence. In so doing they show each of us the way to unlock the door to our own personal excellence. It is with great pride that the LSWA teams with this city and the sports community to welcome you to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Sincerely, Garland Forman President, LSWA
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Tracing the History of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame A half-century after inducting its first class of sports legends, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame is realizing its fondest dreams and greatest aspirations. The Louisiana State Museum system is spearheading construction on a 27,500square foot museum building on Front Street in the National Historic District of Natchitoches. Trahan Architects of Baton Rouge have designed the museum building. Thinc Design of New York City is developing exhibits. Construction began in 2008-09 with site demolition and preparation, continued last spring with utility relocation and drainage work along with the pilings and foundation work, and is resuming this month with construction of the actual building. The construction could be completed in fall/winter 2011 with the potential for a grand opening within two years, in winter 2011 or more likely, spring 2012. The Hall of Fame itself will occupy the first floor of the new museum, with the second floor showcasing Louisiana's Sports Paradise, a blend of sports history and culture, along with half of the second floor housing the Northwest Louisiana Regional History Museum, now the state-run Old Courthouse Museum in Natchitoches. Members of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association began planning a Hall of Fame to honor the state's outstanding athletes and coaches as far back as 1951, but the first election to the hall was not held until 1958. The three charter members of the organization -- Gaynell Tinsley, Tony Canzoneri and Mel Ott -- were inducted during the Ark-LaTex Sports Award Banquet in Shreveport in 1959. Three honorees were selected annually for several years and were inducted during the Shreveport banquet. Later inductions were held in different areas of the state, including Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Several members of the Hall of Fame were inducted at LSU football games and televised basketball games, and others were taken into the shrine during the VFW Sports Awards Banquets in New Orleans. Although LSWA members presented plaques to 41 Hall of Fame honorees and conducted induction ceremonies for the shrine members each year, there was never an actual Hall of Fame in the state until the facility was established at Northwestern State in Natchitoches in 1972 by co-chairmen Jerry Pierce and Jim McLain, with the support of NSU President Dr. Arnold Kilpatrick.
The Hall of Fame was showcased in Prather Coliseum for more than 30 years, and now the entire collection has shifted to the State Museum system until completion of the new museum.
Portraits of a few of the members were placed in Shreveport for a brief period, but the establishment of the Hall of Fame at Prather Coliseum was the first formal inauguration of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Following the 2010 inductions, 235 members will have entered the shrine since the Hall of Fame was opened in Natchitoches. The LSWA's dream of developing a true museum that showcases not only the art and artifacts, but provides a captivating experience for visitors and repository for state sports history, is becoming reality. From 2000-2002, the Hall of Fame induction activities shifted to Shreveport-Bossier City, due in large part to the support of mayors Keith Hightower and George Dement, administrative officers Ken Antee and now Bossier City Mayor Lorenz Walker, local businessman Jimmy Patterson and the Horseshoe Casino & Hotel. Hall of Fame member Joe Profit and Mitton Management Co. played important roles in the success of the three-year stint in Shreveport-Bossier. The expansion of Hall of Fame induction activities drew attention from then-Gov. Mike Foster, then-Lt. Gov. and then-Gov. Kathleen Blanco, Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, and other state officials. Their interest, along with leadership by Natchitoches Mayor Wayne McCullen, and former local legislators state Rep. Taylor Townsend and state Sen. Mike Smith, combined with the continuing support provided by Northwestern State University, led to quantum leaps forward for the Hall. The Hall of Fame was accepted into the state museum system in the 2003 state leg-
2010 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration
islative session, setting the stage for the state and city of Natchitoches to collaborate with the LSWA to develop the new museum In preparation for the beginning of the project, all of the artwork and memorabilia which was on display at Northwestern's Prather Coliseum was turned over to the state museum system after the 2005 induction celebration. Today's local and state government leaders have played crucial roles in advancing the project. Mayor McCullen and city officials, local legislators Sen. Gerald Long and Rep. Rick Nowlin have partnered with Gov. Bobby Jindal, recently departed Lt. Gov. Landrieu and legislators around the state to assure a sparkling future for the museum. The Louisiana State Museum system, under the direction of Sam Rykels, is providing dynamic vision and careful stewardship as the Hall of Fame's dreams become reality. The current Hall of Fame collection includes color portraits of the 277 members and a continually growing of items such as baseballs, footballs, bats, gloves, jerseys, golf clubs, helmets, shoes and other memorabilia contributed to the shrine by Hall of Fame members and their families. It also includes the Grits and Mary Gresham Collection showcasing hunting, fishing and the outdoors. Items representative of major events in state sports history, such as the 2007 LSU football national championship and the New Orleans Saints Super Bowl XIV title, have also been donated to the Hall.
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Hall of Fame members gather on stage as the 2005 induction banquet ceremonies, the last to be held in Prather Coliseum, comes to a close.
Selection Process Demanding for Election to the Hall of Fame The 30-member Hall of Fame Selection Committee of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association annually conducts a two-month review process before electing no more than eight new members of the Hall of Fame. A standing ballot, typically including more than 100 candidates, is supplemented each year by new nominees. Nominations can be made by the public as well as by members of the LSWA. Athletes, coaches and other sports figures are selected according to categories and criteria established long ago by the LSWA. To be eligible for consideration, athletes must have competed for at least two years at the varsity level in high school or college in Louisiana. Athletes who gain fame in Louisiana at the college or professional level are also eligible candidates. Coaches and nominees in other categories such as sports administration are eligible for membership if they are Louisiana natives who gain fame outside the state, or if they are out of state but gain fame while working in Louisiana. Other basic criteria require sports figures to be retired or inactive in their discipline for at least three years before they can be considered.
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Athletes in lifetime sports, such as golf, become eligible when they reach the age of 50, even if they remain active. With rules refined in 2003, coaches and administrators become eligible once they turn 60, even if they remain active. Rules prevent a majority of the selections coming from any one sports category. The discussion of Hall of Fame candidates never stops among LSWA members, especially among the selection committee members. It’s a common topic in press rooms and on road trips for the state’s sports media, with the formal process now beginning with a committee meeting at the annual LSWA convention in July. The selection process moves forward with confirmation of credentials for new nominees. Then the selection committee’s screening panel reviews the entire list of candidates, new and returning, and using electronic mail and teleconferences, pares them down to 30 semifinalists. The full selection committee reviews all candidates, and if there are any nominees who have not made the semifinalists lists, they may become finalists if seven committee members request their addition to the final ballot.
The finalists are set and the entire committee will gather on the last weekend of August for a spirited discussion and election process. The elections for the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism and the Dave Dixon Sports Leadership Award are conducted electronically after discussion at the selection committee meeting. Announcement of the induction class is made during the holiday season with plans to soon hold a formal announcement party, perhaps in conjunction with a major state sports event. If you have a candidate to nominate, it’s easy to do. Biographical material on nominees should be mailed to Doug Ireland, Chairman, Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, 500 Front St., Natchitoches, LA 71457, or sent to lasportshall_doug@live.com via email. The deadline to nominate new candidates each year is July 15. Supporting materials, especially for nominees not in high-profile sports categories, is helpful.
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2010 Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism
Norm Fletcher & Ted Lewis Two cornerstones of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, Natchitoches broadcast legend Norm Fletcher and New Orleans sportswriter Ted Lewis, are the winners of the 2010 Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. Fletcher has had one of the state's most remarkable broadcast careers since the late 1940s, while Lewis has begun his fifth decade as Norm Fletcher a sports writer and editor in the state, with 11 years in Monroe beginning in 1973 and approaching 30 years with the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Both are highly involved with the LSWA's prize creation, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Fletcher has been the “voice of the Hall of Fame” for five decades, providing narration for the annual Induction Ceremonies, while Lewis has been a dynamic member of the Hall of Fame selection committee since its formal inception in 1983, at his recommendation. Ted Lewis The Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism is the most prestigious honor offered to sports media in the state. Recipients are chosen by the 30-member Hall of Fame selection committee based on their professional accomplishments in local, state, regional and even national arenas, with leadership in the LSWA a contributing factor and three decades of work in the profession as a requirement. Distinguished Service Award winners join the “writers and broadcasters wing” of the Hall of Fame and will be recognized in the Hall along with the 277 athletes, coaches and administrators chosen for enshrinement since 1959. Only 46 prominent figures in the state's sports media have been honored with the Distinguished Service Award since its inception in 1982 - also a concept proposed by Lewis. “Norm Fletcher and Ted Lewis have greatly influenced the identity of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, and they have had an even greater impact on the evolution of sports media in the state,” said Garland Forman, president of the LSWA. “This recognition salutes their continuing contributions and decades of impact throughout Louisiana. Norm Fletcher was a trailblazing broadcaster who remains active today, and Ted Lewis has been a compelling and award-winning sports writer and a guiding factor for the Hall of Fame and the LSWA.” Lewis, an institution at two different Louisiana papers, joined the Monroe News-Star-World staff in 1973 and was there 10 years, the last three as prep editor, before joining the staff of the New Orleans TimesPicayune for a 27-year run that continues. During that time, he served as prep editor for eight years and has also handled beats as wide-ranging as LSU, Tulane, UNO, the Saints, the Sugar Bowl, the NCAA, women's sports and Olympic sports among others, and is currently with the paper's St. Tammany Bureau. A former president, vice president and secretary of the LSWA, he was a 1996 winner of the organization's highest internal honor, the Mac Russo Award, recognizing major contributions to the progress and ideals of the LSWA.
Lewis has served on the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame committee since its inception in 1983, and has been an innovator with guidelines for selection and his advocacy of groundbreaking candidates, including women and Negro Leagues baseball greats. From 1958-83, the LSWA members attending the group's annual convention voted to choose Hall of Fame inductees, a process that Lewis refined with his recommendation to create a geographically-balanced selection committee representing each area of the state. A year earlier, he also proposed creation of the Distinguished Service Award to honor journalists whose career contributions dramatically impacted the state's sports scene. He worked at the Lexington (Tenn.) Progress, the Jackson (Tenn.) Sun and the Waco (Texas) Tribune-Herald before coming to Monroe. Fletcher enters a fifth decade as the "Voice of the Hall of Fame" lending his baritone delivery as the narrator for ceremonies and videotape. His stirring style ushers each inductee into the elite ranks of Hall of Fame membership, but it is only a part of his remarkable contribution to state sports history. He was a prominent sportscaster in north Louisiana for parts of five decades beginning in the late 1940s and continuing into the 1990s, and still is a contributor today. Fletcher was "Voice of the Demons" calling Northwestern State sports from the age of 18 in 1949 until running successfully for Sheriff of Natchitoches Parish in 1979, and he reassumed the role for two years after leaving office in the early 1990s. He continues to host weekly morning radio shows and contributes to NSU sports coverage, while enjoying the work of two of his protégés, LSU Sports Network announcer Jim Hawthorne and Cox Sports Television lead announcer Lyn Rollins, whose broadcast careers began under Fletcher's guidance in Natchitoches. From 1949-79, he broadcast high school sports, doing every Natchitoches High/Natchitoches Central football and basketball game, except for time spent in the U.S. Air Force. He was Editor-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Radio Service Far East Network in the 1950s as chief news and sports announcer. He broadcast major sports events throughout the Far East, including football, baseball and boxing. For a quarter-century after he returned home to Natchitoches, he did either prep or college basketball game broadcasts five nights a week from mid-November until early March, and returned back to the studio early the following mornings to anchor the local news and sports reports and a talk show. Broadcasting sports including football, basketball, baseball, boxing, boat races and even two Gulf States Conference track and field championship meets, his total of play-by-play events is over 4,000 broadcasts. As co-owner of KNOC-AM and KDBH-FM, Fletcher helped launch the broadcast careers of dozens of NSU students, including Hawthorne and Rollins. Fletcher becomes only the fifth broadcaster to enter the Hall as a Distinguished Service Award winner, joining Hap Glaudi and Buddy Diliberto of New Orleans, LSU's John Ferguson and 2009 recipient Bob Griffin of Shreveport. Fletcher and Ferguson are the only two play-by-play broadcasters honored so far.
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2010 Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award Winner
Gerald Boudreaux Gerald Boudreaux, who worked four NCAA Final Four basketball championship games in a 25-year career as a nationally-renowned referee before taking over as the Southeastern Conference Coordinator of Officials, is the 2010 recipient of the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award. Boudreaux, a Lafayette native, is the eighth recipient of the Dave Dixon Award. Since 2005, it is presented annually by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association's 30-member Hall of Fame selection committee to an individual who has played a decisive role as a sports leader or administrator beneGerald Boudreaux fiting Louisiana and/or bringing credit to Louisiana on the national and international level. It is named in honor of Hall of Famer Dave Dixon, the driving force behind bringing the NFL to Louisiana with the creation of the New Orleans Saints franchise. Dixon is also considered the “father” of the Louisiana Superdome, developing the concept for the innovative domed structure and pushing state officials for its construction in the late 1960s. Boudreaux was one of the nation's most highly-regarded NCAA Division I basketball officials for 25 years before stepping off the floor two years ago and taking over as the first SEC Coordinator of Men's Basketball Officials, a role he continues to handle. While active on the court, Boudreaux was selected to work the Final Four five times during his career including the 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003 national championship games. Only three officials have worked four Final Fours in a five-year span since the NCAA Tournament took its current format. He officiated in 16 consecutive NCAA and SEC Tournaments. In 2000, Boudreaux was honored as the Naismith College Men's Basketball Official of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club, and in May of 2008 he was named “Mr. Louisiana Basketball,” the top award given by the
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Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches for someone who has made a significant long-term contribution to basketball in Louisiana. Boudreaux has also worked extensively in youth athletic programs, through his position as director of Lafayette Parks and Recreation, as a member of the state recreation and parks commission, and as an LHSAA official in both football and basketball. Seven men have previously been presented the Dixon Award since its inception in 2005. The first winner was Randy Gregson, a New Orleans native/resident and former president of the United States Tennis Association. In 2006 the winner was Emmanuel “Boozy” Bourgeois, president of Louisiana Special Olympics since 1972. The 2007 recipients were Don Landry, a longtime collegiate administrator, and Doug Thornton, the executive director of the Louisiana Superdome. In 2008, the Dixon Award went to world renowned orthopaedic Dr. James Andrews, a Homer native, LSU graduate and SEC champion pole vaulter. Last year's recipients were George Dement, a Bossier City Past Dave Dixon Sports Leadership boxing and youth sports activist; Award Winners and “Mr. Softball” Benny Turcan, 2005 Randy Gregson a New Orleans native and longU.S. Tennis Association time state ASA softball commis- 2006 Emmanuel “Boozy” Bourgeois, Jr. sioner. Louisiana Special Olympics The Dixon Award winners 2007 Don Landry will be recognized in a display in Nicholls State, SLC Doug Thornton the soon-to-be-under construcLouisiana Superdome tion Louisiana Sports Hall of Dr. James Andrews Fame and Louisiana State 2008 Sports Medicine Museum, a 27,500-square foot George Dement facility in Natchitoches whose 2009 Youth Sports Activist centerpiece will be the Hall of Benny Turcan Fame. Mr. Softball
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From Fastballs to Paint Brushes - Our Hall of Fame Artist Former Northwestern State baseball player Chris Brown has completed his second set of eight striking portraits of the 2010 Induction Class in his capacity as the artist for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Brown, a native of McCook, Nebraska, assumed the role as the organization's artist for the 2009 Induction Class after long-time artist, Carolyn Thorn, passed away in July 2008 after an illness. “The loss of Carolyn Thorn tremendously saddened everyone associated with the Hall of Fame,” said Hall of Fame executive director Doug Ireland. “Her passing closed a remarkable chapter. She and (late husband) Clif produced an amazing body of work that for many people was the defining visual image of the Hall and was certainly a key part of our identity. It was quite daunting for us to consider how
to move forward and identify our new artist. "The work Chris did last year was dynamic. He has honored the legacy of the Thorns and added his own distinctive style. Like them, he pours his heart and soul into these portraits and it shows in the finished product." Clif Thorn became the Hall of Fame artist when the shrine, created in 1958, found a permanent home in Natchitoches at Northwestern State in 1972. He drew 144 of the magnificent color portraits of Hall of Fame inductees until 1995, when Parkinson's disease forced him to retire and to teach his wife, Carolyn, an acclaimed watercolor artist, the techniques of portrait work in pastels. Mrs. Thorn matched her husband's style from 1995-2008. After graduating from NSU with a degree in art education, Brown has been active in the art world. He currently teaches art and is a baseball coach at Sharyland High School in Mission, Texas. “We love the fact that he's been a high school, college and professional athlete. As the Hall of Fame museum opens relatively soon, this is a very fascinating time for us and that is reflected in his portraits. We're excited about what we hope will be a very long association with Chris Brown as the official artist of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.” As a player at NSU, Brown was a member of the back-to-back Southland Conference championship teams in 1997 and 1998. In his two-year career as a member of the Demon pitching staff, Brown compiled a 13-9 record in 35 games with a 3.94 ERA. In 1997, he set a school single-season record with 110 strikeouts - a record that still stands today. Following his senior season, Brown was drafted in the 33rd round by the Chicago Cubs. Before NSU, Brown attended Cowley County (Kan.) Community College where he compiled a 17-5 record over two seasons and earned All-Conference honors as well as the league's Most Valuable Player. He earned All-Region and first team Junior College AllAmerican honors his sophomore season. He was also an AllAmerican Scholar as a freshman. Brown got started as an artist after a strong push from high school art teacher Jim Steinke, but it was the inspiration from close friend Fred Gianforte of Natchitoches that has made him what he is today. “Artistically, I consider my mentor to be Fred Gianforte of Natchitoches,” said Brown. “Fred has been a strong influence in my Christian path as well as an artist I have learned many techniques from. We continue to bounce ideas off one another and enjoy sharing each other's work. I owe many thanks to Fred.”
Former Demon baseball player Chris Brown is the Hall of Fame’s artist.
Coming in July and August on Cox Sports Television The 2010 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Showcase hosted by Lyn Rollins Enjoy an hour-long recap of the 2010 Induction Celebration with profiles of each of the 2010 honorees! DVD copies $15 each will be available • contact the Hall of Fame to place an order
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Remembering the Thorns - Always Our Hall of Fame Artists
James C. & Carolyn Thorn Just as all the Hall of Fame members have memorable stories, so does the artwork - rooted in the lives of the longtime official artists for the Hall, James C. and Carolyn Thorn of Natchitoches. With the passing of Mrs. Thorn in July 2008, a defining era in the history of Hall came to a close. Since 1972, the husband and wife team produced an iconic series of portraits of each year's inductees. The late James Clifton Thorn, retired associate professor of art at Northwestern State University, was responsible for 144 of the magnificent, hand-drawn color portraits of Hall of Fame members which from 1972-2005 appeared in the Hall of Fame showcases in Prather Coliseum. In 1995, four years after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, Clif grudgingly realized he was no longer able to produce the Hall of Fame portraits. When the disease left him unable to continue his artwork, Thorn taught his wife Carolyn, an acclaimed watercolor artist, the techniques of portrait work in pastels. She assumed the role as the Hall of Fame artist, matching her husband's style down to the distinctive “Thorn� signature on each portrait. Carolyn was also an award-winning artist and a professor of art. She had never done portrait work, doing mostly watercolors with a paint brush, prior to stepping in for her husband and working with pastels for the first time on the Hall of Fame portraits. With Clif's instruction and Carolyn's talent, the portraits continued in the striking style that Thorn originated more than a quarter-century earlier.
James C. Thorn
Carolyn Thorn Said Thorn in an Alexandria Daily Town Talk feature on the teamwork between him and his wife on the Hall of
Fame project: “I'd do them for $10 apiece if I could. I loved it that much.� To establish the first Hall of Fame display when the facility was established in Natchitoches in 1972, Clif drew 35 portraits in a three-month period to provide the shrine with portraits of all athletes and coaches that had been inducted since 1959. Clif passed away in early April 2003 at the age of 73. Mrs. Thorn, a member of the art faculty at Northwestern for 23 years, earned her master's degree at NSU and her Ed.D from the University of North Texas. She had been painting since retirement in 1986 and won numerous awards with paintings in many collections. She was a member of the Hoover Watercolor Society of Natchitoches. A graduate of Baylor University, Mr. Thorn earned his master's degree in painting from Texas Christian University. He also studied at the State University of Iowa and Louisiana State University and taught art for 25 years at Baylor, the University of Texas-Arlington and Northwestern. Widely acclaimed for his portrait work, Thorn supported his graduate studies by painting children's portraits and was commissioned to produce portraits of prominent individuals across Louisiana and Texas. He won numerous awards in art competition, and his works appear in private collections in several states. His artwork was displayed in more than 30 exhibitions.
Samples of Carolyn Thorn’s portraits
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Members of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Danny Abramowicz . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pro Football, New Orleans Saints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1992 Joe Adcock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, Coushatta, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1975 Joe Aillet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football Coach, Louisiana Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1973 Charles Alexander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1993 Billy Allgood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Coach, Louisiana College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1999 John Altobello . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .High School Basketball Coach, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1994 Alex "Greek" Athas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Track & Field, Tulane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1992 Carrice Russell Baker . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball Coach, Jena, Winnsboro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2009 Bill Banker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Tulane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1978 Gary Barbaro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, New Orleans/Nicholls State/NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2000 Leon Barmore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Women's Basketball Coach, Louisiana Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2004 Albert Belle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2005 Skip Bertman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Baseball Coach, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2002 Bernie Bierman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football Coach, Tulane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1967 Buddy Blair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Track, Baseball, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1981 Mel Blount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Southern University, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1989 Vida Blue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, Mansfield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1990 Tommy Bolt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Professional Golf, Shreveport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1974 Zeke Bonura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1989 Sid Bowman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track and Field, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1976 Warren Braden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Southern University, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1998 Terry Bradshaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Louisiana Tech, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1988 Frank Brian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, LSU, NBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1986 Lou Brock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, Southern University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1983 Michael Brooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Ruston, LSU, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2009 Marty Broussard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sports Medicine, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2009 Billy Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track and Field, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1969 Charlie Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .High School Football Coach, Neville-Monroe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2001 Dale Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball Coach, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1999 Gernon Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .High School Coach, Jesuit-New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1990 James E. "Big Fuzzy" Brown . . . . . . .High School Football Coach, Istrouma-Baton Rouge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1992 Joe Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Professional Boxing, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1976 Willard Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, Negro League Baseball, Shreveport . . . . . . . . . .2007 Willie Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Grambling, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1985 Pat Browne Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .U.S. Golf Champion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1998 Queen Brumfield (Nard) . . . . . . . . . . .Women's Basketball, Southeastern Louisiana University . . . . . . . . . . . . .2002 Buck Buchanan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Grambling, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1986 Chris Cagle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Merryville, USL, Army . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1960 Billy Cannon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU, AFL, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1976 Tony Canzoneri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Professional Boxing, Slidell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1959 Harold Carmichael . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Southern University, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1989 Mark Carrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Nicholls, Church Point, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2010 Tommy Casanova . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1985 Jim Cason . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2003 Don Chaney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, McKinley-Baton Rouge, NBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1991 Jimmy "Chick" Childress . . . . . . . . . .High School Football Coach, Ruston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2001 Will Clark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2004 Hollis Conway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track and Field, Shreveport, Louisiana-Lafayette, USA Olympic Team . .2004 Jim Corbett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Athletic Director, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1985 Clifford Ann Creed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Professional Golf, Alexandria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1985 John David Crow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Springhill, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1976 J.T. Curtis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .High School Football Coach, River Ridge, John Curtis . . . . . . . . . . . .2010 Jerry Dalrymple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Tulane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1964 Alvin Dark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, Lake Charles, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1976 Willie Davenport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track and Field, Southern University, USA Olympic Team . . . . . . . . . . . .1988 Tommy Davis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1988 Willie Davis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Grambling, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1977 Fred Dean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Louisiana Tech, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1995 Joe Dean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Athletic Director, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2001 Eddie Delahoussaye . . . . . . . . . . . . .Horse Racing Jockey, New Iberia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2002 Joe Delaney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Northwestern State University, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1996 Bill Dickey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, Bastrop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1981 Mel Didier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Baseball, Baton Rouge, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2003 Paul Dietzel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football Coach, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1988 Dave Dixon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Entrepeneur, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1999 Dr. Jack Doland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football Coach, McNeese State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2002 Atley Donald . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, Choudrant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1982 A.J. Duhe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2001 Joe Dumars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Natchitoches/McNeese State/NBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2003 Ralph Dupas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Professional Boxing, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1994 Mark Duper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Northwestern State, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2005 Billy Joe Dupree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, West Monroe/NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2003 Tom Dutton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1969 Eddie Dyer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, Morgan City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1966 Ken Ellis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Southern, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2000 Ronnie Estay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2006 Marshall Faulk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, New Orleans, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2009 Lenny Fant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball Coach, Northeast Louisiana University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1988 Doc Fenton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1968 Joe Ferguson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Shreveport, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1994 Jim Finks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Administrator, New Orleans Saints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2000 Chuck Finley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Baseball, ULM, Monroe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2006 Peggy Flournoy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Tulane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1968 Steve Foley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Tulane, Jesuit-New Orleans, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2002 Alton "Red" Franklin . . . . . . . . . . . . . .High School Football Coach, Haynesville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2004 John Franks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Horse Racing Thoroughbred Owner, Shreveport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1995 Stan Galloway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football Coach, Southeastern Louisiana University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1989 Lin Gamble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Women's Basketball, Grand Cane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2001 Ralph Garr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, Grambling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1985 L. J. "Hoss" Garrett . . . . . . . . . . . . . .High School Football Coach, Ruston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1997 Leslie Gaudet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .High School Basketball Coach, Pine Prairie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1997 Paul Geisler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Centenary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1967 Larry Gilbert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Baseball, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1964 Matt Gordy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track and Field, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1985 Tad Gormley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Coach, Tulane, LSU, Loyola . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1968 Hoyle Granger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Mississippi State, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2005
2010 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration
Year-by-year inductee class 1959: 1960: 1961: 1962: 1963: 1964: 1965: 1966: 1967: 1968: 1969: 1970: 1972: 1973: 1974: 1975: 1976: 1977: 1978: 1981:
1982: 1983:
1984:
1985:
1986: 1988:
1989:
1990: 1991:
1992:
Tom Canzoneri, Gaynell Tinsley Chris Cagle, Pete Herman, Ted Lyons Jack Torrance, Steve Van Buren Slats Hardin, Sparky Wade Bernie Moore, Al Moreau, Mel Ott, Mel Parnell Jerry Dalrymple, Larry Gilbert, Bo McMillin Ed Head, Willie Pastrano, Jimmy Perrin, H. Lee Prather Eddie Dyer, Cal Hubbard, Biff Jones Bernie Bierman, Paul Geisler Doc Fenton, Peggy Flournoy, Tad Gormley, Dana Jenkins Billy Brown, Tom Dutton, Monk Simons, Red Thomas Ken Kavanaugh, Jimmy McGonagill, Abe Mickal, Harry Rabenhorst, Clark Shaughnessy Bill Lee, Y.A. Tittle Joe Aillet, Bob Petit, Tank Younger Tommy Bolt, Rolland Romero, Jimmy Taylor, Harry Turpin Joe Adcock, Johnny Lynch, Eddie Price, Don Zimmerman Sid Bowman, Joe Brown, Billy Cannon, Alvin Dark, John David Crow, J.D. Mooney, John Pennel Willie Davis, Bobby Spell, Dave Styron, Don Styron Bill Banker, Freddie Haas, Jake Hanna, Charlie Hennigan, Bob Hopkins Buddy Blair, Bill Dickey, Faize Mahfouz, Tommy Mason, Howie Pollet, Willis Reed, Glynn Saulters, Jerry Stovall, Emmett Toppino Atley Donald, Jay Hebert, Lionel Hebert, Dub Jones, Charles McClendon Lou Brock, Hank Lauricella, Lester Lautenschlaeger, Bob Love, Ham Richardson, Jackie Smith Eric Guerin, Dwight “Bo” Lamar, Max McGee, Pete Maravich, Jackie Moreland, A.W. Mumford, Johnny Robinson Willie Brown, Tommy Casanova, Jim Corbett, Clifford Ann Creed, Ralph Garr, Matt Gordy, Eddie Robinson Frank Brian, Buck Buchanan, Bert Jones, Maxie Lambright, Carl Maddox, Dutch Reinhardt Terry Bradshaw, Willie Davenport, Tommy Davis, Paul Dietzel, Lenny Fant, Elvin Hayes, Archie Manning, Rod Milburn, Greg Procell, Bill Reigel, J.R. Richard Mel Blount, Zeke Bonura, Harold Carmichael, Stan Galloway, Grits Gresham, Johnny Morriss, Rusty Staub Vida Blue, Gernon Brown, Charlie Joiner, Fred Miller, Kim Mulkey, Leo Sanford, Rags Scheuermann Don Chaney, Gary Johnson, Charlie Tolar, Raymond “Buddy” Parker, Ralph Ward, Roy “Moonie” Winston Danny Abramowicz, Alex “Greek” Athas, James E. “Big Fuzzy” Brown, Bob Groseclose, Ron Guidry, Richie Petitbon, Andrew Toney
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Members of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Mike Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Louisiana Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1996 Grits Gresham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Outdoorsman, Natchitoches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1989 Bob Groseclose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track & Field Coach, Northeast Louisiana University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1992 Eric Guerin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Horse Racing Jockey, Maringouin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1984 Ron Guidry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, Lafayette, USL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1992 Sue Gunter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Women's Basketball Coach, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2005 Freddie Haas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Amateur Golf, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1978 Darryl Hamilton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, Baton Rouge, Nicholls State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008 Jake Hanna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Centenary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1978 Billy Hardin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track and Field, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1998 Slats Hardin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track and Field, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1962 James "Shack" Harris . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Monroe, Grambling, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1999 Gayle Hatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Weightlifting Coach, Baton Rouge, Northwestern State . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008 Joel Hawkins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .High School Basketball Coach, Southern Lab, Lake Providence, G.W. Griffin . . . .2007 Elvin Hayes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Rayville, NBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1988 Ed Head . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, Selma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1965 Bobby Hebert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Cut Off, Northwestern State, NFL, New Orleans Saints . . . . . . .2000 Jay Hebert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Professional Golf, Lafayette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1982 Lionel Hebert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Professional Golf, Lafayette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1982 Lee Hedges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .High School Football Coach, Shreveport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2010 Charlie Hennigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Northwestern State University, AFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1978 Tommy Henry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .High School Administrator, Alexandria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008 Pete Herman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Professional Boxing, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1960 Dalton Hilliard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU, New Orleans Saints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1997 Tom Hinton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Louisiana Tech, CFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2005 Fred Hobdy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball Coach, Grambling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1994 Sonja Hogg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball Coach, Louisiana Tech, Alexandria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2009 Bob Hopkins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Grambling, NBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1978 Cal Hubbard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football & Baseball, Centenary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1966 Stan Humphries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, ULM, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2007 Luke Jackson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Olympic & NBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1998 Rich Jackson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Southern University, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1994 Rickey Jackson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Professional Football, New Orleans Saints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1999 Dana Jenkins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track and Field, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1968 Kathy Johnson (Clarke) . . . . . . . . . . .Gymnastics, Centenary College, USA Olympic Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1996 Gary Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Grambling, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1991 Charlie Joiner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Grambling, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1990 Bert Jones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1986 Biff Jones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football Coach, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1966 Dub Jones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Tulane, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1982 Esther Jones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2007 Ken Kavanaugh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1970 Pam Kelly (Flowers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Louisiana Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1994 Kenny Konz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2000 Ernie Ladd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Grambling, AFL, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1994 Dwight "Bo" Lamar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball University of Southwestern Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1984 Maxie Lambright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football Coach, Louisiana Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1986 Hank Lauricella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1983 Lester Lautenschlaeger . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Football Coach, Tulane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1983 Janice Lawrence (Braxton) . . . . . . . .Pro Basketball, Louisiana Tech, USA Olympic Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2005 Walter Ledet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track & Field Coach, Northwestern State University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1995 Bill Lee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, Plaquemine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1972 Eun Jung Lee (Ok) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Northeast Louisiana University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1998 Albert Lewis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Mansfield, Grambling, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2004 Frank Lewis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Grambling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2006 Bob Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Southern University, NBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1983 Bobby Lowther . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Track & Field, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1995 Johnny Lynch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football Referee, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1975 Ted Lyons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, Lake Charles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1960 Charles McClendon . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football Coach, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1982 Dick McCloskey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .High School Football Coach, Hanson Memorial-Franklin . . . . . . . . . . . . .2003 Ben McDonald . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Baseball, Denham Springs, LSU, MLB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2010 Max McGee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Tulane, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1984 Jimmy McGonagill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Amateur Golf, Shreveport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1970 Bo McMillin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football Coach, Centenary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1964 Rudy Macklin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, LSU, NBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2005 Carl Maddox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Athletic Director, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1986 Ron Maestri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Baseball Coach, University of New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1995 Faize Mahfouz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .High School Football Coach, Eunice, New Iberia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1981 Karl Malone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Summerfield, Louisiana Tech, NBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008 Archie Manning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, New Orleans Saints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1988 Pete Maravich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, LSU, NBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1984 Oliver Marcelle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Negro Leagues Baseball, Thibodaux, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1996 Leonard Marshall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Franklin, LSU, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008 Eric Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU, New Orleans Saints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2006 Tommy Mason . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Tulane, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1981 Abe Mickal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1970 Rod Milburn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track and Field, Southern University, USA Olympics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1988 Fred Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1990 Sam Mills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, New Orleans Saints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2001 Brian Mitchell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, ULL, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2007 J.D. Mooney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Horse Racing Jockey, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1976 Bernie Moore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Track Coach, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1963 Jim Mora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football Coach, New Orleans Saints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2003 Al Moreau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track and Field, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1963 Jackie Moreland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Louisiana Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1984 Johnny Morriss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track & Field, University of Southwestern Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1989 Kim Mulkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Louisiana Tech, USA Olympic Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1990 A.W. Mumford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football Coach, Southern University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1984 Charles "Cotton" Nash . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Baseball, Lake Charles High School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1993 Calvin Natt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Northeast Louisiana University, NBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1993 Mel Ott . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1963 Emmett Pare' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tennis Coach, Tulane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1997 Robert Parish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Woodlawn-Shreveport, Centenary, NBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2001 Raymond “Buddy” Parker . . . . . . . . .Football, Centenary, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1991 Mel Parnell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1963
14
Year-by-year inductee class 1993: Charles Alexander, Charles “Cotton” Nash, Calvin Natt, Connie Ryan, Edna Tarbutton, Doug Williams 1994: John Altobello, Ralph Dupas, Joe Ferguson, Fred Hobdy, Rich Jackson, Pam Kelly (Flowers), Ernie Ladd 1995: Fred Dean, John Franks, Walter Ledet, Bobby Lowther, Ron Maestri, James Silas, Sammy White 1996: Joe Delaney, Mike Green, Oliver Marcelle, Kathy Johnson (Clarke), Isiah Robertson, Rosey Taylor, Earl “Moose” Wilson 1997: L.J. “Hoss” Garrett, Leslie Gaudet, Dalton Hilliard, Emmett Paré, Harold Porter, Gary Reasons, Scotty Robertson, Joyce Walker 1998: Warren Braden, Pat Browne Jr., Billy Hardin, Luke Jackson, Eun Jung Lee (Ok), John Petitbon, Everson Walls 1999: Billy Allgood, Dale Brown, Dave Dixon, James “Shack” Harris, Rickey Jackson, Joe Profit, Pat Studstill 2000: Gary Barbaro, Ken Ellis, Jim Finks, Bobby Hebert, Kenny Konz, Michael Sanders, Audrey “Mickey” Patterson (Tyler) 2001: Charlie Brown, Jimmy “Chick” Childress, Joe Dean, A.J. Duhe, Lin Gamble, Sam Mills, Robert Parish 2002: Skip Bertman, Queen Brumfield (Nard), Eddie Delahoussaye, Dr. Jack Doland, Steve Foley, Nick Revon, Johnny “Red” Robertson 2003: Jim Cason, Mel Didier, Joe Dumars, Billy Joe Dupree, Dick McCloskey, Jim Mora, Lee Smith 2004: Leon Barmore, Will Clark, Hollis Conway, Alton “Red” Franklin, Albert Lewis, Tony Sardisco, Neil Smith 2005: Albert Belle, Mark Duper, Hoyle Granger, Sue Gunter, Tom Hinton, Rudy Macklin, Janice Lawrence (Braxton), Randy Romero 2006: Ronnie Estay, Chuck Finley, Frank Lewis, Eric Martin, Craig Perret, Rick Robey, George “Bo” Strickland, Sheila Thompson (Johnson) 2007: Willard Brown, Joel Hawkins, Stan Humphries, Esther Jones, Brian Mitchell, Warren Perkins, Kim Perrot, Pat Swilling 2008: Darryl Hamilton, Gayle Hatch, Tommy Henry, Karl Malone, Leonard Marshall, Jelly Pigott, Barbara Fay White, Aeneas Williams 2009: Carrice Russell Baker, Michael Brooks, Marty Broussard, Marshall Faulk, Sonja Hogg, Willie Roaf, Freddie Spencer, Hal Sutton 2010: Mark Carrier, J.T. Curtis, Lee Hedges, Ben McDonald, Mike Vining, Theresa Weatherspoon, Larry Wilson, Orlando Woolridge
2010 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration
10HOF_Program
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Members of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Willie Pastrano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Professional Boxing, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1965 Audrey "Mickey" Patterson (Tyler) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track and Field, New Orleans, USA Olympics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2000 John Pennel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track & Field, Northeast Louisiana University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1976 Warren Perkins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Tulane, NBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2007 Craig Perret . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Horse Racing Jockey, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2006 Jimmy Perrin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Professional Boxing, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1965 Kim Perrot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, ULL, WNBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2007 John Petitbon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Notre Dame, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1998 Richie Petitbon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Tulane, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1992 Bob Pettit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, LSU, NBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1973 Jelly Pigott . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .High School Basketball Coach, Jena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008 Howie Pollet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1981 Harold Porter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track & Field, University of Southwestern Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1997 H. Lee Prather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball Coach, Northwestern State University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1965 Eddie Price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Tulane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1975 Greg Procell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .High School Basketball, Ebarb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1988 Joe Profit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Monroe, Northeast Louisiana University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1999 Harry Rabenhorst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Coach, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1970 Gary Reasons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Northwestern State University, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1997 Willis Reed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Grambling, NBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1981 Bill Reigel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, McNeese State University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1988 Dutch Reinhardt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball Coach, University of Southwestern Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1986 Nick Revon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2002 J.R. Richard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, Vienna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1988 Ham Richardson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tennis, Tulane University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1983 Willie Roaf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Louisiana Tech, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2009 Isiah Robertson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Southern University, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1996 Johnny "Red" Robertson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .High School Football Coach, Ferriday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2002 Scotty Robertson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball Coach, Louisiana Tech, NBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1997 Rick Robey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2006 Eddie Robinson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football Coach, Grambling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1985 Johnny Robinson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1984 Randy Romero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Horse Racing Jockey, Erath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2005 Rolland Romero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track and Field, Loyola, U.S. Olympic Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1974 Connie Ryan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1993 Leo Sanford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Louisiana Tech, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1990 Michael Sanders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, DeRidder, UCLA, NBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2000 Tony Sardisco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Shreveport, Tulane, AFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2004 Glynn Saulters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Northeast Louisiana University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1981 Rags Scheuermann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Baseball Coach, Delgado, Loyola . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1990 Clark Shaughnessy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football Coach, Tulane, Loyola . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1970 James Silas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Tallulah, ABA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1995 Monk Simons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Tulane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1969 Jackie Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Northwestern State University, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1983 Lee Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, Castor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2003 Neil Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, New Orleans, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2004 Bobby Spell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Professional Softball, Lake Charles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1977 Freddie Spencer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Motorcycle Racing, Shreveport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2009 Rusty Staub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1989 Jerry Stovall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1981 George “Bo” Strickland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Baseball, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2006 Pat Studstill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Shreveport, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1999 Dave Styron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track & Field, Northeast Louisiana University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1977 Don Styron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track & Field, Northeast Louisiana University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1977 Hal Sutton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Golf, Centenary, Shreveport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2009 Pat Swilling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, New Orleans Saints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2007 Edna Tarbutton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .High School Basketball Coach, Baskin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1993 Jimmy Taylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1974 Rosey Taylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Grambling, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1996 Red Thomas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Northwestern State University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1969 Sheila Thompson (Johnson) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Louisiana College, Pitkin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2006 Gaynell Tinsley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1959 Y.A. Tittle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1972 Charlie Tolar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Northwestern State University, AFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1991 Andrew Toney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, University of Southwestern Louisiana, NBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1992 Emmett Toppino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track and Field, Loyola . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1981 Jack Torrance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track and Field, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1961 Harry Turpin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football Coach, Northwestern State University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1974 Steve Van Buren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1961 Mike Vining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball Coach, Louisiana-Monroe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2010 Sparky Wade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, LSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1962 Joyce Walker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, LSU, Harlem Globetrotters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1997 Everson Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Grambling, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1998 Ralph Ward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball Coach, McNeese State University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1991 Theresa Weatherspoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Women’s Basketball, Louisiana Tech, WNBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2010 Barbara Fay White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Golf, Shreveport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008 Sammy White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Grambling, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1995 Aeneas Williams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, New Orleans, Southern, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008 Doug Williams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Grambling, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1993 Earl "Moose" Wilson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Major League Baseball, Ponchatoula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1996 Larry Wilson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Nicholls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2010 Roy “Moonie” Winston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, LSU, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1991 Orlando Woolridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Mansfield, NBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2010 Tank Younger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Grambling, NFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1973 Don Zimmerman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Football, Tulane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1975 Married Names of Women Members of the Hall of Fame Janice Lawrence Braxton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pro Basketball, Louisiana Tech, USA Olympic Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2005 Kathy Johnson Clarke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Gymnastics, Centenary College, USA Olympic Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1996 Pam Kelly Flowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Louisiana Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1994 Sheila Thompson-Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Louisiana College, Pitkin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2006 Queen Brumfield Nard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Southeastern Louisiana University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2002 Eun Jung Lee Ok . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Basketball, Northeast Louisiana University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1998 Audrey (Mickey) Patterson Tyler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Track and Field, New Orleans, USA Olympics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2000
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Members of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Distinguished Service Award The most prestigious honor offered to sports media personnel in Louisiana by their peers is the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism. The Louisiana Sports Writers Association presents the award each year during the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame ceremonies. Recipients are chosen by the 30-member Hall of Fame selection committee each year after the annual winter meeting. Nominees are drawn from the ranks of LSWA based on their professional accomplishments and impact in local, state, regional and even national arenas. Candidates must be 60 years old, or have three decades of journalism credentials, reflecting a lifetime of service in the profession. Names of the Distinguished Service Award winners have been displayed in the Hall of Fame. When a museum building is constructed, there will be a “writers and broadcasters display” in the Hall of Fame much as there is in the Baseball Hall Of Fame at Cooperstown. Bob Anderson . . . . . . . . . . .Northeast Louisiana/ULM Sports Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1994 Bernell Ballard . . . . . . . . . .Baton Rouge Advocate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1994 Louis Bonnette . . . . . . . . . .McNeese State Sports Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2002 Roger Brandt . . . . . . . . . . .Opelousas Daily World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1997 Jerry Byrd . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bossier Press-Tribune, Shreveport Journal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1996 Bill Carter . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Alexandria Daily Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1988 Ted Castillo . . . . . . . . . . . . .Baton Rouge Advocate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1987 Mike Cook . . . . . . . . . . . . .Baton Rouge Advocate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1992 Bill Curl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tulane, The Louisiana Superdome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2003 O.K. “Buddy” Davis . . . . . .Ruston Daily Leader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2009 Fred Digby . . . . . . . . . . . . .New Orleans Item, Sugar Bowl Classic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1991 Buddy Diliberto . . . . . . . . . .WWL-Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2005 Pete Dosher . . . . . . . . . . . .Louisiana Tech, Grambling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2007 John Ferguson . . . . . . . . . .LSU and New Orleans Saints radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1984 Bill Finney . . . . . . . . . . . . . .New Orleans Times-Picayune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1989 Jack Fiser . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The Shreveport Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1983 Norm Fletcher . . . . . . . . . .Broadcaster, Northwestern State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2010 Hap Glaudi . . . . . . . . . . . . .WWL-Radio/TV, New Orleans Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1990 Bob Griffin . . . . . . . . . . . . .Shreveport Sportscaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2009 Dan Hardesty . . . . . . . . . . .Baton Rouge State Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1985 Bob Henderson . . . . . . . . .Univ. of Southwestern Louisiana/ULL Sports Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1999 Bud Johnson . . . . . . . . . . .Southeastern Louisiana, LSU, Tulane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2001 Connie Kaplan . . . . . . . . . .The Kaplan Herald . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1992 Bill Keefe . . . . . . . . . . . . . .New Orleans Times-Picayune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1982 Sam King . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Baton Rouge Advocate/State-Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2000 M.L. Lagarde . . . . . . . . . . .Tulane University Sports Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1993 Hal Ledet . . . . . . . . . . . . . .L’Observerteur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1998 Ted Lewis . . . . . . . . . . . . .New Orleans Times-Picayune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2010 Paul Manasseh . . . . . . . . .LSU Sports Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1986 Paul Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . .Monroe News-Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1982 Ed McHale . . . . . . . . . . . . .Associated Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008 Bill McIntyre . . . . . . . . . . . .The Shreveport Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1991 Jim McLain . . . . . . . . . . . . .The Shreveport Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1995 Bud Montet . . . . . . . . . . . . .Baton Rouge Morning Advocate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1982 Marty Mulé . . . . . . . . . . . . .New Orleans Times-Picayune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2006 Al Nassif . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Alexandria Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1999 Collie Nicholson . . . . . . . . .Grambling State Sports Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1990 Jerry Pierce . . . . . . . . . . . .Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, Northwestern State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2000 Joe Planas . . . . . . . . . . . . .The Catholic Commentator, Baton Rouge Advocate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1996 Keith Prince . . . . . . . . . . . .Louisiana Tech Sports Information, Monroe News-Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2004 Jerry Robichaux . . . . . . . . .The Shreveport Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2000 Bob Roesler . . . . . . . . . . . .New Orleans Times-Picayune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1989 Arthur Schott . . . . . . . . . . .New Orleans Times-Picayune, States-Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2007 Truman Stacy . . . . . . . . . . .Lake Charles American Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1982 R.L. Stockard . . . . . . . . . . .Southern, SWAC, New Orleans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008 George Sweeney . . . . . . . .New Orleans Times-Picayune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2002 Austin Wilson . . . . . . . . . . .Associated Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1993 Jim Wynn . . . . . . . . . . . . . .McNeese State, Abbeville Mericonal, Alexandria Town Talk, LSWA President . . . .2006
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Year-by-year inductee class 1982: Bille Keefe, New Orleans Times-Picayune Paul Martin, Monroe News-Star Bud Montet, Baton Rouge Morning Advocate Truman Stacy, Lake Charles American Press 1983: Jack Fiser, The Shreveport Times 1984: John Ferguson, LSU and Saints radio 1985: Dan Hardesty, Baton Rouge State Times 1986: Paul Manasseh, LSU Sports Information 1987: Ted Castillo, Baton Rouge Advocate 1988: Bill Carter, Alexandria Town Talk 1989: Peter Finney, New Orleans Times-Picayune Bob Roesler, New Orleans Times-Picayune 1990: Collie Nicholson, Grambling Sports Information Hap Glaudi, WWL-Radio/TV, N.O. Item 1991: Fred Digby, N.O. Item, Sugar Bowl Classic Bill McIntyre, The Shreveport Times 1992: Connie Kaplan, The Kaplan Herald Mike Cook, Baton Rouge Advocate 1993: M.L. Lagarde, Tulane Sports Information Austin Wilson, Associated Press 1994: Bob Anderson, NLU/ULM Sports Information Bernell Ballard, Baton Rouge Advocate 1995: Jim McLain, The Shreveport Times 1996: Jerry Byrd, Bossier Press-Tribune, Shreveport Journal Joe Planas, The Catholic Commentator, Baton Rouge Advocate 1997: Roger Brandt, Opelousas Daily World 1998: Hal Ledet, L’Observerteur 1999: Bob Henderson, USL/ULL Sports Information Al Nassif, Alexandria Town Talk 2000: Sam King, Baton Rouge Advocate, State-Times Jerry Pierce, Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, Northwestern State 2001: Bud Johnson, SLU/LSU/Tulane 2002: Louis Bonnette, McNeese St. Sports Information 2003: Bill Curl, Tulane, The Louisiana Superdome 2004: Keith Prince, Louisiana Tech Sports Information, Monroe News-Star 2005: Buddy Diliberto, WWL-Radio 2006: Jim Wynn, McNeese State, Abbeville Meridional, Alexandria Town Talk, LSWA President 2007: Pete Dosher, Louisiana Tech, Grambling Arthur Schott, New Orleans Times-Picayune, States-Item 2008: Ed McHale, Associated Press R.L. Stockark, Southern, SWAC, New Orleans 2009: O.K. “Buddy” Davis, Ruston Daily Leader Bob Griffin, Shreveport Sportscaster 2010: Norm Fletcher, Broadcaster, Northwestern State Ted Lewis, New Orleans Times-Picayune
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Mark Carrier was a diamond in the rough
Mark Carrier
By Bruce Brown Lafayette Advertiser Mark Carrier always had the tools. All he needed was someone to put him to work. Carrier starred in football, basketball and track and field at Church Point High, and that combination of skills translated into AllAmerican status as a Nicholls State University wide receiver, followed by 12 years in the National Football League. His big break came when Nicholls assistant coach Ron Brown scouted him. “He was so young,” Brown recalled. “At his high school, they didn't really throw the ball. I had a big-time job trying to find if he could do what I said he could do. I went to three games, and in the third one, they faced a third-and-long and finally threw the ball. “Mark went up and got it, and I’d seen all I needed to see.” Nicholls was in a throwing mode under
Mark Carrier played 12 seasons in the NFL and earned All-Pro honors in 1989.
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Nicholls Church Point NFL Football
A 12-year NFL veteran receiver, Carrier was a 1989 All-Pro pick at Tampa Bay after an All-America career at Nicholls. The Church Point native played for Nicholls State from 1983-86 and was a first-team Division I-AA All-American in 1986. A first-team All-Gulf South performer in 1986 when he caught 78 passes for 1,513 yards and 20 TDs, he is Nicholls' all-time leader in catches (147), receiving yards (2,709) and TDs (24), and ranks fourth all-time in punt return average (8.9) with two TDs. A third-round draft pick (57th overall) by the Tampa Bay Bucs in 1987, he played 12 NFL seasons with Tampa Bay (1987-92), Cleveland (1993-94) and Carolina (1995-98), posting career totals of 569 catches, 8,763 yards, 15.4 yards per catch, 48 TDs. He had nine 100-yard games and was a Pro Bowl pick in 1989 after posting career highs in receptions (86), yards (1,422) and TDs (9) for the Bucs. His 1,422 yards remain the club record for a single season and his 86 catches rank second in franchise history for a season. Carrier holds Tampa Bay marks for receiving yards in a game (212 vs. Saints on 12/6/87) and career receiving yards (5,018). He ranks second in Bucs' history in receptions (321) and receiving TDs (27) and was named the 15th-best player in club history by BucPower.com in 1993. With Carolina in 1995, he caught 66 passes for 1,002 yards with Carolina. Carrier averaged at least 15.0 yards per catch in eight NFL seasons and played in four playoff games, including the 1996 NFC Championship game with Carolina. He made nine catches for 93 yards and one TD in postseason. Born 10-28-65 in Church Point.
coach Sonny Jackson in the 1980's, and Carrier blossomed into a Division I-AA AllAmerican with 147 receptions for 2,709 yards and 24 touchdown, highlighted by his All-American senior year of 1986 (78 catches, 1,513 yards, 20 scores). “He taught me how to play the game,” Carrier said of Brown. “He taught me the things that were in me, and brought them out of me. He pulled the best out of me.” Carrier's best translated easily to the NFL, where he caught 569 passes for 8,763 yards and 48 touchdowns in stops with Tampa Bay, Cleveland and Carolina. His breakout season was 1989 in Tampa, when he achieved Pro Bowl status with 86 catches for 1,422 yards and nine scores. The numbers and consistent quality were enough to include Carrier in the 2010 Class of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. “More than anything, I was surprised and humbled,” Carrier said of his Hall of Fame status. “Really, it’s nothing that I ever thought about. I’ve been in Florida for a while now. My career took me to Tampa, then Cleveland and then to Carolina.
“I get home often, but I didn’t know if people remembered me. I’m honored.” In a class heavy with basketball talent, Carrier is one whose first love was the hardwood. “Basketball kind of was my sport in high school,” he said, “and those skills translated into football -- being athletic, running up and down the court, reacting, jumping, rebounding. They were all helpful as a receiver, as was hand-eye coordination. “My junior year (at Church Point), I think I had 20 catches,” Carrier added. “My senior year, I think I had half that in interceptions. He (Brown) saw in me things statistics couldn’t show. It wasn’t about the numbers.” That soon changed, as the wide-open Nicholls State offense threw with calculated abandon with Doug Hudson at quarterback. “You watched film, and it was a perfect fit for me,” Carrier said. “We ran four receivers all the time, which is customary now. I saw myself fitting right in. It was a receiver's dream. Coach Brown molded your talents
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to fit the system. He didn't change you; just had to perfect your game. “He put me in the right position to excel.” “Mark listened, and he was intelligent, both in school and on the field,” Brown said. “With all the young kids, we would teach how routes change against certain coverages. We taught route-running, which they didn’t get in high school, and how to be deceptive at it. “He understood when to do certain things, and he had deceptive speed. When it was time to make plays, he made plays. From the very first day, I felt he could play on Sundays (in the NFL). There was something about him. He was so smooth.” A deep run into the Division I-AA playoffs in 1986 helped showcase Carrier, and helped convince the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to select him in the third round of the 1987 NFL Draft. After a 26-catch rookie season, he averaged 59 receptions for the next five seasons. “I was invited to the NFL Combine, and did extremely well,” Carrier said. “I surprised people. My stock rose when I ran a 4.43 time in the 40. Then after the Combine I started receiving calls.” Ray Perkins was the Buccaneers coach, and his practices were famously hard-nosed. “It was not the NFL I saw on TV,” Carrier said. “I saw camp as (in) shorts, laid-back. But we had three-a-day practices, in Tampa, in the summer. But I figured I could fit in, because we ran a prostyle offense at Nicholls. “I did learn that this is a business. It's a job, your livelihood, and you have to fight for your job every day.” Instead of playing before his accustomed collegiate crowds of 8,000 fans, Carrier was now playing for 75,000-80,000, and was playing 16-game seasons. But by his third season, the ex-Colonel was ready to break out. “I had been into the system for a couple of years, and had learned my role as well as the different styles of coaching,” Carrier said. “It began to kick in. I just had to go out and execute it. Plus, (quarterback) Vinny Testaverde and I had worked together a couple of years and were on the same page. “I worked hard,” Carrier said. “I may not be the fastest, or have the best hands, but I worked and I truly learned the game. I could play any one of four receiver positions. I learned each facet of the position. And I learned defenses. “I took pride in my work ethic. I got that from my mom.” Brown knew he had a gem long before the world knew Mark Carrier. He even told Carrier's mom that her son would play in the NFL and “get you out of these projects.” She thought it was a recruiting tool, but found out he was right. To have Carrier drafted by the Bucs, in Brown's hometown, added a special touch. Carrier still makes his home in Tampa, and Brown visits frequently for golf games when he’s in town visiting his family.
Carrier earned All-American honors in 1986. He was a third round pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1987 NFL Draft.
Carrier spent two years with the Cleveland Browns, then started over again with the Carolina Panthers and had a 1,000-yard season in 1995. He remained a consistent contributor until his final campaign in 1998. “With everybody, it’s different deciding when to leave the game,” Carrier said. “The average (in the NFL) is less than four years. To play 10 is truly a blessing. I was able to walk away healthy. It was time to enjoy my kids, my family and my wife.” “He had the ability to catch the football, and the rest is history,” Brown said.
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Learning, winning never stops for Patriots’ J.T. Curtis
J.T. Curtis
By Lori Lyons The Times-Picayune It was early one Sunday morning, and then-LSU assistant coach Pete Jenkins was in a meeting with his fellow staff members, going over a list of recruits. Then-LSU head coach Bill Arnsparger told Jenkins to give a call to John Curtis head football coach J.T. Curtis, who had just won a state championship in the wee hours of the night before. “I said, 'Coach. I know their game went real late last night,'” Jenkins said. “So let's give him another 30 minutes or so to sleep.” A half-hour later, Jenkins finally called his longtime friend to ask about a certain player. But Curtis' wife Lydia answered. “Pete,” she said. “He left at 6 o'clock this morning to go to a clinic.” Jenkins was amazed. “Here's a guy who just went undefeated and won a state championship the night before, and he's up and out early the next day to go to a clinic,” Jenkins said. “But that's why he does what he does. He just keeps that thing rolling.” “That thing” is the John Curtis football program, born in 1962 and ceded in 1969 to the son of the school's founder and head master. Since then it has grown from a penniless program with six players to a national powerhouse with more state championship trophies than any other school in the state. And its coach has become, not only synonymous with the school that bears his name and which he now runs, but also with winning. Curtis, 63 and about to embark on his 42nd season at the helm of the Patriots, has won 23 football state championships in 27 appearances. His overall career record of 480-52-6 makes him the winningest coach in Louisiana high school history and puts him second in the nation behind John McKissick of Summerville, S.C. He also won six state titles during a lengthy stint as the school's head baseball coach. It is the only job Curtis has ever wanted to
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River Ridge Football Coach
He has coached for 40 years at John Curtis High School in River Ridge, posting a continuing won-loss record of 480-52-6 that is best in state history and second best all-time nationally by a prep football coach. Owning a winning percentage of .898, Curtis has won a record 23 state titles, including a record-tying five straight from 2004-08. His Patriots have 14 consecutive state championship game appearances through 2009 and 25 overall appearances in the state finals. Curtis has taken his team to the state playoffs 36 times in his 40 seasons and has made the postseason every year since 1975. From 1979-82, Curtis won 43 consecutive games and from 1979 to 2001, Curtis was not shut out in a national record 303 straight games. Curtis won 136 consecutive district games from 1977-2001 before losing to O.P. Walker 20-0. Curtis was 0-10 in 1969 -- his first season -- and 3-3-3 in 1974 for the only non-winning seasons in his tenure. His 2006 team was voted as high as No. 1 in some national polls, a season highlighted by a 28-14 road victory against No. 1-rated Hoover, Ala. He played college football at Arkansas under Frank Broyles from 1965-68. He was inducted in the Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1992. Born 12-6-46.
do. “I knew in junior high that this was what I wanted to do,” he said. “And it was an absolute calling. It was always intriguing to me.” An offensive and defensive tackle, Curtis was a three-year letterman at East Jefferson High School in Metarie, and became the first All-State player in the history of the school. He later signed with the University of Arkansas, where he played three years before transferred to Louisiana College. In 1969 he was nine credit hours short of graduating when his father, the late John Curtis, Sr., invited him to return home to take over the football duties at the school. “I go to my first meeting, on August 15, 1969,” Curtis recalled. “I had 39 notebooks and six players. I went to my dad's office and said, 'Daddy. I only had six guys here today.' He didn't say a word. I said, 'Daddy, what do you think I should do?' He finally said, 'Well, if I was you, I'd get on the phone and start calling some people.' I knew right then that he was doing his and I had mine.” Curtis eventually was able to find enough players to field a team - one that went 0-10 and scored two touchdowns in its first season.
But the next year his Patriots made the playoffs. In 1973 they reached the quarterfinals, losing to Notre Dame of Crowley, 16-13. And lessons were learned. “That was the first time I realized that I had probably set the goals for that team and didn't realize that they probably could have gone beyond what I had set for them,” Curtis recalled. “So I eliminated goals from that point on. You'll never see signs up for winning this or scoring this many points or this many touchdowns. Because that '73 team probably could have won a championship and I did not realize it.” And in 1975 the Patriots won their first state championship, beating that same Notre Dame of Crowley 13-12. Of all the 23 championships he has won, Curtis said he probably remembers that one the best. “That '75 team was not a super-talented bunch in the eyes of the public,” he said. “There were no college signees from that team. But what they were, was a tremendously committed group of kids that wanted to win, that paid the price to win, and were able to.” It also may be his proudest moment. “It was so unexpected,” he said. “I don't think anyone expected us to win it.”
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kids.” Jenkins also said that Curtis is the most patient man he knows - on and off the field. “To J.T., a 3-yard gain is a big play,” said Jenkins. “Everybody else is looking for that instant gratification, that 50-yard play for a touchdown. J.T. is just as happy getting three yards at a time.” Curtis said he is just doing what he loves. “I love the process,” he said. “I love the organization and the motivation of trying to keep people moving in a positive direction. And the teaching aspect of it is intriguing; trying to help people reach a level that they didn't think was possible.” And he's doing it at a place he loves. Now the headmaster of the school his father founded on a whim, Curtis employs a slew of family members, including sons Johnny and Jeff, a son-in-law and a daughter-in-law. “It is the family business,” Curtis said.
Curtis is also a member of the Louisiana College Hall of Fame and the Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame.
It was just the beginning for Curtis and the Patriots, who went on to win two more titles in the 1970s, then seven in the 1980s, six in the 1990s and seven this decade. The Patriots have made 35 straight playoff appearances and have won 10 or more games in 35 consecutive seasons. They were state champions three years in a row twice (79-81 and 83-85), four years in a row from 1996-1999 and five years in a row from 20042008. Coach Curtis, meanwhile, has been the Louisiana Sports Writers Associations' Coach of the Year five times and the Louisiana Football Coaches Association's Coach of the Year nine times. He was inducted into the Louisiana College Hall of Fame in 1994, two years after going into the Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame. He now becomes only the third active coach, in any sport, to be inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame - joining Eddie Robinson and Joel Hawkins. Jenkins, who will present Curtis to the Louisiana Hall, said the secret to Curtis' success is the fact that he never stops working. Said Jenkins: “Coach Bear Bryant once said, 'Getting there is hard. Staying there is harder.' J.T. and his program have been able to get there and stay there because he is con-
stantly working to get better and be better. He still goes to clinics. He's still trying to learn something new, something better. You would think he knows everything there is to know, but he's still learning. And he does it all for the
Curtis has guided his teams to 23 football state championships in 27 title game appearances.
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Humble Hedges left a big mark in prep football
Lee Hedges
By Jason Pugh The Shreveport Times As a high school football coach, Lee Hedges was extremely good to Caddo Parish. In 1973, Hedges was the coach as Captain Shreve captured the Class 4A state football championship, making him the last Shreveport public high school football coach to win a state championship in the highest classification. Listen to Hedges, though, and he makes sure he is not the focus of anything. “Caddo Parish has been good to me,” Hedges said. “They gave me the opportunity to be a head coach at a young age. After leaving the parish, I came back and they gave me another head coaching job. They gave me a lot of opportunities and I appreciate it very much.” Hedges certainly made the most of those opportunities. In addition to coaching future four-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Terry Bradshaw at Woodlawn High School, Hedges and his staff molded an ultra-talented Gators group into Shreveport's last public large-school state football champions. With Bradshaw at the helm, Hedges coached the Knights to the 1965 state championship game before losing to Sulphur. The 1965 season was his final one at Woodlawn as Hedges left to take an assistant football coaching job at Louisiana Tech University. It was there, Hedges said, he began to refine his coaching style. “I was with coach (Joe) Aillet for just one year, but I learned a lot about analyzing film,” Hedges said. “He'd want you to find out what McNeese does on third-and-10 in any given situation. In doing so, you went over it again and again.” Thus began Hedges' love affair with film study - a trait not lost on his assistant coaches or his players. “I'd watch him study the game and it fascinated me,” said Bo Harris, a 1970 Shreve graduate who played collegiately at LSU then 10 years in the NFL with Cincinnati and Buffalo. “The mental part carried me through my career where the physical part didn't carry me. That was instilled
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In 28 years as a head coach, Hedges touched four of the most historic schools in Shreveport, serving as head coach at three and taking each of those to the state championship game in the state's largest classification. His coaching career began at his alma mater, Fair Park, where he was an assistant coach. His first head coaching post was at arch-rival Byrd, where in his third season he took the Yellow Jackets to the state championship game in 1958. He started - from scratch - the football program at brand-new Woodlawn High School in 1960 and quickly made it one of the state's best - making three playoff trips, including the 1965 state championship game. After briefly joining the coaching staff for the 1966 season at Louisiana Tech, Hedges returned to the prep ranks at Captain Shreve, where he was head coach for 18 seasons (1967-84), making 14 playoff appearances and winning eight district titles. A year after missing the state title by a point, his Gators roared to the 1973 Class 4A championship, the last time a public school from Shreveport won the state title at the highest classification. Including a 24-game win streak in 1972-73, Hedges' career record stands at 216-92-5 (.698), still the most wins by a Shreveport-Bossier City coach. He coached future NFL players as head coach at each school, including state Hall of Fame members Pat Studstill and Terry Bradshaw. Hedges retired with 27 winning seasons in 30 total years of coaching. He was All-State and an All-America halfback at Fair Park and a standout back on LSU's 1949 Sugar Bowl team, and was an outstanding baseball player for the Tigers who played two minor league seasons. Caddo Parish Stadium, home venue for Captain Shreve and used weekly by area teams in football and soccer, was renamed Lee Hedges Stadium in October 2001.
upon me by him.” Harris is one of several future NFLers groomed by Hedges in his tenure as head coach at three Shreveport high schools. In 27 seasons as a high school head coach, Hedges won 217 games and posted 24 winning seasons, reaching the playoffs 14 times and capturing eight district championships. His 217 victories remain the most in Shreveport-Bossier City high school football history despite the 26 years that have elapsed since the end of his 18-year tenure at Captain Shreve. While at Shreve, Hedges set the standard for teams in the city and, in 1973, the state. His Gators allowed only 13 points in 10 regular-season games and finished the 14-0 season with a victory over Glen Oaks in the state championship game. “You work so many years to get to the finals,” Hedges said. “We went a couple of other times and it looked easier to get there. Then it was (eight) years before we made it to another final. It felt like a dream. They felt like they could win it. I wasn't always sure it would happen. I remember it very well. When you're a part of only one, it stands out in a hurry.”
Hedges' lone state championship was a long time coming, but, in many respects, he was ahead of his time. Today many coaches at all levels of football are noted film buffs. Hedges, however, fell in love with dissecting film, something that helped him take Shreve from a 1-7 season in 1967 to the state championship six years later. “That's something I really liked to do, study film and pick out what could help the team win,” Hedges said. “I doubt if I studied more (than today's coaches), but we had those 16 mm films most of the time when I coached. If you had good film, you could see everything.” Even without the benefit of film, Hedges was blessed with the vision to pick apart an opposing team in the heat of battle. “We had some tight games with them in the early '70s when I was at Neville,” fellow Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer Chick Childress said. “If you had a weakness, he could find it. One thing I remember in particular was him slipping backs through the line and getting them out in pass patterns. We had to depend on our linebackers to pick guys up out of the backfield. That caused us a lot of problems.” Before he was a coach, Hedges caused
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Lee Hedges, with Terry Bradshaw, coached his teams to 217 wins and eight district championships.
opposing coaches headaches in three sports while at Shreveport's Fair Park High School. His athletic career continued at LSU where he played both football and baseball. Hedges' baseball success had him contemplating which sport meant more to him. “Football was really what I loved more than baseball, but I played summer baseball every year,” Hedges said. “I went to a tryout camp with the Yankees in Joplin, Mo., after my sophomore year at LSU. I had a chance to decide which one I liked the most. I chose football. “I love baseball, but after you play in Tiger Stadium, there's nothing like it so I went back for my last two years at LSU.” Hedges did play a couple more baseball seasons with the Baton Rouge Red Sticks of the Evangeline League, but football remained in his heart. After finishing his two-sport career at LSU, Hedges went to work on the side of the game that sent him into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. “I was so beat up after playing football at LSU that I didn't want any more of that,” Hedges said. “I helped coach the freshmen at LSU and I came back to Fair Park and got started there.” His time at Fair Park was the start of something grand. From Fair Park, Hedges went to
Byrd as head coach, where he took the Yellow Jackets to the 1956 state championship game. After four years at Byrd, Hedges took the head coaching job at Woodlawn. Hedges and the Knights went 0-9 in their first year together. As was his pattern, however, he turned the team around quickly. Hedges did so by building a coaching staff filled with talent. Four of Hedges' assistants at Woodlawn A.L. Williams, Ken Ivy, Billy Joe Adcox and Jerry Adams - later became high school head coaches with Williams succeeding him as the Knights' leader. “He was very well-organized,” Williams said. “His practices were well-planned. We spent so many minutes on one thing then another. He was heading all that up. He had to get four new coaches together. The four of us had never coached together. He'd never coached with any of them. I can't imagine how hard it was for him.” It was hard for the Knights, as Woodlawn was held scoreless until the seventh game of the 1960 season. Five years later, Hedges had his second team in a state championship game. A lot of that had to do with Hedges' evenkeeled demeanor, something that never changed, regardless of who or where Hedges coached. Hedges' reputation was well-burnished by the time he reached Captain Shreve. “I moved here the summer before my sophomore year in high school,” Harris said. “My father and I basically picked coach Hedges out to play for. He was the master of motivation through positive reinforcement. It was a coreshaping of my athletic career. Coach Hedges knew how to do it. You wanted to please the man. You put out all the effort just to hear him say, 'That a boy.'” Hedges also served a dual purpose at Captain Shreve, coaching the Gators' tennis team to a total of 15 state championships. He also was elected president of the Louisiana High School Coaches Association in 1973. Hedges always is quick to deflect credit and shoulder blame, but in 2001, Caddo Parish gave the venerable coach, who still teaches tennis lessons at Shreveport's Pierremont Oaks Tennis Club, the ultimate honor - it changed the name of Caddo Parish Stadium to Lee Hedges Stadium. “He didn't want any of the accolades or credit,” said Williams, who will be his former boss' presenter. “He always gave that to someone
2010 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration
else. He was 100 percent sincere in that. He appreciated the people and the students and he was one who should have a stadium named after him. The athlete always came first. I can't tell you how much I think of him. We couldn't be closer as coaches than we were.” Even when handling voting duties, Hedges tended to put his student-athletes ahead of himself. “When we'd go to the high school athletic association, he would always vote for what was best for the student and what was best for the game,” Williams said. “There were a lot of people who would vote for what would help them. He was the type of guy you want to work with and you want to be leading. He was a natural leader. He just didn't have an ego. It wasn't about what he could get.” The induction into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame is the second such honor for the former Fair Park All-State halfback. In 1987, Hedges was inducted into the Louisiana High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Ever humble, Hedges credited his wife, Nell, for being his backbone. “She taught 27 years alongside me and helped raise (sons) Russell and Doug,” Hedges said. “I've had the good fortune of having some sound backing at home.” That backing - along with the teachings that propelled the last Shreveport large-class state football championship - helped lead Hedges into his second hall of fame. “It's a real honor,” Hedges said. “I wasn't that good to tell you the truth. I had some good help, but nobody enjoyed it more than me. They may care, but not as much as I did about having the players having a chance to win and develop some other characteristics. When you go in a place and the guy looks at your credit card and asks, 'Is the stadium named after you?' It's a real honor. It can't help but be. I'm proud of everyone who was with me and even those we played against. “They made it better.”
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LSU’s best athlete? short list includes Denham’s Big Ben
Ben McDonald
By Joe Macaluso The Baton Rouge Advocate
Athlete. All American. Golden Spikes Award winner. Gold-medal Olympian. Teammate. Husband and father. Sportsman. Ben McDonald. If you ask the folks closest to Ben McDonald during most of the last 25 years, it’s more than numbers that’s brought him into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Ask coaches and teammates and they talk about the teammate-husband-father attributes that elevate the former Denham Springs High All-State, two-time LSU All-American and the Major League’s No. 1 draft choice to a level above superstar status. “He’s always been a great young man,” LSU’s venerated baseball coach Skip Bertman said. “He’s always been, and still is, community minded and absorbed with his family.” Bertman quickly points to McDonald’s life after baseball, the years since he ended his
After a stellar college career at LSU, Ben McDonald was the first player selected in the 1989 MLB Draft.
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An intimidating pitcher at 6 feet, 7 inches, the flame-throwing McDonald was a two-time All-American baseball star at LSU and a 1988 Team USA Olympic gold medalist who became the first player chosen in the major league draft. He capped a magnificent 1989 season for coach Skip Bertman's Tigers by receiving the Golden Spikes Award, given by the United States Baseball Federation to the nation's most outstanding amateur player. McDonald, who was also named National Player of the Year by Baseball America, The Sporting News and Collegiate Baseball, was the first player chosen in the amateur draft and made his major league debut with the Baltimore Orioles in September 1989. He played 10 years in the major leagues with the Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers before arm troubles ended his career. He was 78-70 with a 3.91 ERA in 211 major league games, pitching 24 complete games with six shutouts. He had 894 strikeouts in 1291.1 innings. McDonald set an LSU career mark with 373 strikeouts, and he established Southeastern Conference standards for single-season strikeouts (202), innings pitched (152.1) and consecutive scoreless innings (44.2), finishing his LSU career with a 29-14 record and a 3.24 ERA. An all-state baseball and basketball player at Denham Springs High School, he also earned a letter as a member of the LSU men's basketball team. He played forward on Dale Brown's 1986-87 Tiger hoops squad that advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Born 11-24-67 in Baton Rouge.
nine-year Major League pitching career with the Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers. “Ben has turned out to be an incredibly talented analyst on TV, and has many offers to go national TV. He chooses not to because he coaches his daughter and son in softball and baseball and soccer and he’s been doing that since they were very young,” Bertman said. “That’s why he’s such a terrific person. He’s been a man who has always made terrific life choices.” There was one choice McDonald made 22 years ago that launched him to the pinnacle of college baseball. A multisports athlete at Denham Springs High — All –State in basketball and baseball — McDonald opted to sign a basketball grant-in-aid and joined Dale Brown’s LSU Tigers. At 6-foot-7, McDonald dominated high school hardwoods. He also was an All-District punter and kicker — yes a 6-7 kicker — for Denham’s football team. Two years in Brown’s program, mixed with spring runs with Bertman’s Tigers at Alex Box Stadium left McDonald with a tough decision. “Ben might be the best overall athlete who ever came through LSU athletic program,” Bertman said. “After two years in basketball he came to baseball full time. In high school,
he was naturally in three sports, and for someone to play two sports at such a high level tells a lot about his athletic ability. Ben was a good player for Dale, but baseball was his best sport. McDonald’s decision to forego his basketball scholarship meant that Bertman had time to accelerate his young pitcher’s development in fall workouts. Already named to one All America team after his sophomore season, Bertman watched McDonald’s potential develop into Major League talent. “Arguably, he’s the best pitcher, and among the best players to play at LSU. He stands there with Alvin Dark, Mike Miley, Joe Bill Adcock and Connie Ryan,” Bertman said. “I’ve never had anyone pitch like Ben in the 30 years as a coach and athletics director, nobody ever.” Numbers backed up Bertman’s statement. McDonald’s junior season started with back-to-back wins over TCU and Mercer, but the real test would come in the Busch Challenge in the Louisiana Superdome. There, college powerhouse Oklahoma State awaited. McDonald’s dominating 6-0 win awakened the world to his talent. “After that, the Baltimore Orioles had scouts at every game,” Bertman said. “For
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McDonald’s best college season came in 1989 when he posted a 14-4 record with a 3.49 ERA.
two months, scouts monitored Ben’s every move. He stood up well under that kind of pressure, that game-to-game scrutiny.” Teammate and team captain Pete Bush said the Tigers were in awe. “Ben was hitting 96 (mph) and 97 on the gun,” Bush recalled. “He struck out 14. He went to three balls on one guy from Okie State and then struck him out on three pieces of cheese. When we were running off the field, he yelled at the guy, ‘What’d you think I was going to walk you,’ and we got pumped up even more. Ben was ultra-competitive, all the time, no matter what we did. That showed us he was ready to be a star.” That start to the 1989 season started a string of 44.2 consecutive scoreless innings, a Southeastern Conference record that stood for more than 15 seasons. Following a 144strikeouts sophomore season, McDonald chalked up a SEC record 202 strikeouts in his 152.1 innings in 1989, nearly 12 strikeouts per nine innings. Bertman and his LSU teammates readily admit McDonald’s finest hours come in College Station, Texas, when LSU was assigned to the NCAA Central Regional as
one of five teams to take on No. 1-ranked Texas A&M. McDonald won the regional opener against Nevada-Las Vegas, and, after the Tigers fought their way through the losers’ bracket, was named the starter for regional final against the homestanding Aggies, unbeaten in their first three regional games. The Aggies needed just one win a 100-degree Sunday in College Station to advance to the College World Series. McDonald worked the first seven innings in the 13-5 win to hold off the Aggies. Instead of putting McDonald on the bench, Bertman made the double switch to put McDonald in left field just in case he needed him for a lateinning out. McDonald was in the on-deck circle when LSU made its final out. First baseman Bush laughed at that memory. “Seeing that big, goofy dude wearing a batting helmet was one of the funniest things I’d ever seen,” Bush said. “Ben was a 6-7 stringbean back then and seeing him swinging a bat just cracked me up. Even more, Ben was angry that he didn’t get to bat. He really wanted to get into the (batter’s) box.” The regional championship game set, and with the Aggies the home team and LSU pushing a run across the top of the 11th inning for a 5-4 lead, McDonald was summoned to get the game’s final out with a runner on first base. He got a ground ball to third. Two wins and a save earned the Most Outstanding Player honor, and LSU was back in the College World Series for the third time in four seasons. In Omaha for the CWS, his 14-2 season was toasted with college baseball’s highest individual award — the 1989 Golden Spikes Trophy — and, days later, the No. 1 pick in the Major League draft by the Orioles. Those days in June in Omaha were the culmination of a rewarding 15 months than included pitching on the USA’s gold-medal winning Olympic team, numerous All-America teams and player-of-the-year accolades from Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. His collegiate career ended with a blister on his throwing hand in the ’89 CWS and a loss to Texas. “Probably shouldn’t have pitched him against Texas,’ Bertman said. “I should have let him rest another day.” His nine-year Major League career ended
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in 1997 after two years of battling arm and shoulder injuries. He finished with a 78-70 record, a 3.91 career ERA, an impressive total of 24 shutouts and 894 strikeouts in 198 starts. “Beyond all that, you have to add fun-loving in there somewhere,” Bush said. “We know about the time in spring training when he put an alligator in the bathtub of a teammate. “Ben was the best kind of teammate. He was a fierce competitor and usually won at everything, even wrestling on the bus on the way to Mississippi State, or seeing who could hit golf balls the farthest with a fungo bat. “Ben had to pitch in a lot of tight games, during a time when we (LSU) was playing a lot of ‘small’ ball when pitching and defense were our string points,” Bush said. “I do not know anyone who doesn’t like Ben. He was one of the rare players who made everyone around him better, and with Ben, that meant being a better player and a better person.” McDonald, along with Bertman, were in the first class inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame. McDonald, 41, lives in Denham Springs with his wife Nicole, daughter Jorie and son Jase.
McDonald led the 1988 US Olympic Team to a gold medal, winning games against South Korea and Puerto Rico.
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Wins stacked up at ULM while Vining stayed home
Mike Vining
By Paul Letlow www.lasportshall.com The coaching carousel is always spinning in today's college basketball world. The successful coaches parlay wins at one stop into bigger bucks and bigger opportunities. If they move around enough, they can stay on a permanent honeymoon. It's hard to blame them though, because loyalty is a two-way relationship. Those coaches that can't control their fate often find themselves dismissed if they hit a lean year or two. Former University of Louisiana at Monroe men's coach Mike Vining, who spent all 24 of his years as a college head coach at ULM, is one of the noble exceptions. “It was a special situation,” said former ULM point guard Casey Jones, now a successful high school coach. “He loves that community and institution. It was the place he wanted to be. In order to be successful, you have to want to be somewhere.” A product of nearby Goodwill, Vining went to college in Monroe, and then served as a graduate assistant and later as an assistant coach on the same campus. And he never felt compelled to chase the next big thing once he landed his dream job. “The way I was brought up in Goodwill, there was something wrong with you if you couldn't hold a job,” said Vining. “I never bought into that culture. I was always trying to prove President Dwight Vines made the right decision hiring me.” The coach who won 401 games, made seven NCAA Tournament appearances and earned an NIT bid had the chips to cash in but never did. Vining guided the program to its first NCAA Tournament in 1982, his first year as head coach, enjoyed six 20-win seasons and earned nine conference championships. “I had a friend who was a coach ask me once why I stayed here,” Vining said. “I never had the big offer to leave. He said that's because nobody thinks you will leave. He told me if I'd resign, I'd be shocked at the offers I would get. But I never even considered it. “The thing about us is, we were happy and where we wanted to be. We were going to be happy wherever we were, but we were happy here so why take a chance? My family was here and (wife) Sammie's family was here. We had
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One of only four men to win 400 or more basketball games at a Louisiana college (401-302 record), Vining is the all-time coaching leader in the Southland Conference and led Louisiana-Monroe to seven NCAA Tournament appearances. He posted six 20-win seasons. He coached ULM to seven Southland titles, most of any coach in the history of the conference. He won another championship in his first ULM season, when the Indians won the Trans America Conference tournament title in 1982 and represented the league in the NCAA Tournament. Vining won SLC Coach of the Year honors in 1986, 1990, 1993 and 1996. Vining played basketball at ULM under Coach Lenny Fant and also played baseball in college. He coached several outstanding teams at Bastrop High School (going 175-47), including one state champion, and coached future Hall of Fame player Calvin Natt and his brother Kenny Natt, a future NBA head coach. When Vining reached the 400-win plateau in 2005, he was one of only 29 active coaches in Division I to reach that milestone. He is a member of the ULM and Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches halls of fame and the Southland Conference Hall of Honor.
Men’s Basketball Coach kids. If I wanted to drag my kids all over the world, I'd have stayed in the military.” The most serious courtship came from Lamar in 1993. Vining mulled it briefly but declined to pursue the move. His moment of clarity then came as he was driving home from visiting his father in Goodwill. It was a drive he made religiously every Sunday and when he thought about leaving those familiar roads behind, he was overcome with emotion. “This was home,” Vining said, “and I liked home.” Vining's staying power had a lot to do with his personality. Beyond the wins, he ran a clean program and served as a likeable ambassador for the school. “One of the things that makes Mike special is his humor,” said newly-hired ULM head coach Keith Richard, a former player and assistant under Vining. “He's got a great sense of humor. If you can't live life with a sense of humor, you'll be a miserable son of a gun. He had a way of making funny cracks at the right time. That's what a lot of players remember.” Vining was still cracking jokes earlier this year when ULM inducted him into its sports Hall of Fame. He said President James Cofer called him a “model coach” when he offered his resignation in 2005. Then Vining checked the dictionary for the definition of “model.”
“It said 'a replica or a small imitation of the real thing’,” Vining quipped. Vining liked to laugh, but he was serious about basketball. The values of hard work and dedication that he brought with him from West Carroll Parish carried over into his profession. He was from a large family and treated his teams like family too. “I told them that basketball ought to be fun, but I never had fun losing,” said Vining, one of four Louisiana men's basketball coaches with more than 400 victories. “I wanted to have fun when we played. But I always told them that you worked basketball and played after you won.” Vining's heyday came in the mid-1980s and early 1990s with return trips to the NCAA Tournament in 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 and later in 1996. Then known as Northeast Louisiana University or NLU, the basketball teams tangled with players like Wake Forest's Tim Duncan, Duke's Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill and Iowa's Acie Earl. Vining matched wits with Mike Krzyzewski of Duke, Lute Olson at Iowa and UNLV's Jerry Tarkanian. Though Vining was 0-for-7 in NCAA opportunities, there was the close 62-50 loss to Duncan's Wake Forest squad in 1996. ULM cut the lead to eight with 3:06 remaining and held Duncan to 10 points. But the Demon Deacons shot 24 free throws to ULM's four to prevail.
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Coach Mike Vining with just a few of his many championship trophies won in his 24 years as head coach at ULM.
NLU and ULM produced plenty of its own stars in the Vining era. Seven players earned Player of the Year honors, to go along with five Newcomer of the Year selections and 46 all-conference picks. Sixteen of Vining's players were 1,000-point scorers and seven-footer Wojciech Myrda set the NCAA record in career blocks in 2002. “He knows the game and knows how to deal with people,” said Richwood High School coach Terry Martin, a player and assistant for Vining. “It was just the confidence that he had. He truly enjoyed coaching and developing young men. The way he dealt with people is, he taught you to work hard and to believe in yourself.” As for his recruiting philosophy, Vining favored a team filled with “tweeners” like Carlos Funchess. Some schools bypassed Funchess as too small to play power forward and not skilled enough to play small forward. “I got him and let the other team figure out who could guard him,” Vining said. “If you put a three on him, we'd put him inside. If you tried to guard him with a four, we'd take him outside. We let them worry about it.” Vining's best teams had great point guards like Jones or Keith Johnson, were up-tempo, played man-to-man defense and fun to watch. Funchess was the collegiate dunk champion in 1991, beating out teammate Anthony “Greyhound” Jones. Four players between 1988 and 1995 finished in the national top three in the dunk competition. “The team that I looked at and admired in the early years was Louisville with Denny Crum,” Vining said. “They always had the best athletes. If it was a running contest, they could out-run you. If it was a jumping contest, they could out-jump you. I always liked that idea.”
Vining's connection to ULM began in 1962 when he enrolled with his teammate Larry Butler after a standout prep career at Forest High School. Vining played basketball for Coach Lenny Fant and pitched for the baseball team, which he helped lead to the Gulf States Conference Championships in 1964 and 1966. After graduating in 1967, he spent two years coaching the school's junior varsity team while working toward his master's degree. Following a two-year stint as an officer in the U.S. Army, Vining was back in coaching in 1971 at Bastrop High School. Fant recommended him for the job to follow another future Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer - Leon Barmore. Through seven years in Bastrop, Vining led the Rams to a 175-47 record, six playoff trips and one state title. The Bastrop program produced seven future ULM stars including NBA standout Calvin Natt, the best men's basketball player in school history and also a Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame inductee. Vining left Bastrop for ULM in 1978 and spent one season as an assistant to Fant and two under Benny Hollis before President Vines awarded him the top job in 1981. While assisting Hollis, Vining signed the 6-9 Martin out of Shady Grove High in Saline. The highly-regarded recruit evolved into a key player on ULM's first NCAA playoff team under Vining. “Signing Terry Martin is probably what got me the job,” Vining said. Vining's promotion continued a remarkable coaching legacy at ULM that would span through six decades. With win No. 327 in 1999, Vining would pass Fant (326-221 in 22 seasons) on ULM's career list. Combined, Vining and Fant (also a Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame member) won 727 games. “He's responsible for all of it,” Vining said of Fant when he was approaching the milestone in 1999. “He's responsible for all of his and mine too.” In addition to being ULM's career leader in wins, Vining also set the standard in the Southland Conference. From 1983 to 2005, Vining won 383 games while coaching in the league and is a member of the SLC Hall of Honor. Vining's impact continues today with numerous former players who have gone into the coaching profession in high school or college. “He was a terrific motivator,” said Jones, who won a state championship at Ouachita as a coach. “You'd come into a 6 o'clock practice and he was ready to go. He may have been up since 4 o'clock. He understood that hard work and accountability help you become successful. He instilled that in a lot of guys who played for him.” Said Martin, who has won two state titles at Richwood: “I try to bring out the best in my players the way he did with us. A lot of my success at Richwood has come with his system.” Since retiring from coaching in 2005, Vining has remained close to the athletics department. For several years, he served as facilities manager at Fant-Ewing Coliseum and shared an office with ULM women's coach Mona Martin. He frequently shows up to speak at ULM functions, where he showcases his trademark humor. He's currently serving as executive administrative officer to Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo, who was his point guard at Bastrop. “The only thing about coaching that I miss is the relationships I had with the kids,” Vining said. “One night, a bunch came over here to the house. They gathered up for some reason. They broke out the dominoes, 10 or 12 of 'em cutting up and carrying on. They were fussing about which of my teams were the best. Casey Jones, Keith Johnson, it was great. They were trying to get me and Sammie to take a side. Being around them, it reverted back. You remember the good times.”
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Members in Other Prominent Halls of Fame National Baseball Hall of Fame Cooperstown, New York Lou Brock Willard Brown Bill Dickey Cal Hubbard (Umpire)* Ted Lyons Mel Ott Basketball Hall of Fame Springfield, Massachusetts Leon Barmore Joe Dumars Sue Gunter Elvin Hayes Pete Maravich Robert Parish Bob Pettit Willis Reed NBA 50 Greatest Players Elvin Hayes Karl Malone Pete Maravich Robert Parish Bob Pettit Willis Reed Pro Football Hall of Fame Canton, Ohio Mel Blount Terry Bradshaw Wilie Brown Buck Buchanan
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Willie Davis Fred Dean Jim Finks Cal Hubbard * Charlie Joiner Jackie Smith Jim Taylor Y.A. Tittle Steve Van Buren Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Knoxville, Tennessee Leon Barmore Sue Gunter Sonja Hogg Janice Lawrence Braxton Kim Mulkey Edna Tarbutton College Baseball Hall of Fame Lubbock, Texas Skip Bertman Will Clark College Football Hall of Fame South Bend, Indiana Joe Aillet Bill Banker Bernie Bierman Terry Bradshaw Buck Buchanan Chris Cagle Tommy Casanova John David Crow
Jerry Dalrymple Fred Dean Joe Delaney Doc Fenton Cal Hubbard * Gary Johnson Ken Kavanaugh Hank Lauricella Lester Lautenschlaeger Charles McClendon Bo McMillin Archie Manning Abe Mickal Bernie Moore A.W. Mumford Eddie Price Gary Reasons Eddie Robinson Clark Shaughnessy Monk Simons Gaynell Tinsley Doug Williams Tank Younger National High School Hall of Fame Indianapolis, Indiana Red Franklin Kim Mulkey Edna Tarbutton * - Only player inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame, National Baseball Hall of Fame, and College Football Hall of Fame.
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No small portion of achievement by Tech’s T-Spoon
Teresa Weatherspoon
By O.K. Davis Ruston Daily Leader The scars have long disappeared, but the memory remains for Vickie Johnson. It was in 2000, during a practice session with the New York Liberty, when Johnson discovered the five-star intensity level of Teresa Weatherspoon. “I thought I was a pretty hard-nosed player,” laughed Johnson at the recollection. “But I found out that day it was nothing compared to 'Spoon.' “She was starting for the Liberty and I was on the second team and, being that I was still relatively new to the league, I wanted to see how I could do against her. On this day, we got to battling pretty good and the next thing I know, I am getting a forearm in my mouth from 'Spoon’.” At the time, Johnson might have felt as if Evander Holyfield or Mike Tyson had suddenly stepped on the court. “I took four or five stitches,” Johnson said.
Teresa Weatherspoon helped guide the Lady Techsters to the 1988 NCAA Championship.
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“Spoon” sparked Louisiana Tech to the 1988 NCAA women's basketball national championship, was the national player of the year and helped Team USA win Olympic gold later that year before launching a great WNBA career. She retired from the pro ranks in 2004 after having been chosen an honorable mention member of the WNBA All-Time squad after starting 220 straight games in her first seven years in the league. The Wade Trophy recipient at Louisiana Tech in 1988, Weatherspoon helped rally the Leon Barmore-coached Lady Techsters from a 14-point halftime deficit to defeat Auburn for the NCAA title. It was the second straight national championship game appearance for the Techsters, who went 118-14 as Weatherspoon started all but one of her 132 career games. The all-time leader for Tech in assists (958) and steals (411), she also scored 1,087 points while earning AllAmerica honors twice and being named Louisiana's player of the year in 1988. She made the NCAA Women's Basketball Team of the Decade for the 1980s. Renowned for her defensive savvy, she played eight years of pro ball overseas (1988-96), was a six-time Italian League all-star and led another team to two Russian titles. Weatherspoon was twice chosen as the WNBA's Defensive Player of the Year and was a four-time WNBA All-Star and fourtime WNBA second team All-Star. She spent the majority of her WNBA career with the New York Liberty, netting WNBA titles in 1997, 1999 and 2000, and ended her career with Los Angeles Sparks in 2004 as No. 3 all-time in assists (1,338) and No. 8 in steals (465) in league history.
“You can't tell now where it happened, but trust me, I still remember it like it was yesterday. “That's the type of competitiveness and intensity that Teresa Weatherspoon brought to the game. It didn't matter where it was, practice or a game. She gave it everything she had. She became a role model for me to see just what it takes to play this game and to have the type of passion she had for it every time she walked on to the court.” Passion, intensity, competitiveness. Those are the buzz words traditionally used to describe the makeup of Weatherspoon, the former Louisiana Tech University and professional star among the inductees into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Anticipating the enshrinement ceremonies at the Natchitoches Events Center, it wouldn't surprise anyone if Weatherspoon sprinted onto the stage, ready to go into a defensive stance. Or, at the very least, locked into a turbocharged mode usually reserved for a pregame speech. Be assured that she's ecstatic over this honor, one that follows her mid-June induction into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. “I am speechless over how much this
means and how honored and humbled I am to be a part of this great Hall of Fame,” she said. “The great thing about it is that I will be able to share this very special moment with family members, friends and so many others who have helped me achieve success and be a part of the great game of basketball. “This is an honor that will be shared by so many people who have helped make it possible for Teresa Weatherspoon to be honored as a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.” But the proof of Weatherspoon's road to Natchitoches is in a lengthy roll call of accomplishments, ranging from her stardom in the prep ranks in Pineland, Texas to being chosen as a two-time Kodak All-American and Wade Trophy recipient at Tech and then on to being a two-time Defensive Player of the Year (and the very first player ever chosen for the award) in the WNBA and a six-time All-Italian League and two-time All-Russian League member overseas.
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Weatherspoon helped Team USA win a gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
Some other achievements that helped assure her of becoming a member of the 2010 induction class: • Two-time NCAA All-Final Four team member. • Member of 1988 U.S. gold medal-winning team at Summer Olympic Games. • Member of Louisiana Tech University's last NCAA national title-winning club, also in 1988. • Four-time WNBA All-Star selection. • Broderick Cup winner in 1988. • Louisiana Sports Writers Association state Player of the Year in 1988. And then there was “The Shot” in a WNBA game in 1999. As time expired, Weatherspoon fired up a 60-foot jump shot that went in and gave the Liberty a 68-67 victory over the Houston Comets in Game Three of the finals. “That's the highlight moment that everybody remembers about Teresa's career in the WNBA,” recalled Carol Blazejowski, the president and general manager of the Liberty and one of the WNBA's legendary players. “But she had a lot of great moments wher-
ever she's been and that now includes being head coach at her university. “She's simply been a legend at all levels. Certainly, she's been the signature face of the Liberty. But what you also have to appreciate and admire about Teresa Weatherspoon is that she has given so much back to the game and others. She gets it.” And she certainly got it when, in her final game as a collegian, she put the Lady Techsters on her back and led them to their last NCAA crown. “We were trailing Auburn by 14 points at halftime,” remembered former Techsters' head coach Leon Barmore about the title game in Tacoma, Wash. “Ruthie Bolton, their AllAmerican player, had 16 points in the first half. When we met in the locker room at halftime, I turned to Teresa and told her we had to have her stopping Bolton or we weren't going to win this game. I challenged her to get the job done. “And she answered the challenge. Bolton didn't score a single point in the second half and we wound up winning the national championship (56-54).” Added Barmore: “We had the right player at the right time.” So did the Liberty, who were a perennial WNBA playoff participant with her in the backcourt, and so did the 1988 U.S. Olympic team which brought a gold medal back from Seoul. She was a member of two Russian League championship teams, plus on a World Games' title-conquering squad. “Everywhere she's been, she's taken her teammates with her on the way to a championship or success,” marveled former Old Dominion All-American and WNBA standout Nancy Lieberman. “She did it at Louisiana Tech, she did it in the Olympic Games, she did it in the WNBA and now she's doing it as the coach at Tech and will continue doing it there. “It's not simply about 'Spoon as a player, but the intensity and love that she brings to the game. How can you not get excited about things once you see that infectious smile she has and the passion that she has for everything she does?” Hired late in the 2008-09 season as an interim head coach of the Lady Techsters, Weatherspoon turned that team around and had it go on a torrid stretch run performance that resulted in a WNIT berth and renewed confidence in the program. Then this past season, the Techsters went
2010 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration
23-9 overall, compiled an 11-5 mark in the Western Athletic Conference, captured the league postseason tournament title and returned to the NCAA tournament. “When you look into the annals of Lady Techsters basketball,” said Malcolm Butler, media relations' director at Tech, “Weatherspoon's name is riddled throughout. “However, if you were trying to pick the person who best embodies what Lady Techsters basketball is all about for the past 36 years, she is the one. T-Spoon is Lady Techster basketball. Today, she leads her team with the same fire and passion that she played with for so many years. “She is as gifted a coach as she was a player. Her love, passion and intensity for this game, this program, this community and her players are what separate her from most others.” And if one isn't totally convinced, asking Vickie Johnson about that practice session with the New York Liberty in 2002 should provide the answer.
Weatherspoon earned WNBA All-Star honors four times.
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Soft-spoken Wilson scored in bunches for Trojans, Colonels
Larry Wilson
By Bill Bumgarner www.neworleanssports.com You could accurately describe him as a small-town kid with big-time skills, as a young man given a common name to go with an uncommon touch, as a stellar athlete whose court presence energized the bayou-area communities of Mathews and Thibodaux to unprecedented heights. In his final two years at Central Lafourche High and during a four-year stint at Nicholls State, Larry Wilson wore out basketball nets and crammed gymnasiums like no one before him; he established new scoring records and collected awards and citations by the dozens. Although an inexcusable oversight curtailed his hopes for a career in the National Basketball Association, Wilson's deeds on the prep and collegiate levels have earned him enshrinement into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, as selected by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.
Larry Wilson still holds the school record for most points in a career with 2,569.
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A three-time NCAA Division II All-American at Nicholls State, Wilson established 42 school and Gulf South Conference records from 1975-79. His school-record 2,569 career points ranks ninth in state history. He was only the 18th player in NCAA history below the Division I level to score 2,500 career points and also own a 25-point career average (25.7 ppg). The Central Lafourche product, twice All-State in Class 4A (largest classification) and All-State MVP as a senior, was a consensus prep All-American after averaging 33.5 points per game. He was ranked one of the nation's top 10 prospects by the BC Scouting Service. At Nicholls, he twice led the Don Landry-coached Colonels to GSC titles and a pair of NCAA Division II Tournament appearances. He was named conference Player of the Year in 1977 and 1979, made All-GSC all four seasons, and was a three-time All-Louisiana and NABC All-South Central Region and All-District pick. Wilson, a Raceland native, also had 169 assists, 111 steals and 145 blocked shots at Nicholls, along with 31 games of 30 or more points scored.
Recounting all of Wilson's achievements on the basketball court requires a lot of time and many words. Here are some of the highlights: As a junior at Central Lafourche, he averaged 32.1 points per game, a figure that grew to 33.5 points as a senior. He was selected to the 1974 and '75 Class 4A (highest class) All-State teams and was cited as the All-State Most Valuable Player in 1975, a unit that included Calvin Natt of Bastrop, who starred at Northeast Louisiana and in the NBA during a career that carried him into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1993. At Nicholls State, Wilson scored a schooland Gulf South Conference-record 2,569 points, averaging 25.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per outing. The 6-foot-5 sharpshooter led the conference in scoring for four seasons and was its Player of the Year twice. He was a three-time All-American who led Nicholls State to its first conference championship in school history under Coach Don Landry in 1975-'76 with a 224 mark. As a junior in 1977-'78, Wilson enjoyed a banner season by averaging 28.1 points and 11 rebounds per game. He set a school scoring mark with 48 points against Jacksonville State. Wilson played for Ron Pere' at Central Lafourche, a coach whose brother Ralph Pere'
led South Lafourche to the state football title in 1977. When Wilson was a senior, the Trojans defeated Hammond and Nicholls High in the postseason before losing to L.B. Landry 80-70 in Wilson's final prep appearance (except for an all-star game). Although Wilson competed in neighborhood basketball as a youth, his first taste of organized basketball did not take place until he was 12. “I was always taller than the other players but on every level, it became harder and harder to score inside. So Coach Pere' began to take the time to work with me, starting from the inside out.“ Wilson recalled that many of his friends and teammates would take part in Mardi Gras celebrations in Thibodaux. “I never went one time to a parade,“ he said. “I spent that Tuesday behind the school, shooting by myself.“ Although Wilson had the opportunity to select just about any major college in the nation as his next destination, he made an early commitment to LSU. But a few weeks later, Landry received a phone call, inviting him to the Wilson household. “He told me he had a made a mistake,”
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Wilson earned All-American honors three times during his four-year playing career at Nicholls State.
recalled Landry of Wilson's original choice. “You can only imagine my elation. He signed a conference letter with us that night and then the national letter later on. “He had come to our basketball camp for five years,” said Landry. ”He was kind of quiet and shy and I think he just felt comfortable around us. His family came to every game for four years.” “I was all about my family,” said Wilson of his switch. ”I love LSU but I just liked the environment at Nicholls. Coach Landry never pressured me. He told me to talk to everyone else and he would come around when I wanted him to.”
Washington Bullets (now Wizards) that he would be their choice. Instead, he was tabbed by the Atlanta Hawks with the 34th selection. Later, during a routine practice with the Hawks, his fortunes would change forever. “It was just a drill,“ said Wilson. “I was backing up and I stepped where two guys had fallen and had left a pool of sweat. My leg bent backwards.“ Although surgery was not required, stretched ligaments did major damage to his leg, a pain that still exists today. “I had never had an injury before. I tried to come back but I just could not push off with my leg.” He would later try out with Washington but his pro career had been terminated in just two seasons. “At Nicholls, we had a person in charge of drying the court when it was wet,” said Landry. “I still cannot believe something like that could happen in the NBA.” Wilson has worked for the past 22 years with Bollinger Shipyards and he still lives in his hometown of Raceland with his wife Betty and three children. “The biggest mistake I made was not finishing at Nicholls,“ he said. “Two of my children have graduated from college and the other is one hour short. They are not going to make the same mistake I did.” Wilson still retains the fondest of memories from his amateur basketball days. “At Central Lafourche, the people -- black and white -- were so very close. The same at Nicholls. The teachers were like family and the people treated me so well.” Now he will be treated as a Hall of Famer.
Landry coached the Colonels for 13 seasons but none more memorable than those four with Wilson. “He was the easiest person to coach I ever had,” said Landry. “He was modest and so consistent. If he was averaging 27 points a game and he had seven at halftime, he would score 20 in the second half. His strength was his outside shooting which he did against every gimmick defense you could imagine and he did it with no shot clock. On the high school and college level, few could match him. He packed our gym.” Wilson said that, in the subsequent NBA draft, he had all been assured by the
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O, goodness, Woolridge was destined for hall
Orlando Woolridge
By Roy Lang III The Shreveport Times Perhaps no one had a better view than Digger Phelps. The former college basketball coaching star at Notre Dame and current TV analyst has seen Orlando Woolridge come full circle. Phelps met Woolridge as a budding eight grader and soon recruited the Bernice native to Notre Dame out of Mansfield High School. After a successful career with the Fighting Irish, Phelps witnessed Woolridge as one of few to team up with both Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan on the NBA hardwood. The lean 6-foot-9, 215-pounder was an integral part of the slam-dunk era. The sharp-shooting first-round pick (sixth overall) of the 1981 NBA Draft went on to play for seven teams over 13 seasons and averaged 16 points per game before retiring in 1994. Now, Phelps has even seen Woolridge's offspring start the cycle all over again. Throughout the years, Phelps hasn't been surprised at anything the Woolridge surname has accomplished.
Orlando Woolridge was the team captain for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish his senior season.
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A sharp-shooting Mansfield native who starred collegiately at Notre Dame, Woolridge posted a career 16-point scoring average over 13 seasons in the NBA. A first-round (sixth overall) 1981 draft pick of the Chicago Bulls, the 6-foot-9, 215-pound forward played with seven NBA teams -Chicago, New Jersey, L.A. Lakers, Denver, Detroit, Milwaukee and Philadelphia. He saw action in 851 games with 485 starts, averaging 16.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in just 28.3 minutes a game. Woolridge scored 13,623 points and had 3,696 rebounds in his NBA career before retiring in 1994. He shot 51.3 percent from the field and 73.7 percent from the free throw line and also recorded 553 steals and 569 blocked shots. Woolridge averaged 11.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 36 postseason games. At Notre Dame (197781), he averaged 10.6 points and 5.0 rebounds and was a deadly shooter, hitting 59.5 percent of his career field-goal attempts in 109 games. He led the Irish in field-goal percentage as a junior (58.5 percent) and senior (65.0 percent). Woolridge played at tiny All Saints High until moving to Mansfield High for his senior year, when he averaged 21 points and 25 rebounds. In his prep career, he scored 3,036 points (22 pg) and grabbed 1,945 rebounds (14 pg) with high games of 52 points and 41 rebounds. He was the state player of the year as a senior in 1977, when he was co-captain for the Wolverines. Born 12-16-59 in Bernice, La.
“Orlando was a complete player,” said Phelps. Only a trip out of the country will prevent Phelps from witnessing now-50-year-old Woolridge's latest feat - induction into the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame. Superstar lineage, a confident game and obviously athletic prowess helped Woolridge get noticed early in Mansfield. Willis Reed, an NBA legend and also a Bernice native, paved the way to the University of Notre Dame. “When I was coaching in (Madison Square) Garden at Notre Dame, Willis Reed was the GM of the Knicks,” Phelps said. “He told me, my cousin is a good player down in Mansfield.” Good was putting it mildly. Woolridge scored 3,036 points (22.0 per game) and grabbed 1,945 rebounds (14 per game) in his prep career, including averages of 21 points and 25 rebounds as a senior at Mansfield. He played his first three seasons at nearby All Saints High School. He was the state Player of the Year as a senior, when he won his third straight all-district honor and was co-captain of the Wolverines. Woolridge had career highs of 52 points and 41 rebounds in high school. Across the Red River in rural Ashland, was another talented big man, 6-8 Ernest Reliford (later a standout at Northwestern State).
"He was for real,” remembers Reliford, a year younger than Woolridge. “He was a very versatile player for a high school kid. He had all the tools... could jump, shoot, very athletic. He was just an all-around great player who just worked really hard. I would like to brag about playing against him. That only happened once. It was a good game, but they beat us.” After the Irish checked Woolridge's grades and scores, the recruiting process began. Woolridge enrolled at Notre Dame in 1977. “Willis and I are great friends,” Phelps said, “Willis Reed is the real reason we got Orlando at Notre Dame.” Notre Dame advanced to the Final Four during Woolridge's freshman season. However, “O,” one of five freshmen for the Fighting Irish, didn't see playing time. “We had a guy named Bill Laimbeer, does that ring a bell?” Phelps said. The Irish also had Bruce Flowers and Dave Batton. “He wasn't ready,” Phelps said. “With that front line in front of him, it wasn't his turn.” However, superstar upperclassmen and stout classmates couldn't keep Woolridge at bay for long. Woolridge averaged in double-figures in scoring during his final three seasons at Notre Dame. As a senior captain in 1980-81, he averaged 14.4 points and six rebounds per game while leading the Irish to the NCAA Tournament
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Woolridge led Notre Dame to the Tournament in all four of his seasons.
NCAA
for the fourth time in his four years. He is also one of 50 Notre Dame players to notch at least 1,000 career points, totaling 1,160 points and 500 rebounds in 190 games. “He just kept growing,” Phelps said. “And with confidence he became a better player. By the time he was a senior, he was a first-round draft pick.” Woolridge had plenty of memorable moments at Notre Dame. He sank a couple of clutch free throws with 19 seconds left in double overtime to defeat DePaul. He also corralled a loose-ball rebound and nailed the game-winning shot to beat No. 1 Virginia. “Ralph Sampson is the (Virginia) center and we're playing in Rosemont Horizon,” Woolridge said in a recent interview. “We're down by one with 5 seconds left in a nationally-televised game and the clock's tickin'. (Kelly) Tripucka gets a shot, it goes in the corner, I run out and catch it, shoot it from 3-point land -- boom! - it's in, we win. Upset Virginia, the No. 1 team in the
nation, and I did that.” The Chicago Bulls selected Woolridge in 1981 and he subsequently enjoyed a 851-game career and averaged more than 20 points per game during four seasons. “You get a guy ready for four years and he's ready to play and survive in the NBA,” Phelps said. “That's what's missing with one-and-done guys these days.” Before long, Woolridge was joined by rookie Michael Jordan. During Jordan's rookie season (1984-85), Woolridge averaged 22.9 points/game and the duo averaged more than 51 points per game. Woolridge says the Jordan moment that stands out came during the 1986 playoffs when the Bulls faced Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics in the first round. “Before the game, Jordan was saying he had migraine headaches,” Woolridge said. “And we're sitting there going, 'You can't have headaches now, we got the Celtics!' He said, 'Well I'll try, see if I can't focus.' He goes out, sets the playoff record and scores 63. I told him, 'I'm gonna hit you in the head before every game if you're gonna play like that!'" It may come as a surprise, but Woolridge doesn't rank Jordan among the three best dunkers in basketball history. “Dominique Wilkins, Shawn Kemp and Dr. J,” he said. Woolridge wound up as a teammate to Magic Johnson with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1988-90. Woolridge came off the bench under coach Pat Riley and ranked fifth in the league with a 55.6 field-goal percentage during the 1989-90 season. Woolridge was eventually reunited with Laimbeer as a member of the Detroit Pistons. “Laimbeer's the type guy that you really want to go to war with,” Woolridge said. “I mean he's a guy that's gonna put it all out there on the line, he's gonna give you 150 percent of his effort, but he's gonna do it in such a jerk way, OK? But you can't help but to give him his respect. Here's a guy who couldn't jump, couldn't run very fast, had a 13- , 14-year (NBA) career, has championship rings, and also as a coach in the WNBA has championship rings. So I gotta give props to my alumni brother.” Following his NBA retirement, Woolridge tried his hand at European hoops. He then entered the coaching fraternity with the L.A. Sparks of the WNBA (1998-99). His most recent coaching stints came in the ABA and now he runs basketball camps in Houston. One son, 6-8 Renaldo Woolridge, currently plays for the University of Tennessee Volunteers. Another son, 6-2 Royce Woolridge, will play for Kansas next season.
2010 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration
Woolridge was drafted by the Chicago Bulls and played several seasons with Michael Jordan.
“We were doing College GameDay at Tennessee and I'm just rolling my eyes,” Phelps said. “Renaldo looks just like him. He reminds me so much of “O.” That bodes well for Tennessee's hoops hopes, and perhaps sends a signal to the Sports Hall of Fame in the Volunteer State.
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Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers
A complete list of Hall of Famers already enshrined
eight state and 16 district championships and had a combined 589-92 record. His baseball teams at the same two schools won four state and seven district titles and had a combined record of 629-202 (.759). In 25 years of coaching, his teams never had a losing season in basketball or baseball and he won at least one championship every year.
DANNY ABRAMOWICZ Abramowicz carved out a memorable 11-year NFL career, emerging as a star receiver for the fledgling New Orleans Saints from 1967-73. He holds club records for most touchdown passes caught (37), most consecutive games with receptions (79), most career receptions (309) and most yards gained receiving(4,975). He was named to The Sporting News NFL Eastern Conference All-Star team in 1968. He averaged 15.4 yards per catch and scored 30 TDs in his career. Abramowicz set an NFL record, and ranks second today, with catches in 105 straight games. He was the second player inducted in the Saints Hall of Fame.
ALEX ATHAS A three-time All-Southeastern Conference basketball standout for Tulane, Alex “Greek” Athas led the Greenies to a 72-14 record from 1943-48. Before serving in the Navy he led the SEC in scoring in 1943-44 and set an SEC Tournament single-game record with 28 points. He played halfback for the 1943 Tulane football team and also was one of the SEC’s premier trackmen, once single-handedly beating LSU in a dual meet by winning five events. In the 1944 SEC Championships, he scored 14 points for the Wave. Athas played pro basketball for three years.
JOE ADCOCK Adcock was a power-hitting first baseman in the major leagues for 17 years. He is among the all-time home run leaders with 336. Adcock broke in with Cincinnati in 1950, played at Milwaukee from 1953 through 1962, Cleveland in 1963 and California from 1964 through 1966. He managed the Indians in 1967. Adcock had a career batting average of .277, and his highest home run years were in 1956 when he hit 38 and 1961 when he had 35. Adcock, in addition to his home runs, had 35 triples and 295 doubles in the majors. JOE AILLET Aillet was head football coach at Louisiana Tech from 1940 through 1966, compiling a record of 151-86-8 for a winning percentage of .633. During that time, he won or shared nine Gulf States Conference championships and finished second seven times. Aillet received virtually every honor available for coaches, including a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame. The impressive Joe Aillet Stadium and Fieldhouse at Louisiana Tech is named in memory of the former coach and athletic director. CHARLES ALEXANDER LSU’s Charles Alexander was a consensus All-America running back in 1977 and 1978 before a seven-year NFL career with Cincinnati. Alexander is LSU’s No. 2 career rushing leader with 4,035 yards and the single season leader with 1,686 yards (1977). He is LSU’s alltime season scoring leader with 104 points 1977). He was named the SEC’s MVP by the Nashville Banner in 1977. In the 1977 Sun Bowl he set records with 31 carries for 197 yards. The 12th player taken in the 1979 NFL Draft, he scored 15 career NFL touchdowns. He was a member of the Bengals’1981 Super Bowl team. BILLY ALLGOOD Basketball coach at Louisiana College from 1959-85 and athletic director from 1965-96, Billy Allgood retired as baseball coach in 1998 at age 65. He is Louisiana's fifth-winningest college basketball coach (327-332) despite a bare-bones budget and willingness to play much bigger foes. On Feb. 5, 1970, LC defeated Grambling 71-52 in the first-ever regular season meeting of predominantly black and mostly white state schools. In 1994, LC beat LSU 7-5, the first time an NAIA school had beaten a defending NCAA champion. His overall baseball coaching record is unknown. JOHN ALTOBELLO Altobello posted an .865 career winning percentage at two New Orleans high schools and won 12 state titles, eight in basketball and four more as a baseball coach. His basketball teams at St. Aloysius and DeLaSalle won
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CARRICE RUSSELL BAKER During her 39-year girls high school basketball coaching career, Carrice Russell Baker won over 1,000 games and is the state's winningest girls coach. Her teams posted an astounding 972-191 (.836) record (three of her seasons in the late 1940s do not have records available, but there was a 22-5 record sandwiched between two of them). They won eight state championships and finished second four more times. Four state titles came at Winnsboro HS in the era of six-player, three at each end of the court competition, and four more came in the 1970s at Jena HS in the five-player full-court game. She was 588-138 (.810) with 20 playoff appearances and 11 district titles at Winnsboro after taking over as head coach at the age of 19 for the 1946-47 season following her graduation from Louisiana Tech. Her 1952-53 team made history by ending the national-record 218-game win streak by nearby Baskin HS, coached by Hall of Famer Edna Tarbutton. BILL BANKER Banker, inducted into the National Football Hall of Fame, was an All-American at Tulane in the late 1920’s. He still holds Tulane records for all-purpose career running with 597 plays, career touchdowns with 37 and total points with 259. His average yardage per game rushing in 27 contests was 93.2. He ran the ball 515 times in 1929 when Tulane was unbeaten and was the nation’s second-leading scorer in 1928 with 128 points. He later became a professional player with the old Memphis Tigers. GARY BARBARO A New Orleans native and Nicholls State product, Barbaro was a three-time All-Pro safety with the Kansas City Chiefs who started every game (101) with KC in his first seven NFL seasons. He was voted as a Pro Bowl starter by his fellow players in 1980, 1981 and 1982. He is fourth in the Chiefs’ career interception list with 39, including a club-record 102-yard return that tied the NFL record in 1977. He had a career-best 10 interceptions in 1980, second in club history, and a single-season high of 96 tackles in 1981. LEON BARMORE The first male coach enshrined as a women’s coach in the Basketball Hall of Fame, Barmore compiled a 57687 record in 20 seasons as head coach at Louisiana Tech University, where he began his college coaching career as an assistant in 1977. Upon his retirement following the 2001-2002 season, Barmore’s .869 winning percentage was the best in men’s or women’s college basketball history. He was the fastest coach in women’s basketball history to reach 500 wins. In the 1988 season, Barmore led Tech to the NCAA championship with a 32-2 record. Under his direction, Tech reached five
national championship games and nine Final Fours, second best in women’s basketball history. Named the Naismith national Coach of the Year in 1988, Barmore led Tech to thirteen 30-win season (best in history) and nineteen 20-plus win season (seventh best in history). ALBERT BELLE A Shreveport native, the former LSU star and secondround draft pick of the Cleveland Indians in 1987, Belle became one of the most feared power hitters in major league baseball in the 1990s while playing for Cleveland (1989-96), the Chicago White Sox (1997-98) and Baltimore Orioles (1999-2000). He finished his career playing in 1,539 games with 1,726 hits, 389 doubles, 381 home runs and 1,239 RBIs. Belle had a career batting average of .295 and a career slugging percentage of .564. Among his highlights were tying Babe Ruth with at least 30 home runs and 100 RBIs in eight straight seasons from 1992-99 (only Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx had more) and becoming the first player in baseball history to hit 50 doubles and 50 home runs in a season (he had 52 doubles and 50 homers) in 1995. SKIP BERTMAN Bertman steered LSU to five national championships in a brilliant 18-year career as head baseball coach at LSU. The College World Series wins came in 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 2000 among 11 CWS appearances. From 1984-2001, Bertman guided LSU to a 870330-3 (.724) record, including Southeastern Conference championships in 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1997. He was named national coach of the year six times -- 2000, 1997, 1996, 1993, 1991 and 1986. He served as head coach of the 1996 USA Olympic Team which won the bronze medal in Atlanta. Bertman directed LSU to the highest all-time NCAA Tournament winning percentage (.754, 89-29). He now serves as LSU’s director of athletics. BERNIE BIERMAN A native of Minnesota, Bierman forged powerful football teams at both Tulane and the University of Minnesota before retiring from the game in 1950. From 1927 through 1931, his Tulane teams produced three AllAmericans. He later served as head coach at Minnesota from 1932-41 and 1945-50. He guided Minnesota to national championships in 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940 and 1941. The Gophers also won six Big Ten titles under his leadership. At Tulane and Minnesota, he had seven unbeaten teams. BUDDY BLAIR Blair, a native of Sicily Island, was a forward on LSU’s only national championship basketball team, a member of the school’s only national championship track squad as a javelin ace and a regular on the Tiger baseball team. He earned nine letters at LSU and later played pro baseball for five years in the Yankee and Athletics organizations. In the national championship basketball game against Pittsburgh, Blair scored 20 of LSU’s 41 points. He is a member of the LSU Hall of Fame as an all-around athlete. MEL BLOUNT Blount, also a member of the National Football League Hall of Fame, is a Georgia native who played at Southern University before becoming one of pro ball’s all-time best defensive backs in 14 seasons with the Steelers, winning four Super Bowls. He set a team career interception record with 57 and was seventh in NFL history when he retired. Blount, who played in a record 200 games for Pittsburgh, was the National Football League’s Most Valuable Player on defense in 1975, when he had 11 interceptions.
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Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers VIDA BLUE A Mansfield native, Blue played 17 seasons in the Major Leagues for Oakland, Kansas City and San Francisco. He won the 1971 Cy Young Award and was named the American League Most Valuable Player after posting a 24-8 record with a 1.82 ERA and eight shutouts for the Athletics. Blue played in six All-Star Games, becoming the first pitcher to start and win the All-Star Game for both leagues. He pitched in three World Series. Blue had 2,175 strikeouts in his career. TOMMY BOLT Bolt won 16 tournaments on the PGA tour, including the 1958 U.S. Open and the Colonial Invitational. He set a PGA record of 60 at Hartford, Conn., and set another record by playing 72 holes without a five on his card. He was twice selected to the Ryder Cup team, and as a senior he won the PGA, Open and World, three events considered the senior Grand Slam. Bolt is the only Louisiana golfer ever to win the National Open. The Shreveport native was also noted for his hot temper and club-throwing. ZEKE BONURA Bonura, who grew up in New Orleans, was a first baseman for seven seasons in the major leagues. He played in 900 games, hit 119 home runs, drove in 704 runs and had a career batting average of .307. In three of his seven seasons in the big leagues, Bonura hit more than 20 homers. He had over 90 RBI’s in five seasons. His slugging percentage for his major league career was .487. Bonura played for the Chicago White Sox, the Washington Senators, New York Giants and Chicago Cubs from 1934 through 1940. SID BOWMAN Bowman jumped 49-1 in the triple jump in the 1928 Olympic trials while still a student at Hammond High School, and he competed in that event in the Olympics. After enrolling at LSU in 1929, Bowman set school records in the broad jump and triple jump with leaps of 23-11 and 49-7 1/2. He won the national triple jump title in 1932 and earned a berth that year in the Olympics at Los Angeles. As a senior at LSU, Bowman won the conference championship in the triple jump, an event he also won in the Penn Relays. WARREN BRADEN Warren "Jug" Braden led the Southern University football teams of Coach Ace Mumford to consecutive national championships in 1948-49. A two-time AllAmerica quarterback, the New Orleans native guided the Jaguars to records of 8-2-1, 10-2, 12-0 and 10-0-1. Braden played safety on defense, averaged 44 yards per punt and returned punts and kickoffs. He made the Tom Harmon and Pittsburgh Courier All-America teams, joining Eddie LeBaron on the 1949 Tom Harmon team. On Dec. 5, 1948, Southern met San Francisco State in college football's first integrated bowl game (the Fruit Bowl) and Southern won 30-0 as Braden was voted the game's MVP. He played professionally in Canada. TERRY BRADSHAW Bradshaw, also in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, quarterbacked the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl championships in the 1970’s and was chosen the game’s Most Valuable Player in the last two in 1978 and 1979. He was also the 1978 NFL Player of the Year and the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year in 1979. A Louisiana Tech All-American before going to the NFL, Bradshaw completed 2,025 of 3,901 passes for 27,989 yards and 212 touchdowns in 14 years as a pro. He played in four Pro Bowls and was 49 of 84 with nine TD’s in Super Bowls.
FRANK BRIAN An All-State basketball player at Zachary, Brian as AllSoutheastern Conference as a sophomore at LSU in 1943. He was also a conference champ on the LSU track team, competing in hurdles, broad jump and the mile relay. After a military stint, Brian was again chosen to the All-SEC basketball team as a senior in 1946. He signed with the Anderson Packers of the NBA, where he was Rookie of the Year. Brian was named to NBA AllStar teams twice and ranked in the top six in scoring in the NBA three times in 10 years. LOU BROCK An El Dorado, Ark., native who starred at Southern University, Brock broke into the big leagues in 1961 with the Cubs and joined the Cardinals in 1964. He broke the major league stolen base record in 1974 with 118 and held the record for most stolen bases in a career with 938 (broken by Rickey Henderson, 1991). Brock had a lifetime batting average of .293 and was the Sporting News Player of the Year in 1974. He played in three World Series and five All-Star games and set series records for batting average and most stolen bases. MICHAEL BROOKS A Ruston native who was All-America as a junior at LSU, hard-hitting Michael Brooks reached the Pro Bowl in 1992 for the Denver Broncos to highlight 10 NFL seasons (1987-92 in Denver, 1993-95 with the New York Giants, 1996 with Detroit). After earning AP and ScrippsHoward News Service All-America honors as a junior for LSU, an injury curtailed his bid to become one of the few two-time All-Americas in LSU history. He was AllSoutheastern Conference in 1985 (AP, UPI and SEC Coaches). Brooks was a third-round NFL Draft pick who starred at linebacker while playing 138 career games with 4 interceptions and 9 fumble recoveries. Brooks was a two-time Class 4A (at the time the state's largest classification) All-State pick and a three-year all-district selection at Ruston High. He posted 97 tackles as a junior, 104 as a senior and added two pass interceptions, three aerial deflections as a junior, along with three pass interceptions and four deflects as a senior when Brooks helped lead Ruston to the 1982 state title.
BILLY BROWN Brown graduated from Baker High and became one of LSU’s best-known track stars. The highlight of his career was in 1936 when he represented the United States in the triple jump at the Olympic Games in Berlin. He won the NCAA broad jump crown in 1941 with a leap of 24-7, and he set a conference record in the 220 with a time of 20.6. He also ran a 9.5 century and collected a total of 43 points in SEC championship meets during his three years on the LSU team. CHARLIE BROWN Head football coach at Monroe-Neville for 30 seasons (1963-92), Brown compiled a record of 263-66-6 that puts him sixth on the state all-time wins list. His .794 winning percentage is No. 3 among coaches ranked in the top 15 in wins. Brown’s Tigers won three state titles, reached three other state championship games and claimed 11 district crowns. His teams had only one losing season. As a top assistant coach for 12 years at Neville prior to succeeding Bill Ruple as head coach, he helped the Tigers reach five championship games, with four state title wins. Also coached four baseball state championship teams at Neville before taking over for Ruple as football head coach. DALE BROWN An unequaled figure in state basketball history, Brown retired in 1997 after 25 seasons as basketball coach at LSU. He built a mediocre program into a nationally prominent one which reached two Final Fours among 13 NCAA Tournament appearances. LSU is the only Southeastern Conference school to appear in 10 straight NCAA Tournaments and 15 consecutive national tournaments. Only six schools in NCAA history have made more consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Brown (448 wins from 1973-97) is the secondwinningest coach in SEC history behind Adolph Rupp of Kentucky. Brown won three national Coach of the Year awards.
MARTY BROUSSARD Broussard, a trainer for the USA in the 1960 Rome Olympic Games and the 1955 Pan American Games, was one of the nation's most innovative trainers and a fixture at LSU for five decades. Among his accomplishments are being co-developer of the DruryBroussard Torque Table to test muscular strength, co-authoring booklets on functional isometric contraction for football and functional isometric contraction for golf and writing the noted Athletic Training Guide. He developed the Quickkick energy drink. An Abbeville native and 1944 graduate of LSU, Broussard lettered in track and baseball during his undergraduate days and was high point scorer in the 1944 SEC meet. He also served as trainer at Florida and Texas A&M before returning to LSU in 1948. He was selected National Trainer of the Year by the Rockne Foundation in 1963. Broussard was elected to the National Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame, after being among the organization's five founding fathers years earlier. He was one of three founders of the Southeastern Conference Trainers' Association. In 1982 he was named to the LSU L Club Hall of Fame.
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Shreveport native, Louisiana Tech and Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback Terry Bradshaw was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.
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Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers GERNON BROWN Few coaches have dominated their arena as Gernon Brown did in prep sports during the 1930’s and 1940’s at Jesuit High in New Orleans. Brown won 19 state championships for Jesuit in three sports during the so-called “Golden Era” of prep sports. In 20 years as football coach, he compiled a 146-43-11 record, a .757 winning percentage. He had five state championships, seven city titles and coached four unbeaten teams. Brown won three state basketball titles and 11 state baseball crowns. JAMES “BIG FUZZY” BROWN “Big Fuzzy” Brown took Istrouma of Baton Rouge to the heights of Louisiana state high school football after succeeding his brother, “Little Fuzzy,” as coach. From 1950-62, Istrouma won eight state championships, and 11 of 13 district titles, in the state’s top classification. He retired after the 1967 season with a record of 162-40-11. Among his players were Hall of Famers Billy Cannon and Roy Winston. While his brother was president of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association, “Big Fuzzy” was president of the Coaches Association, thus creating a power base never since equaled in state prep athletics. He died in 1977. JOE BROWN Brown won the lightweight boxing championship of the world in 1956, fighting 13 of the 15 rounds with a broken hand. He defended his title 11 times in hiS seven-year reign as champion before losing the crown to Carlos Ortiz in 1962. During his 25-year boxing career, Brownknown as the Creole Clouter won 104 fights, lost only 12 and fought to two draws. He retired at the age of 44 and went out a winner, beating Ramon Flores in his last fight. Of his 104 wins, 47 were by knockouts. WILLARD BROWN Inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in July 2006, the Shreveport native was black baseball’s premier slugging outfielder in the 1940s. He joined Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby and Hank Thompson as blacks who made their Major League Baseball debuts in 1947. Brown, 36 at the time, lasted 21 games with the St. Louis Browns
and was released after batting .179. He became the first black American Leaguer to hit a home run during his short stay with the last-place team. He returned to the Negro League and batted .374 with 18 homers in 1948 and .317 in 1949, ending his Negro League career with a .355 batting average. In Puero Rican winter ball, he had a career .350 batting average, won three batting titles and set a home run record in the 1947-48 season (27). Future Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda played winter ball with Brown and a decade later called him “one of the greatest hitters I ever saw.” Brown’s career ended in the Texas League with Dallas and Houston, averaging .306 and 23 home runs despite being in his 40S. Brown,. nicknamed “Home Run” by Negro Leagues slugger Josh Gibson, died in 1996. WILLIE BROWN Brown, a Grambling product, played with the Broncos and Raiders in the NFL. He earned All-NFL honors in 1968 and 1969 and was All-Pro four straight times from 1970 through 1973. He played in four Pro Bowls in the early 1970’s and had a record-breaking 75-yard pass interception return in the 1977 Super Bowl. Brown, who retired in 1978, finished his career with 54 interceptions, and he shares the NFL record of four interceptions in a game. Brown was elected to the NFL Hall of Fame in 1984. PAT BROWNE JR. A lifelong New Orleans resident, Pat Browne, Jr.. has been champion of the United States Blind Golfers' Association 21 times since 1975, including the last 20 years. He was three-time captain of the U.S. Stewart Cup Team in competitions held against Great Britain's blind golfers. In 1988, he was selected by the Golf Writers of America for the Ben Hogan Award for the national golf figure who has battled adversity and triumphed. Before losing his sight in an auto accident, Browne captained Tulane's golf and basketball teams, setting a single-game basketball scoring mark with 33 points in 1954. He has won 50 tournaments, including nine victories in the Heather Farr Drive for Sight Tournament.
QUEEN BRUMFIELD (NARD) Brumfield is the greatest player in the history of Southeastern Louisiana University women's basketball. The only three-time All-American in the history of Lady Lions' basketball, Queen Brumfield set career marks in points (2,972) and rebounds (1,586) which have remained untouchable. The rebounding total is a state record. Brumfield, a three-time All-Louisiana player, led the Lady Lions to the 1977 AIAW National Championship as well as four consecutive LAIAW state and SWAIAW regional championships. Along with her career points and rebounds marks, Brumfield also holds numerous other SLU standards. BUCK BUCHANAN Considered one of Grambling’s all-time greatest players, Buchanan was a No. 1 draft choice of the Kansas City Chiefs in 1963 as a 6-foot-7,287-pound defensive tackle. He played 13 seasons in the NFL, appearing in 12 playoffs, championship and Pro Bowl games. The Gainesville, Ala., native missed only one game in his long pro career. Buchanan played in six straight AFLAll-Star games starting in 1964 and was picked for the Pro Bowl after the 1970 and 1971 seasons. He was a standout in the Chiefs 1969 Super Bowl win. CHRIS CAGLE Cagle was a high school star at Merryville who went on to collegiate greatness at Southwestern Louisiana and Army. At Southwestern, he completed 54 percent of his passes in 1924 for 859 yards. He scored 120 points in 1925 and in one game against LSU hit on 22 of 33 passes. In his three years at Southwestern, he ran back 10 punts for touchdowns. Cagle was a three-time AllAmerican halfback at Army from 1927 to 1929. He was considered one of the best run-pass-kick combination players in the game. BILLY CANNON Cannon is perhaps the greatest folk hero in Louisiana sports history. He led LSU to the national championship in 1958 and won the Heisman Trophy in 1959. He played both running back and defensive back before the return of two-platoon football. He was a fearsome blend of speed and size, tipping the scales at 205 and running the 100 in 9.4. Cannon was one of the earliest stars of the American Football League with the Houston Oilers. He played 11 years in the pros, finishing his career with the Raiders. TONY CANZONERI Born in Slidell, Canzoneri began his professional boxing career in 1924, the year after winning the New York 118pound AAU title. He retired in 1939 to become an actor and restauranteur. Canzoneri had 181 pro bouts, winning 138, drawing in 11, losing 29. He kayoed 44 opponents and held three world titles-featherweight, lightweight and junior welterweight. Canzoneri, who died in 1959, appeared in 21 world title bouts in four divisions from 118 to 140 pounds between 1925 and 1939. HAROLD CARMICHAEL A product of Southern University, Carmichael had a brilliant career as a wide receiver with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1971 through 1983. He played his final NFL season in 1984 with the Dallas Cowboys. He set an NFL record by catching at least one pass in 127 consecutive games and had club records with the Eagles for most receiving yardage with 8,978, most passes caught with 589 and most touchdown passes with 79 during his career. Twice an All-Pro, Carmichael played in four Pro Bowls and was NFL Man of the Year in 1980.
LSU coach Skip Bertman, who was elected to the College Baseball Hall of Fame last year, led the Tigers to five national championships and was named national coach of the year six times.
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Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers JIMMY “CHICK” CHILDRESS One of the most successful prep football coaches in state history, Childress is a member of the Louisiana High School Coaches’ Association Hall of Fame after leading Ruston to a 131-27 (.829) mark in 12 seasons. He won four state titles, in 1982, 1986, 1988, and 1990, and his 1990 unbeaten team was ranked No. 1 nationally in one poll. He was voted Class 4A Coachof the Year five times and district coach of the year seven times. Childress, raised in an orphanage, was Most Valuable Player at Northeast Louisiana University in 1956 and a third-team All-Gulf States Conference pick. He was defensive coordinator at Neville High for 15 years, helping the Tigers win four state titles, and played on the 1947 Ruston High state championship team coached by Hall of Famer “Hoss” Garrett.”
New Orleans native and Major League Baseball AllStar Will Clark was inducted in 2004.
TOMMY CASANOVA An All-Southeastern Conference defensive back for three straight years at LSU, Casanova was a consensus All-American selection as a senior in 1971. He had a six-year career with the Cincinnati Bengals, earning AllPro honors in 1975 and playing in the Pro Bowl. Casanova still ranks fourth in interceptions for the Bengals with 17. He had 90 punt returns in the NFL, including runs of 89 and 74 yards. Casanova was chosen as a member of the Sporting News’ all-time college team as a cornerback after his LSU career. JIM CASON A Tallulah native, and an LSU halfback from 1944-47, Cason played eight years of pro football, twice reaching the Pro Bowl as a defensive back (1952, 1955). He was elected defensive team captain in five of his eight pro seasons in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Denver. He played from 1948-52 for the San Francisco 49ers, leading them in interceptions in three years and serving as defensive captain. He was an International News Service All-Pro in 1949 and honorable mention All-Pro in 1955. At LSU, he was a highly-respected defender who had some memorable offensive highlights in the era of two-way players. DON CHANEY A Baton Rouge native, Chaney played on two Boston Celtic NBA Championship teams(1969, 1974) and was the 1990-91 NBA Coach of the Year with the Houston Rockets. An All-American guard, all-state first baseman and a football star at McKinley High, Chaney played collegiately at Houston, helping the Cougars reach two NCAA Final Fours. A second-team All-American in 1968, Chaney scored 1,133 points and was a first-round NBA draft pick. He played 12 seasons and was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive Team five times. Chaney scored 6, 616 career points.
WILL CLARK A six-time All-Star selection, Clark retired from professional baseball after the 2000 season, concluding his 15-year MLB career with a .303 batting average, 2,176 hits, 1,205 RBI and 284 home runs. A native of New Orleans and graduate of Jesuit High School in New Orleans, Clark starred as a first baseman during a record-setting three-year collegiate career at Mississippi State. A two-time All-SEC standout, he earned AllAmerican honors in 1984 and 1985. Clark earned collegiate baseball’s highest honor that season, the Golden Spikes Award. He played in the bigs for San Francisco, Texas, Baltimore and St. Louis. He had 35 home runs in his second season, 1987, and he had five seasons with more than 20 home runs, and four seasons with more that 100 RBI. He helped teams to postseason playoffs in five years, including 1987 and 1989 with the Giants, highlighted by an incredible NLCS in ’89 when he batted .650 (13-for-20) in five games and had two home runs. HOLLIS CONWAY The top-ranked high jumper in the U.S. seven straight years from 1988-94, Conway is the only American ever to win two Olympic medals in the high jump. The Shreveport native went 7-8 3/4 in the event at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea, as a sophomore at USL, setting a U.S. collegiate record and earning a silver medal. He won a bronze medal in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona after going 7-8 1/2 in winning the U.S. Olympic Trials that year. In 1989, Conway broke the American record twice in the high jump, winning the NCAA Outdoor Championships at 7-9 3/4 and the U.S. Olympic Festival at 7-10. A six-time NCAA All-American and three-time NCAA champ at USL, Conway set an American indoor record of 7-10 1/2 while winning in 1991 World Indoor title. His NCAA outdoor record of 79 3/4 still stands 15 years later, as does his mark of 7-9 1/4 at that year’s NCAA indoor meet. Conway won 10 USA Championship titles (five outdoor, five indoor) and was ranked No. 1 in the world in 1990 and 1991 before announcing his retirement in 2000. JIM CORBETT Athletic director at LSU from 1955 until his death in 1967, Corbett guided the Tigers sports program through a period of remarkable growth and prosperity that included a national football championship and continuous sell-outs at Tiger Stadium. A forceful spokesman for college athletics at the national level, Corbett helped develop the NCAA football television package. The National Association of Athletic Directors’ award to the nation’s outstanding athletic director each year is named in memory of Corbett.
2010 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration
CLIFFORD ANN CREED The first woman to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, Creed was the state amateur women’s golf champion five times, including four straight titles from 1956 through 1959. An Alexandria native, she was a Curtis Cup player in 1962 before turning pro in 1963. She was the women pro tour’s rookie of the year that season and fifth in money winnings. Clifford Ann finished in the top 10 in money winnings on the pro tour for six consecutive years while winning 11 LPGA tournament championships and one team tournament in the 1960’s. JOHN DAVID CROW Crow, former head football coach at Northeast Louisiana University, was an All-American at Springhill who won the Heisman Trophy in 1957 during a brilliant career for Bear Bryant’s Texas A & M teams. As a professional, he played for 11 years with the Chicago and St. Louis Cardinals and later the San Francisco 49ers. He rushed for 1,071 yards in 1960 and holds the Cardinals’ single game rushing record of 203 yards. The No. 1 draft choice of the Cardinals, he was the first Cardinal ever to rush for 1,000 yards. JERRY DALRYMPLE A two-time All-American at Tulane, Dalrymple played on Bernie Bierman’s great teams from 1929 to 1931. During his three years, the Greenies were 28-2, went unbeaten in 1929 and 1931 and went to the 1932 Rose Bowl. One of the finest defensive ends in the history of Southern football, Dalrymple was only six-feet tall and weighed 170 pounds. Referring to his vicious tackling, Knute Rockne said of Dalrymple, “You can sit in the stands and see him play or close your eyes and hear him play.” ALVIN DARK Dark was a versatile athlete, excelling in golf, football and baseball. But the Lake Charles native won stardom in baseball, earning Rookie of the Year honors with the Boston Braves in 1948 when he batted .322. He played from 1948 until 1960, compiling a .298 career batting average with the Giants, Cardinals, Cubs, Phillies and Braves. He managed the San Francisco Giants in 1961 and guided the Giants to the National League pennant the next year. He took the 1974 Oakland A's to the AL pennant. Dark was a multi-sport athletic great at LSU and Lake Charles High. WILLIE DAVENPORT Davenport competed in four Olympic Games and at one time held the Olympic record in the high hurdles. A Troy, Alabama, native who attended Southern University, Davenport won the gold medal in the 120-high hurdles in the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. He won a bronze medal in the 1976 Olympics at Montreal and just missed another bronze at the 1972 games in Munich. He lost in the semifinals of the 1964 Olympics at Tokyo after an injury. He had a career best time of 13.2 in the 110 meter high hurdles. TOMMY DAVIS Davis was an All-America prep linebacker-fullback for the 1952 state champion Fair Park team, was a fullback and kicking specialist for the 1958 LSU team that won the national championship and had a brilliant 11-year NFL career. He had 234 consecutive extra point kicks at one point during his pro career and overall was 348 of 350 for a record 99.4 percentage. His career punting average of 44.6 was second on the all-time NFL list when he retired. In two straight seasons, he had the NFL’s longest field goals, 53-yarders.
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Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers
Recently inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame, Fred Dean was enshrined into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.
WILLIE DAVIS Grambling coach Eddie Robinson calls Davis the best defensive end he has ever seen. Davis, who now resides in Los Angeles, was an All-American selection at Grambling in the 1950’s. The 6-foot-3, 245 pounder later won All-Pro honors while a member of Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers. Green Bay dominated the National Football League during Davis’ career, winning the NFL championship five times, and Davis was considered the premier defensive end and one of the best defensive players in pro ball. He is a member of the NFL Hall of Fame. FRED DEAN Dean emerged as one of the NFL’s premier pass rushers with San Diego and San Francisco after a remarkable college career at Louisiana Tech. The Ruston native was a three-time All-American for the Bulldogs from 1972-74. He was the 33rd player picked in the 1975 NFL Draft. Dean, undersized for a defensive lineman ( 232 pounds), made 94 sacks in his 11 NFL seasons and played on two Super Bowl championship teams with San Francisco. He played in three Pro Bowls (1979-81) and was picked for another in 1983, when he led the NFL with a 49ers record 17 1/2 sacks. JOE DEAN In 13 years as director of athletics at his alma mater (1987-2000), Dean oversaw incredible athletic success in the 1990s as LSU won 21 national championships (5 baseball, 16 track) and 25 SEC titles. During Dean’s tenure, LSU won more national championships than in the entire previous history of the school. A former threetime All-SEC basketball player who helped the Bob Pettit-led Tigers reach the Final Four, Dean also played baseball and competed in track for the Tigers. He was an alternate on the 1956 U.S. Olympic basketball team after winning honorable mention All-America honors in 1952.
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EDDIE DELAHOUSSAYE A New Iberia native, Delahoussaye was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1993. He has won five Triple Crown races, the 1982 Kentucky Derby with Gato Del Sol and the 1983 Derby with Sunny’s Halo; the 1988 Preakness and the 1988 Belmont Stakes on Risen Star; and the 1992 Belmont on A.P. Indy. He is one of only four riders to win consecutive Derbys. Delahoussaye, who began riding thoroughbreds at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans in 1967, rode his first winner in 1968 at Evangeline Downs. He became the 14th rider in history with 5,000 wins in 1993. He won the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 1981. He has seven total Breeders’ Cup victories.
DAVE DIXON A New Orleans businessman, Dixon is considered the "father of professional football" in Louisiana along with being the driving force behind development of the Louisiana Superdome. He also has helped found several professional sports ventures such as the United States Football League and World Championship Tennis. Dixon also played key roles in attracting events such as the NCAA Final Four, the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the USA Track and Field Olympic Trials to New Orleans. His efforts, extending over a period of several years, resulted in the NFL awarding a franchise to New Orleans that became the Saints in 1966.
JOE DELANEY A 1997 inductee in the College Football Hall of Fame, Delaney was an All-America star in football and track at Haughton High and Northwestern State. He was the 1982 AFC Rookie of the Year as a running back for Kansas City. He set Northwestern’s career rushing record with 3,047 yards (5.0 average). Delaney set Demon records in the 100 (10.26) and 200 meters (20.6) and ran the second leg on NSU’s 1981 NCAA champion 4x100 relay team. As a rookie with the Chiefs, he set four club records and his 1,121 yards rushing still ranks among the top 5 rookie totals in NFL history. He drowned in a heroic rescue attempt in June 1983.
JACK DOLAND Dr. Doland served as head football coach, athletic director and then president of McNeese State, and served in the Louisiana Senate until his death in 1991. As football coach, he was 64-32-3 from 1970-78, leading the 1971 team (9-1-1) to a No. 1 national ranking in Division II and a spot in the Grantland Rice Bowl. He guided the 1976 (10-2) squad to the Southland Conference title and a berth in the inaugural Independence Bowl in Shreveport. A native of Lake Arthur, he played football and basketball at McNeese when the school was a junior college, then went to Tulane, where he was a football and baseball standout and played on the Green Wave’s 1949 SEC championship team. He was head coach at DeQuincy and Sulphur High, winning a state title at Sulphur. He became an assistant coach under Charlie McClendon at LSU before taking the McNeese head coaching post.
BILL DICKEY Dickey, a native of Bastrop, broke into organized baseball with Little Rock of the Southern Association in 1925 and played until 1947. A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, he is considered one of the top catchers in baseball history. Dickey played in 1,789 games as a Yankee catcher and had a lifetime batting average of .313. He had 202 home runs and 1,209 runs batted in. Dickey played in eight World Series and scored the winning run against the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1943 Series. MEL DIDIER A longtime major league baseball executive and scout, Didier has served as Assistant General Manager for Arizona, the Los Angeles Dodgers (twice), the Baltimore Orioles, and as Director of Minor League Operations and Scouting Director for two expansion teams, Montreal (1969-75) and Seattle (1977-78), and is now working for the Texas Rangers. He is best known for his scouting report which Kirk Gibson credited for his dramatic 1988 World Series Game One-winning pinch-hit home run, voted one of the 10 Most Exciting Moments in World Series History. Among the major league stars he helped develop were Mike Piazza, Andre Dawson and Gary Carter. Didier was a third-team (UPI) football All-American at LSU in 1945, and captain of the Tigers’ SEC-champion baseball team in 1947. He founded the Louisiana High School All-Star Baseball Game in 1981 while baseball coach at USL (83-35 in two years). Didier also served as athletic director at USL in 1981-82. PAUL DIETZEL Dietzel coached LSU for seven years-from 1955 through 1961-and his unbeaten 1958 national championship team was the crowning achievement of LSU’s long football history. The team featured the fabled three units, the White Team, Go Team and Chinese Bandits. His 1959 team extended LSU’s winning streak to 18 games, and Dietzel’s 1961 Tigers ended a 10-1 season with a victory in the Orange Bowl. In a four-year span, he guided LSU to a No. 1 national finish in 1958, No. 3 in 1959 and No. 3 again in the 1961 season.
ATLEY DONALD A native of Morton, Mississippi, who grew up in North Louisiana, Donald pitched for the New York Yankees from 1938 through 1945. He compiled a record of 65 victories and 33 losses and had a career earned run average of 3.52. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound righthander had his best season in 1939 when he went 13-3 and 1942 when he had an 11-3 mark. He appeared in two games in the 1941 and 1942 World Series, Donald set a record for Major League rookies when he won 10 straight games at the beginning of the season. A.J. DUHE All-Pro as a rookie and the AP’s NFL Rookie of the Year in 1977, Duhe was a prep star at Godchaux (Reserve) who blocked three punts in the 1973 Louisiana High School Athletic Association All-Star Game. He then became a four-year starter at LSU, averaging 72 tackles per season and making all-SEC in 1976. He was the outstanding defensive player for the South in the Senior Bowl. A first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 1977, Duhe (6-4, 248) played both defensive end and linebacker in eight seasons for the Dolphins and helped them reach the 1982 and 1984 Super Bowls. He was named to the All-AFC team by UPI in 1981 and was chosen to play in the Pro Bowl in 1984. JOE DUMARS A six-time NBA All-Star, Dumars averaged 16.1 points per game during a 14-year career with the Detroit Pistons (1985-99). The Natchitoches native was named MVP of the 1989 NBA Finals after averaging 27.3 points in a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers, giving the Pistons the first of two consecutive league championships. He was all-NBA three times, including a second-team selection after averaging a career-best 23.5 points per game in 1992-93. A four-time NBA all-defensive selection, including three times on the first team, the McNeese State product was the first winner of the NBA Sportsmanship Award, which is now named the Joe Dumars Trophy, in 1996. He is the Pistons’ all-time leader in three-point field goals made (990) and second
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Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers in points (16,401), assists (4,612) and steals (902). A 6-foot-3 shooting guard drafted by the Pistons in the first round in 1985, he was a two-time Southland Conference scoring champion at McNeese (26.4 ppg as a junior, 25.8 as a senior) and the SLC Player of the Year and a second-team All-America in 1984-85. RALPH DUPAS Dupas held the world junior middleweight crown during a 16-year pro boxing career. The clever New Orleans native was noted for his fancy footwork and was nicknamed “Native Dancer.” At 17 he was the fourth ranked lighweight after beating No. 1-ranked contender Johnny Gonsalves and fifth -ranked Amond Savoie. He claimed the junior middleweight championship on a decision over Denny Moyer on April 29, 1963 and then beat Moyer in a June 17 rematch. In his career, which went from 1950-66, he was 104-23-6 and that included losing title bouts with such champions as Joe Brown and Emile Griffith. MARK DUPER A three-time Pro Bowl receiver with the Miami Dolphins (1982-92), Duper was inducted into the Dolphins’ Honor Roll during a 2003 Monday Night Football game. He was a two-time NCAA Division I All-American as a sprinter at Northwestern State, running the anchor leg on the Demons’ 1981 NCAA champion 4 x 100-meter relay team that also included Hall of Famer Joe Delaney. Duper, a Moreauville native who didn’t play prep football, was a second-round NFL Draft pick in 1982 after two college seasons. He played in 146 regular-season games with Miami, catching 511 passes for 8,869 yards (17.7 career average) and 59 TDs. He averaged better than 16 yards a catch in seven of his 11 seasons. He also caught at least 50 passes five times and went over the 1,000-yard mark in receiving four times - finishing with 1,313 yards in 1986 and 1,306 yards in 1984. He owns the Dolphins’ all-time mark for 100-yard receiving games (28), the single-season record (eight in 1986) and the single-game record for receiving yards (217 vs. N.Y. Jets in 1985). Dolphins QB Dan Marino and Duper are tied for eighth all-time in NFL history among QB-WR scoring combinations (55 TDs). BILLY JOE DUPREE Dupree was a West Monroe native who began playing football at Richardson High, helping his team reach three state championship games from 1966-68, with two wins. He became an All-American at Michigan State, earning a trip to the Blue-Gray All-Star
Game, and was a first-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 1973. Dupree played 11 seasons at tight end as the Cowboys became known as "America's Team." He played 159 regular-season games in a row and in 22 playoff games. His career totals were 267 catches for 3,565 yards, 13.4 yards per catch, and 41 touchdowns. He played in three Pro Bowls (1977, 1978, and 1979) and was part of three Super Bowl teams (X, XII, XIII), winning in 1978 as the Cowboys defeated Denver in his home state, at the Louisiana Superdome. TOM DUTTON Dutton went to LSU from Minden and became a legend as a defensive player and blocker for the Tigers in 1913, 1914 and again in 1919 after the war. He was AllSouthern all three seasons. Dutton played “roving center” on defense, following instructions to find the ball and make the tackle. Dutton, a monster in those days at 6-3, 225 pounds, was also an outstanding field man for the LSU track team. He held the school’s shot put record prior to the arrival of Olympian Jack Torrance. EDDIE DYER Dyer was known throughout baseball as “That Little Cajun Lefthander.” He was from Morgan City. A halfback at Rice, he earned a spot in the Hall of Fame by managing the 1946 St. Louis Cardinals to the National League pennant and victory in a sevengame World Series with Joe Cronin’s Boston Red Sox. He was a freshman manager that year, and he stayed at the helm of the Cardinals until 1960. At Rice, he lettered in football, baseball and track and was football captain in 1921. KEN ELLIS Inducted (1998) in the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame, Ellis was a Southern University great who won three All-Pro honors during a 9-year NFL career as a cornerback. AllPro in 1972, 1973 and 1974 and playing in the Pro Bowl in 1974 and 1975, Ellis played six years with Green Bay. He played in Super Bowl XIV for the Los Angeles Rams and also played for Cleveland, Detroit, Houston and Miami. He made 22 career interceptions, 20 for Green Bay, and scored 9 TDs, 5 on kickoff returns. In college, he led the nation in punt returns in 1968 with a 33-yard average while also starring at halfback and flanker on offense for the Jaguars. RONNIE ESTAY The second Louisiana native enshrined in the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame (joining Tom Hinton), Estay was an All-American at LSU who played in played in nine Grey Cups - winning six. He is in the Hamilton Tiger Cats Hall of Fame. He was elected by fan vote to LSU’s “Modern Day Team of the Century” encompassing teams from 1936-93, joining three other defensive linemen. A defensive tackle at LSU from 196971, Estay was a Kodak Coaches All-American and the ABC-TV Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year as a senior when the Tigers led the nation in total defense. The Larose native, was a finalist for the Lombardi Award for the country’s top defensive lineman. A two-time All-SEC pick, he tackled standout quarterbacks Archie Manning and Pat Sullivan for safeties and helped corral Notre Dame’s Joe Theismann during a memorable 3-0 confrontation at South Bend in 1970. In his three years at LSU, the Tigers twice led the nation in rushing defense. LENNY FANT Head basketball coach at Northeast for 22 years-from 1957 through 1979-Fant ranked 11th among active Division I coaches in career victories when he retired. He coached at Louisiana College and East Texas Baptist before going to Northeast and had a career record of 388-253. He had 18 consecutive winning seasons at Northeast-the longest among active Division I coaches at the time of his retirement-and his Northeast teams won eight conference championships or district titles and 12 tournament championships. MARSHALL FAULK Marshall Faulk was one of the NFL's most dynamic running backs during a brilliant 12year career with the Indianapolis Colts (1994-98) and St. Louis Rams (1999-2005). The New Orleans native and Carver High graduate was a three-time AP All-Pro pick and seven-time Pro Bowl selection. He was named by the AP as the NFL MVP in 2000 and was the AP's Offensive Player of the Year from 1999 to 2001. He was also the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1994 after being the second overall pick in the draft. He piled up seven 1,000-yard rushing seasons, gaining more than 1,300 yards on the ground for four straight years (1998 to 2001). Faulk, who played in 176 games with 156 starts, finished his career with 12,279 rushing yards, which ranked ninth alltime going into the 2008 season. He set the NFL single-season record in 1999 with 2,429 yards from scrimmage, helping the Rams to the playoffs and a win in Super Bowl XXXIV.
A member of the Canadien Football League Hall of Fame, former LSU AllAmerican Ronnie Estay was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.
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Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers GEORGE “DOC” FENTON Fenton was LSU’s first great football player. As a quarterback in 1907, 1908 and 1909, Fenton was considered a wizard. He could do everything-run, pass, kick, block. Nicknamed “The Artful Dodger,” Doc led the 1908 team to a 10-0 record with 132 points, six field goals, 36 extra points and a 45-yard field goal, all records during their time. In three varsity seasons, Fenton scored 36 touchdowns and helped LSU win 23 games while losing only five. JOE FERGUSON Ferguson set national prep passing records at Shreveport’s Woodlawn High, starred at Arkansas and ranks among the all-time NFL pasing leaders. He played 7 NFL seasons, 12 for the Buffalo Bills (1973-84) and also with Detroit (1985-87) and Tampa Bay (198889). In 1976, he set NFL records for fewest interceptions (1 in 151 attempts) in a season and lowest interception ratio per attempt. Upon his retirement, he ranked ninth all-time in pass attempts (4,511), 11th in completions (2,367), 12th in yardage (29,756) and 18th in touchdown passes (196). He completed 52.2 percent of his passes while starting 171 of his 185 games. JIM FINKS As president and general manager (1986-93), Finks masterminded the remarkable turnaround of the New Orleans Saints. The club won 60 percent of its regular season NFL games and posted a streak of six consecutive non-losing records, matched only by two other NFL teams over the same timespan. In 1987, after the Saints’ first-ever winning season (12-3), Finks was named NFL Executive of the Year by the Sporting News, Football News and Touchdown Club of Washington. Also GM earlier in his career for playoff teams at Minnesota and Chicago, Finks was posthumously inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. CHUCK FINLEY A West Monroe native and former UL-Monroe pitcher, he was a first-round pick (fourth overall) of the California Angels in the 1985 amateur baseball draft. A five-time All-Star, the left-hander played 17 seasons in the major leagues with California (1986-99), Cleveland (2000-02) and St. Louis (2002) and had a career record of 200-173 with an ERA of 3.85 and 2,610 strikeouts in 3197.3 innings (averaging 7.35 Ks per nine innings pitched). He started 467 games and had 63 complete games and 15 shutouts. His best seasons were in 1989, ‘90 and ‘91 when he went 16-9, 18-9 and 18-9 for a 52-27 record over that three-year span. Had a career-best 2.40 ERA in 1990, ranking second in the American League, and was seventh in the AL Cy Young voting. CHARLES “PEGGY” FLOURNOY Flournoy starred for Tulane’s football team from 1923 to 1925. He was more than a triple threat, showing prowess as an inside runner, outside runner, passer, punter and place kicker. Tulane was 23-4-2 during his career. As a senior, Flournoy led the Green Wave to an unbeaten season and became the school’s first AllAmerican. He led the nation in scoring with 128 points, a total which still stands as a Tulane record. He also holds the single-game scoring record with 31. STEVE FOLEY A star quarterback at Tulane, Foley played 11 seasons at safety for the Denver Broncos (1975-86) and led the team in interceptions for four straight seasons (197881). Named to the UPI All-AFC Team after the 1978 season, he played in 150 games, starting 135, and picked off 44 career interceptions, piling up 627 return yards and scoring one touchdown. He started in two Super Bowls (XII and XXI) and was one of only three players, upon his retirement, to have started all of the postsea-
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son games in Denver’s AFC history. At Tulane, the New Orleans (Jesuit HS) product led the Green Wave to the Bluebonnet Bowl, rushing for a team-high 601 yards. ALTON “RED” FRANKLIN When he retired in January 2002, Franklin capped a career of 35 seasons as head coach at Haynesville High School including 11 state championships, 4 state runner-up finishes, 366 wins (366-76-8), a career-ending run of 15 consecutive district titles and 33 straight winning seasons. The Golden Tornado reached the state playoffs in 31 of his 35 seasons and won 27 district crowns. He was district coach of the year 23 times, and state coach of the year six times. Twice (1985, 1993), Franklin was named the National High School Athletic Association’s Region 5 coach of the year, making him a finalist for national prep coach of the year honors. In seven consecutive seasons from 1990-96, Haynesville’s won-loss record was a mind-boggling 96-4. Among his wins in the 1990s were victories at national powerhouses Evangel and West Monroe. Franklin was inducted in the Louisiana High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1991. JOHN FRANKS Franks, a Shreveport resident, was the only man to win four Eclipse Awards as the nation’s top thoroughbred owner. He won his first Eclipse Award in 1983, repeated in 1984, then won back-to-back in 1993 and 1994. Voting is based not just on wins or purses, but the quality of the victories. Franks led the nation in wins and earnings in 1983, 1984 and 1986 and was the leading breeder of stakes winners in 1989 and 1990. Ranked No. 1 nationally for money winnings four times, including 1993, he also finished second three more times since 1983. STAN GALLOWAY Galloway was football coach at Southeastern Louisiana University from 1951 through 1964, winning six Gulf States Conference championships and finishing second five times. His 1954 team went undefeated. Galloway’s conference record was 50-20-3, and his overall record was 82-41-5. In 12 years of coaching at the prep level at Donaldsonville, Hammond and Bogalusa, Galloway compiled a record of 80-30-5. His overall prep and college mark was 167-71-10 for a .700 winning percentage. He was GSC Coach of the Year four times. LIN GAMBLE A three-time All-American guard at Ouachita Baptist in the heyday of NAIA women’s basketball, Gamble represented the USA in the 1971 World University Games and the 1971 Pan American Games and was a threeyear member of the USA National Team before women’s basketball became an Olympic sport in 1976. The DeSoto Parish native was the first female athlete inducted in the Louisiana High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame. At Central of Grand Cane, she was a twotime Class C All-State pick who had a career 37.4 ppg average, including 48.2 as a senior. In the 1971 Pan Am Games, she had 28 points vs. Cuba in a win that gave the USA the silver medal. RALPH GARR Garr was in the major leagues for 11 years with the Braves, White Sox and Angels. He led the National League in batting with a .353 average in 1974. Nicknamed “Roadrunner” because of his speed on the base paths, Garr had a career total of 175 steals, including 35 in 1973. He finished his big league career with a .306 batting average, 75 homers, 65 triples and 220 doubles. Now a coach for the Braves, Garr played college baseball at Grambling, where he led the NAIA in batting with a .567 average in the 1967 season.
West Monroe native and UL-Monroe pitcher Chuck Finley was a five-time All-Star in the Major Leagues. He was inducted in 2006.
L. J. “HOSS” GARRETT The impact of Hoss Garrett on Louisiana high school football remains, a quarter-century after he retired in 1971 as the state’s winningest all-time coach. His teams were 270-122-21 (.682) in 38 years, 35 of them at Ruston High. His Ruston teams won 247 games, 14 district championships and state titles in 1941, 1947 and 1951. His 1944 Bearcats finished second in the state and five other Ruston teams reached the state semifinals. Ruston won 47 straight regular season games and four straight district titles from 1951-54. Garrett also guided the Ruston track team to four straight state championships, beginning in 1956. LESLIE GAUDET Gaudet was America’s winningest all-time high school basketball coach when he retired from Pine Prairie High School in 1970, and he retained that honor for more than two decades. His 1,026 wins still ranks sixth-best all time in the nation’s high school record books. He won 74 percent of his games in his 30 years as boys coach, and also won an estimated 350 games as girls coach. He never received a technical foul in the nearly 2,000 games he coached. Gaudet averaged 34 victories a season and had two teams that won more than 60 games in a season. He was inducted in the National High School Hall of Fame in 1991 along with John Wooden and Tom Landry. PAUL “HOSS” GEISLER Geisler, a native of Berwick, was one of Centenary College’s all-time great defensive players. A standout on Coach Homer Norton’s powerful Gent teams of the early 1930’s, Geisler was an All-American. One of the
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Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers highlights of his career was in 1932 when he caught the LSU quarterback for a 15-yard loss to preserve a 6-0 upset victory for Centenary over the Tigers. In later years, he coached at Lake Providence and Tallulah High Schools and Stephen F. Austin State College in Texas. LARRY GILBERT A New Orleans native, Gilbert spent 25 years as a manager in the Southern Baseball Association. Before becoming a manager, he was an outfielder with the 1914 “Miracle” Boston Braves. He played at New Orleans from 1917 to 1925, batting .309 and fielding .977. He managed New Orleans from 1923 until 1938. When he left the league in 1948, Gilbert had established Southern Association records for 2,128 wins, nine pennants, five Dixie Series championships, and he was AllStar manager five times. MATT GORDY Gordy was a member of LSU’s famed five-man national championship track and field team in 1933, and his 14foot vault in the final event of the national meet in Chicago tied him for first and enabled the Tigers to take the title. An Abbeville native, he set state high school records in high jump and pole vault and later set records in these events at LSU. Coach Bernie Moore and all five members of the championship team-Gordy, Buddy Blair, Slats Hardin, Al Moreau and Jack Torrance-are now in the Hall of Fame. TAD GORMLEY Gormley went to Loyola University in New Orleans in 1927 as head boxing, basketball and track coach and athletic trainer for the Wolfpack football team. In 1932, two of his boxers and two of his track and field stars competed in the Olympics at Los Angeles. Before he began developing championship teams at Loyola, Gormley coached track at LSU and Tulane. He holds membership in the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame as an athletic trainer and is a charter member of the Loyola Hall of Fame. HOYLE GRANGER An Oberlin High product, Granger was an All-AFL fulback for the Houston Oilers in 1968 and played in the AFL All-Star Game in 1968-69. He ranks as the Oilers’ No. 2 all-time rusher with 3,514 yards (topping La.
Sports Hall of Fame members Charlie Tolar and Billy Cannon and trailing only Earl Campbell), has the team’s all-time best career average of 4.5 yards per carry and scored 18 rushing touchdowns, sixth-best in franchise history. He was second in the AFL in rushing yards in 1967, fourth in 1968 and third in 1969, and first in yards from scrimamge in 1967. Granger is second to Earl Campbell with 11 100-yard rushing games in club history and is second, with Campbell, in most consecutive games scoring a TD (5). At Oberlin, he was a two-time All-State back as OHS lost in the state finals twice before winning the Class B crown in his senior year, when he was the All-State Outstanding Player, scoring 199 points and rushing for a 12.5 average per carry. MIKE GREEN A 6-10 center, Green set Louisiana Tech career records for points (2,340) and rebounds (1,575), averaging 22.9 points and 15.4 rebounds from 1969-74. He played seven pro seasons and averaged 11.5 points per game. Green was the national College Division “Player of the Year” as a senior, when he averaged 30.9 points and led the Bulldogs to several No. 1 national rankings. He was a four-time all-conference pick, a three-time AllAmerican. Of the first 12 scoring records at Tech, Green either owns or shares each of them. He was a firstrounder in both the ABA and NBA drafts. GRITS GRESHAM The first outdoorsman chosen for membership in the Hall of Fame, Gresham was the Winchester Outdoorsman of the Year and Louisiana Conservationist of the Year. He spent 13 years as a field host, consultant and producer for ABC-TV’s “The American Sportsman.” Well-known for television commercials and personal appearances as a Miller Lite All-Star, Gresham was shooting editor of Sports Afield Magazine, and published his sixth book, “Grits on Guns.” He was a consultant for numerous outdoor industries. BOB GROSECLOSE Groseclose coached track and field at Northeast Louisiana for 29 years, winning 10 conference titles and developing nine national champions. He coached Hall of Fame members John Pennel and Dave and Don Styron. Pennel, a pole vaulter, broke the world record nine times and the Styron twins, sprinters and hurdlers, shattered numerous world records. NLU finished in the top 20 in both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor meets for his last three seasons before he retired in 1989. His teams, which included four unbeaten squads, never finished below fourth place in a conference meet. ERIC GUERIN A member of the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame, Guerin is best-known as the jockey who rode Native Dancer. He lost only once in 21 rides aboard the gray colt, finishing second in the 1953 Kentucky Derby. Guerin won the Kentucky Derby in 1957 with Jet Pilot, and he rode Native Dancer to wins in the 1953 Preakness and Belmont. He also won the Belmont in 1954 on High Gun. Among the top five riders in the nation for five straight years, Guerin rode for 35 years, and his mounts earned $17.3 million.
Louisiana Tech product Mike Green played seven pro seasons. He was a first round pick in both the ABA and NBA drafts. He was inducted in 1996.
RON GUIDRY Nicknamed “Louisiana Lightning” and “Gator,” left-handed pitcher Ron Guidry had more than 13 great years with the New York Yankees, posting a 170-91 career record with a 3.29 earned run average. The Lafayette native, a USL product, is second on the Yanks’ career strikeout list, (1,778). In 1978 he won the American League Cy Young Award and AP Male Athlete of the Year, going 25-3 with a 1.74 ERA and setting club records for single-game (19) and season (248) strikeouts, 13 straight wins, and an AL record-tying nine
2010 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration
Grits Gresham was the first outdoorsman inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. His enshrinment came in 1989.
shutouts. Guidry was 41-10 in 1977-78 as the Yanks won two World Series titles. He made four All-Star Game appearances. SUE GUNTER Retired after 22 years at LSU as women’s basketball coach, Gunter collected a 442-221 mark with the Lady Tigers and an overall record of 708-308 during her career. She retired as the fourth-winningest head coach in NCAA women’s basketball history and in 2005 was posthumously enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Gunter took over as coach at LSU in 1983, three years after she was head coach of the 1980 USA Olympic team while at Stephen F. Austin. At LSU, she was the Basketball News National Coach of the Year (1983), the Louisiana Coach of the Year (1983, 1997, 2000, 2003) the SEC Coach of the Year (1997, 1999), the WBCA District III Coach of the Year (1999) and was inducted in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000. Her Tiger teams made 14 NCAA Tournament trips and reached the Final Four in her final season of 2004. FREDDIE HAAS Haas won 125 amateur golf tournaments, including the 1934 and 1938 Southerns and the 1937 National Intercollegiate, before turning pro, where he earned money on the PGA tour for 30 consecutive years. His best year on the pro tour was in 1953, when he won five major tournaments. He was PGA senior champion in 1966 and won the Gulf States senior title three times. Haas was the first golfer to play on both the Walker and Ryder Cup teams. He is a resident and native of New Orleans. DARRYL HAMILTON A speedy, left-handed hitting outfielder who didn't play high school baseball at University High in Baton Rouge because it didn't field a team (he played football and basketball), he went on to star at Nicholls State and played 13 seasons with Milwaukee, Texas, San Francisco, Colorado and the New York Mets. In 1,328 big-league games, he had a .291 career average with 1,333 hits and 454 RBIs. He had 163 stolen bases -including a career-best 41 in 1992. An 11th-round draft pick of the Brewers in 1986, he played center field pri-
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Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers marily, but also played the corner outfield positions and committed just 14 errors in 13 seasons for a .995 career fielding percentage. Hamilton batted .300 four times, hitting a career-high .315 with the Rockies and Mets in 1999. His best all-around seasons were in 1993 when he hit .310 with 161 hits for the Brewers and 1996 when he batted .293 with a career-high 184 hits in 148 games with the Rangers. At Nicholls State from 1984-86, he stole a school-record 140 bases with a career-high 52 in 1985 and led the team in runs all three seasons, finishing with 193 for his career. JAKE HANNA One of the great Centenary football stars of all times, Hanna led the Gents to an undefeated season in 1927. Jake scored 93 points during the season, in which Centenary upset four Southwest Conference schools. He missed much of the 1928 season with injuries but still scored 15 touchdowns to lead the team in scoring. A 5-foot-8, 167-pound quarterback and halfback, Hanna was selected to play in two all-star games in Dallas that were forerunners of the Cotton Bowl. He also starred at Byrd High. BILLY HARDIN A member of the 1964 USA Olympic track and field team and a semifinalist in the 400 meter hurdles at the Tokyo Games, Billy Hardin was a three-time All-American at LSU. He won seven Southeastern Conference track titles -- the 100 yard dash (twice, once in a record 9.5time), in the 120 yard hurdles (twice, including a record 13.9 time), the 220 yard hurdles, the 330 yard hurdles and as part of the mile relay team. Hardin captured the 1964 NCAA and AAU championships in his specialty. Son of Hall of Famer Slats Hardin, the Baton Rouge native set an LSU record in winning the Olympic Trials with a 49.8 time. He and his father became the first father-son duo to represent the USA in Olympic competition. GLENN “SLATS” HARDIN Hardin was an outstanding sprinter and hurdler for LSU in the early 1930’s. He won the NCAA 440 yard dash in 47.1 and the 220 low hurdles in 22.9 in 1933 and repeated the following year with times of 47 flat and 22.7, equaling the national record. Hardin was in the 1932 and 1936 Olympic Games and earned a silver medal at Los Angeles in 1932 in the 440 hurdles with a time of 52.0. He won a gold medal at Berlin in 1936 and set a world record in the 400 meter hurdles in 1934. JAMES “SHACK” HARRIS A 12-year pro, Harris started for three NFL teams, becoming the first black quarterback to open the season as a starter and complete a season as a starter in NFL history. A nationally-recruited star at Monroe's Carroll High School, he set a state collegiate passing record with 4,705 career passing yards at Grambling. He led Grambling to Southwestern Athletic Conference titles in 1967 and 1968. Harris played for Buffalo, the Los Angeles Rams, and San Diego. He was the 1975 Pro Bowl Most Valuable Player, leading an NFC victory. He led the NFL in passing in 1976 and ranked No. 2 in 1974. His career NFL stats include 8,136 passing yards and 45 passing TDs. He is now the player-personnel director of the Jacksonville Jaguars. GAYLE HATCH Hatch and Skip Bertman are the only state residents to serve as head USA Olympic coaches. The USA men's weightlifting head coach at the 2004 Olympic Games, Hatch was inducted into the USA Strength and Conditioning Coaches Hall of Fame's inaugural 14member class in August 2003, along with Baton Rouge's Alvin Roy; and the USA Olympic Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame in April 2002. He received the
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NFL Strength & Conditioning Coaches' Society “President's Award” for his role in developing the profession at the 2005 NFL Combine. Hatch served as meet director of the 2000 USA Olympic Trials. In 2007-08, Hatch worked at LSU as basketball strength and conditioning coach after his program helped the 2006 Tigers reach the Final Four. The Baton Rouge resident has won 12 national Coach of the Year honors from USA Weightlifting. He has coached 43 national champion lifters who set numerous American and junior American records. Hatch was a dynamic basketball player for Northwestern State in 1960-62 who was drafted to play professionally. While at Northwestern, Hatch led the Demons in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage before he was chosen by the Chicago Majors of the American Basketball League, forerunner of the American Basketball Association which eventually merged with the NBA. JOEL HAWKINS An ultra-successful high school basketball coach at Southern Lab (Baton Rouge), Lake Providence and G.W. Griffin (Lake Providence) with a career record of 1,071-263 (.803) through 2007. A win in the Class 1A title game with Southern Lab over Plain Dealing in March 2005 made Hawkins the all-time wins leader in Louisiana high school basketball history, passing Hall of Famer Leslie Gaudet of Pine Prairie, who had 1,026 wins. Hawkins began his coaching career in 1965 at his alma mater, G.W. Griffin High, and moved to Lake Providence High a few years later when the schools were combined during integration. He has been the boys coach at Southern Lab since 1989, winning 11 state championships in a 13 year span. A 1985 title at Lake Providence gives Hawkins 12 state crowns to go along with 39 winning seasons and 21 district titles. Hawkins was inducted into the LHSAA-LHSCA Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2003, he coached LeBron James and Chris Paul in the Michael Jordan Classic. ELVIN HAYES A Rayville native inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame, Hayes was a three-time All-America at the University of Houston and was The Sporting News Basketball College Player of the Year in 1968, when he averaged 36.8 points a game. In three varsity seasons at Houston, he averaged 31 points a game and had 1,602 rebounds. A first-round NBA draft pick, he played for 16 seasons and was All-NBA six times. He played in 12 All-Star games. Hayes led the league in scoring as a rookie and was the NBA’s leading rebounder in both the 1970 and 1974 seasons. ED HEAD Head was born in 1918 in Selma, La. He was a left-hander as a youngster, but a serious injury forced him to become a right-handed pitcher. Head went with the old Brooklyn Dodger organization in 1940 and was sent to Montreal of the International League in 1941 where he won 18 and lost 8, leading the team to the International League title. He won four games in the playoffs. He pitched for the Dodgers from 1942 until 1946 and had a no-hitter against the Boston Braves in 1946. BOBBY HEBERT “The Cajun Cannon” spent 11 seasons in the NFL with the Saints (1985-89, 1990-92) and Atlanta (1993-96) following three years in the USFL, leading Michigan to the inaugural USFL title and being named championship game MVP as a rookie. Hebert had a 49-26 (.653) record as the Saints’ starting quarterback, leading the club to its best record and only division title. In high school, Hebert led South Lafourche to the Class 4A championship, then was an honorable mention AllAmerica at Northwestern State while setting single-season and single-game passing records. In his NFL
James “Shack” Harris was the first black quarterback to open the season as a starter and complete a season as a starter in the NFL.
career, he completed 60 percent (1,856-3,104) for 21,683 yards, 135 TDs. He had 15 NFL games with 275+ yards passing. JAY HEBERT Jay won the PGA Championship in 1960 to make he and his brother Lionel the first brothers to win the prestigious title. He also won the Texas Open in 1957, Lafayette Open in 1958, Orange County Open in 1959 and the Houston Classic and American Golf Classic in 1961. He was a member of the Ryder Cup team in 1959 and 1961. Runner-up in the 1960 Tournament of Champions, Jay also finished second in the 1955 St. Petersburg Open, 1957 Los Angeles Open, 1958 Canadian Open and several other events. LIONEL HEBERT PGA champion in 1957, Lionel won the Cajun Classic in 1960, the Tucson Open in 1958, Memphis Open in 1962 and Citrus Tournament in 1966. He was runner-up in St. Petersburg in 1956, the Azalea Open and Oklahoma City Open in 1964 and White-marsh Open in 1963. A member of the U.S. Ryder Cup in 1957, Lionel was chairman of the PGA Tournament Committee in 1962-63 and 1972-73. A golf pro since 1950, Lionel was active on the senior tour. Lionel and Jay were runner-up in the 1965 National PGA 4-Ball. CHARLIE HENNIGAN Hennigan, a collegiate football and track star at Northwestern, played for the Houston Oilers from 1960 through 1966. With the AFL Oilers, Hennigan caught 410 passes for 6,723 yards and 51 touchdowns. An AllAFL choice three times, Hennigan set pro football records for yards gained receiving in a season with
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Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers 1,146 (1,700)in 1961 and receptions in a season with 101 in 1964. His AFL single game record of 272 yards receiving against the Patriots in 1961 still ranks highly in the pro football records. TOMMY HENRY Before he retired in 2007 after his 24th year as commissioner of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association, Henry emerged as one of the most progressive high school athletic commissioners in the nation. During his tenure the LHSAA became a self-efficient legislative organization. Henry was named the LHSAA's third commissioner in 1983 after having served as an assistant commissioner since 1976. He founded the Superdome Classic football championships in his first year as commissioner and steered state championship events to many outstanding venues around the state. Prior to his tenure, many of the state championship competitions were held at high schools. Henry secured a major television contract for championship events. Among other administrative highlights, Henry upgraded the football and basketball officials programs establishing scouting and critiquing of officials; established a wild-card program in football, girls and boys basketball, and in baseball and softball; established hardship eligibility and appeals programs; and re-wrote the LHSAA handbook in 1991-92, the first major revision in the then 72-year history of the organization. A native of Alexandria and a graduate of Bolton High School and Northwestern State, Henry was a teacher and coach at Bossier High from 1963-75, guiding one of the state's top prep baseball programs. PETE HERMAN A native of New Orleans, Herman had 134 professional fights. He won 59 times and lost only 12. Six were draws, and the others “no-decisions.” In the 134 fights, he was stopped only once while knocking out 19 opponents. He won the world bantamweight championship in 1917, lost it in 1920 but regained the title by defeating Joe Lynch in 1922 because of blindness. He was enshrined in the National Boxing Hall of Fame in 1959. DALTON HILLIARD One of the golden figures in state sports history, Hilliard was one of LSU's greatest running backs and led the New Orleans Saints into the NFL playoffs. A Patterson native, Hilliard is the fourth-leading rusher in Southeastern Conference history and the all-time leader at LSU with 4,050 yards and 302 points. A three-time AllSEC pick, Hilliard set NCAA freshman records with 16 touchdowns and 96 points in 1982. The 5-8, 195pounder is the second-leading rusher in Saints history with 4,164 yards, just 104 yards out of first place after his eight pro seasons. He led the Saints in career rushing attempts, total TDs (53) and rushing TDs (39). In 1989, he led the NFL with 13 TDs in a Pro Bowl season. TOM HINTON The first Louisianan in the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame, Hinton was a five-time all-star offensive guard for the British Columbia Lions during nine pro seasons, including a 1964 Grey Cup title. Also picked for the Lions Dream Team spanning 39 years in 1993, Hinton became only the fifth football player elected to the B.C. Hall of Fame, even though it had been in existence 26 years and the Lions were 38 years old at the time. A high school All-American at Ruston High who was also all-state in track, he was a Louisiana Tech standout in both sports, winning All-GSC honors four years, three times unanimously. He was a three-year honorable mention All-American and won NAIA AllAmerica honors as a senior in 1957. Named the GSC Athlete of the Year in 1957, he was the first Tech player in the Blue-Gray All-Star Game and was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals in the NFL and the B.C. Lions.
FRED HOBDY Hobdy is the state's all-time winningest college basketball coach and led Grambling to the 1961 NAIA championship. He was Grambling's head coach for 30 years (1956-86) with a 567-287 (.664) record. He won 10 conference championships (8 in the Southwestern Athletic, 2 in the Midwest), led the Tigers to 14 national tournaments (including the major college NIT in 1980) and won the 1961 NAIA title. His Tiger teams won six regional or district NCAA or NAIA titles. He is credited with discovering and launching the career of all-time great Willis Reed. SONJA HOGG Starting from scratch, without any previous basketball experience, Sonja Hogg engineered the development of one of the country's iconic women's basketball programs, the Lady Techsters of Louisiana Tech. The Alexandria native was the first head coach, coined the nickname of Lady Techsters while also teaching in the College of Education, and became Women's Athletic Director in 1976 and continued coaching at the same time. Her overall coaching record at Tech was 307 wins and 55 losses in 11 seasons (1974-85), featuring six consecutive Final Four appearances (1978-1984), including two national championships. In 1981, Tech won the AIAW national crown while posting perfect record of 34-0 and then rolled to the first ever NCAA sanctioned national title in 1982 with mark of 35-1. The Techsters had a national record winning streak of 54 games during her stay at the school. Hogg 's 1980 team set a national mark for most wins in a single season with 40. BOB HOPKINS Hopkins, a 6-10, 210 pounder from Jonesboro, scored 3,759 points in 126 basketball games at Grambling for a career average of 29.1 a game. At one time, he held NCAA and NAIA college basketball records for the most points scored with 3,759, most field goals made with 1,292, most free throws made with 953 and most rebounds with 2,191. His remarkable career point total of 3,759 is still a state record. Hopkins played pro basketball for Syracuse. CAL HUBBARD A 225-pound lineman at Centenary College in 1922-2324, Hubbard was the school’s first All-American. In his first collegiate game, he returned a kickoff for a touchdown, but his greatest game was in an upset against Maj. Frank Kavanaugh’s Boston College team. Hubbard left Centenary to accompany Coach Bo McMillin to Geneva College. He later became an alltime great professional player with the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants. Hubbard later spent 10 years as a Major League Baseball umpire. He is the only person enshrined in both the NFL Hall of Fame and the Baseball Hall of Fame. STAN HUMPHRIES Humphries quarterbacked Louisiana-Monroe (then Northeast Louisiana University) to the NCAA Division IAA Championship in 1987 (the only I-AA championship ever won by a Louisiana team) and led the San Diego Chargers to their only Super Bowl appearance in 1995. He retired in 1998 for health reasons after a 10-year NFL career. Humphries led the Chargers to three playoff appearances and ended his career ranked third on the Chargers all-time regular-season passing list. Noted for his toughness and leadership, he was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame in 2002. A Shreveport native, he was a prep all-American at Southwood High, signed with LSU, then transferred to ULM. In only two seasons he threw for 4395 yards and 29 touchdowns, figures which ranked No. 2 among ULM quarterbacks at the time he completed his career (these statistics do not
2010 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration
include playoff games). Humphries is a member of the ULM Hall of Fame and one of only two Warhawks football greats to have his number retired. LUKE JACKSON Luke Jackson launched his sensational basketball career at Morehouse High School in Bastrop. The 6foot-9 lefty left Louisiana to become a college AllAmerican at Texas-Pan American, a member of the 1964 USA Olympic gold-medal basketball team and the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1965 with the Philadelphia 76ers. Jackson, whose Pan American uniform is on display at the Basketball Hall of Fame, became the first Louisiana prep basketball player to win Olympic gold. Jackson won a national NAIA title in 1963 as a junior at Pan American, and was a starting forward on the 76ers' squad that claimed the 1967 NBA title. That team was voted the best in the first 50 years of the NBA. He played eight pro seasons. RICH JACKSON Jackson was an All-Pro defensive end for the Denver Broncos. A Southern University graduate, the New Orleans native is on Mile High Stadium’s Ring of Honor as one of the Denver Broncos’ all-time best players. He joined the Broncos in 1967 and made All-Pro at defensive end four consecutive seasons (1968-71). Writer Paul Zimmerman of Sports Illustrated chose him on the magazine’s all-time All-Pro team selected as part of the publication’s 40th anniversary celebration in 1993. RICKEY JACKSON A durable six-time All-Pro linebacker (1983-86, 199293), Rickey Jackson was the heart and soul of the New Orleans Saints' defense from 1981-94. He spent the last two of his 15 NFL seasons with San Francisco, helping the 49ers win Super Bowl XXIX. Jackson had 128 official career sacks, getting his first 8 before it became an NFL statistic. He still ranks seventh in NFL history in that category. A second-round NFL Draft pick from Pitt, he also averaged 85 tackles for New Orleans. Jackson ranks second all-time in NFL history with 28 fumble recoveries, including a club-record 26 for the Saints. He played in 227 NFL games and started all 195 games he played in for New Orleans. DANA JENKINS Jenkins was one of the nation’s outstanding high school and college sprinters in the early 1900’s. He established eight high school track and field records before his senior year at Eunice. Jenkins entered Louisiana State University in 1916 and led LSU to outstanding seasons in the old Southern Amateur Athletic Union from 1916 until 1918. At LSU, he established records in the 50, 100, 220 and 440 yard dashes, 220 low hurdles, broad jump and triple jump. KATHY JOHNSON (CLARKE) Clarke is one of only three American women to win an individual medal in both World Championship and Olympic gymnastics competition. At 16, she moved near Shreveport to train. An All-American at Centenary College in 1978 and 1979, Kathy Johnson made the U.S. Olympic team in 1980 and won two medals in the 1984 Games, taking a team silver and an individual bronze on the balance beam. She is one of only five U.S. women to win an individual Olympic medal. She was the 1984 USA Olympic gymnastics team captain and twice was named America’s Gymnast of the Year (1977, 1985). She has also been a network analyst for ABC and ESPN. GARY "BIG HANDS" JOHNSON A Bossier City native and Grambling football AllAmerican, Johnson made four Pro Bowl appearances during an 11-year NFL career with San Diego and San
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Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers Francisco, playing for the 49ers' 1984 Super Bowl Champions. The 6-2, 251-pounder had 72-1/2 sacks for 659 lost yards and recovered 11 fumbles as a pro. He made The Sporting News NFL All-Star Team in 1980 with 17-1/2 sacks. As a senior at Grambling, Johnson had 134 tackles to earn his third straight All-America award and the Sheridan Black College Defensive Player of the Year Award.
DWIGHT “BO” LAMAR Lamar earned All-American honors three times during his career at Southwestern Louisiana in 1969 through 1973. He averaged 31.2 points a game, and his 3,493point career total is second only to Pete Maravich in both the state and the nation in major college rankings. As a sophomore, he led the nation’s college division teams in scoring with a 36.0 average, and he led the country’s university division as a junior with a 36.3 average. Lamar led USL to a 74-13 record in his three final seasons and later played in the NBA and ABA.
CHARLIE JOINER Born in Many, raised in Lake Charles, and a star receiver for Grambling, Joiner held NFL records for catches (750) and reception yardage (12,146) when he retired in 1986 after 18 seasons as a pro. He set league records for most games played by a receiver (239) and had a streak of 194 consecutive games played. Joiner played three seasons with Houston, four with Cincinnati and joined the San Diego Chargers in 1976, where he earned trips to the Pro Bowl in 1976, 1979 and 1980. BERT JONES A Ruston native, Jones played in the NFL for 10 years, and he was All-Pro three times. The NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 1976, he had 1,430 completions in 2,551 attempts in his pro career for 18,190 yards and 124 touchdowns. Jones was a Sporting News AllAmerican at LSU, where he had 220 completions and 418 attempts for 3,225 yards and 28 TD’s. He was a No. 1 draft choice of the Colts in 1973. Jones joins his dad, Dub, as the first father-son members of the Hall of Fame. DUB JONES An All-American back at Tulane in 1944, Jones played in the 1950’s on some of the Cleveland Browns’ greatest teams. He was selected as an All-Pro in 1951 and played in the 1952 Pro Bowl. Jones is still in the Browns’ record books for scoring six touchdowns in a single game against the Bears in 1951 and for 10 pass receptions in a game against the Redskins in 1950. Father of LSU All-American and pro star Bert Jones, Dub served as an assistant coach for the Browns under Blanton Collier when his playing days ended. ESTHER JONES A 21-time All-American for the nationally-acclaimed LSU women’s track and field team from 1988-91, Jones is the most decorated athlete -- male or female -- in the history of the sport at the school. Jones helped the Lady Tigers claim six national titles (four outdoor and two indoor) during her four-year career. A native of Chicago who grew up in Milwaukee, she was a dominant short sprinter and a force in relays. She won 10 Southeastern Conference titles. Jones won a gold medal with the U.S. 4 x 100 team in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. LAWRENCE “BIFF” JONES Biff Jones coached football at LSU from 1932 through 1934, guiding the Tigers to a 20-5-5 record. In 1933, his Bengals were tied twice but unbeaten in a nine-game season. A native of Washington, D.C., Jones captained the 1915 West Point Cadets. He was head coach at West Point, Oklahoma and Nebraska and had a career record of 87 wins, 33 defeats and 14 ties. He’s best remembered for a rhubarb with Gov. Huey P. Long when Jones ran the governor from LSU’s dressing room in the 1934 Tulane game. KEN KAVANAUGH Kavanaugh was one of the country’s outstanding ends while playing for LSU in the late 1930’s. He was AllSoutheastern Conference in 1938 and 1939 and AllAmerican in 1939. Kavanaugh led the team in scoring in 1938-39 and made the longest touchdown run in modern LSU football history, a 100-yard gallop with a fumble against Rice in 1937. Kavanaugh was later an
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MAXIE LAMBRIGHT Lambright guided Louisiana Tech to national football prominence during his 1967 through 1978 tenure as head coach with a record of 95-36-2 for a winning mark of 73 percent. His teams won seven conference championships, including six of the last eight years he coached after Tech joined the Southland Conference in 1971. His teams won five national championships, and Lambright guided Tech to the nation’s longest winning streak of 23 games in 1973-74. His teams were 44-4 from 1971 through 1974 and 12-0 in 1972.
Ruston native Bert Jones played 10 seasons in the NFL and earned All-Pro honors three times. He was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.
outstanding professional player with the Chicago Bears. At LSU, he was a star baseball player from 1938 through 1940. PAM KELLY (FLOWERS) Kelly became only the fourth woman elected to the Hall. Kelly was a three-time Kodak All-America women's basketball star at Louisiana Tech and won the Margaret Wade Trophy as the country's top player in 1982. A Columbia native, the 6-footer helped Louisiana Tech to four "Final Four" appearances and a record 54-game winning streak along with national championships in 1981 and 1982. Her 2,979 points and 1,511 rebounds are career records at Tech. She averaged 19.5 points and 9.9 rebounds in her 153-game career while shooting 62.3 percent from the field. KENNY KONZ A speedy defensive back in the LSU Hall of Fame, Konz was LSU’s MVP in 1950 and played on three world championship teams with the Cleveland Browns. The MVP in the 1950 Blue-Gray Classic, Konz was a No. 1 draft pick for Cleveland. He led, or shared the team lead, in interceptions in five of his seven pro seasons. After topping the NFL in punt returns with a 14.4 average, Konz played in the 1956 Pro Bowl. The Texas native and New Orleans resident also averaged almost 40 yards as a punter in one NFL season. ERNIE LADD Ladd, a Grambling product, was an All-AFL defensive tackle in an eight-year pro football career. He appeared in four straight AFL All-Star games from 1962-65. Ladd, nicknamed "The Big Cat" because of his remarkable size (6-foot-9, 325 pounds) and agility, did not miss a game in his pro career. Ladd joined the San Diego Chargers in 1961 and played on their AFL championship team in 1963. He capped his career as a member of the powerful Kansas City Chiefs, where he played alongside Buck Buchanan. He became a popular professional wrestler at age 30 and is in the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame.
HANK LAURICELLA Lauricella was an All-American running back at the University of Tennessee from 1949 through 1951 and was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in his senior season. He gained more than 2,500 yards in total offense for the Vols and in Tennessee’s 1951 Cotton Bowl win over Texas had 131 yards, including a 75-yard run. Lauricella, a member of the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame, averaged five yards a carry during his career at Tennessee and scored 29 touchdowns. He later served in the Louisiana state senate. LESTER LAUTENSCHLAGER A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Lautenschlaeger was Tulane’s quarterback for four seasons and captain of the Greenie baseball team. He holds Tulane’s single game record for two touchdowns on punt returns set in 1925 and also scored four touchdowns in one game to share a Tulane record. An honorable mention Grantland Rice All-American, he had a 95-yard touchdown run against North Carolina in 1922. Lautenschlaeger later coached such Tulane stars as Monk Simons and Don Zimmerman. JANICE LAWRENCE (BRAXTON) A first-team pick on the LSWA’s All-Century AllLouisiana Women’s Collegiate Basketball Team chosen in 1999, she was a seven-time All-Europe star who didn’t stop playing professionally until 2001. Considered perhaps the greatest Lady Techster player ever, Lawrence starred from 1980-84 and was a two-time Kodak All-American (1983, 84), the 1984 Wade Trophy winner, the 1982 NCAA Final Four MVP, a three-time Final Four All-Tournament pick (1982, 1983, 1984), twice NCAA Regional MVP (1983, 1984) and three times on the NCAA All-Regional Team (1982, 1983, 1984). She was the second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer for the gold-medal winning 1984 USA Olympic team. An athletic post player, Lawence led Tech to a mark of 130-6, 4 Final Fours and 2 National Championships. WALTER LEDET As head track and field coach and assistant football coach at Northwestern State, Ledet built the state's dominant track program for more than a decade and helped shape the remarkable careers of three Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame members -- Charlie Hennigan, Jackie Smith and Charlie Tolar. Ledet, Northwestern's first football All-American as a guard in 1938, was a second-round NFL Draft pick by Philadelphia. As head track coach from1952-64, Ledet led the Demon thinclads to
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Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers five straight Gulf States Conference titles from 1953-57 -- missing a sixth title by half a point.
for a 25.2 average in 1970-71 and for career scoring with 12,623.
the first TD pass in Super Bowl history, a 37-yard toss from Hall of Famer Bart Starr.
BILL LEE Lee went from Plaquemine to the Chicago Cub organization in 1933. He won 20 games as a pitcher at Columbus his first season in baseball and moved up to the Cubs the next year. He went 20-6 in 1935 and 22-9 in 1938, leading the Cubs to the pennant both years. Several other years, he won between 17 and 19 games. After nine years with the Cubs, Lee spent three seasons with the Phillies and Braves before returning to the Cubs to finish out his active playing career.
BOBBY LOWTHER Lowther is the only two-sport All-America athlete in LSU's storied sports history. In 1946, he made the Helms Foundation basketball All-America squad and was a two-event All-American in track and field, finishing second at the NCAA Championships in the javelin and fourth in the pole vault. The 6-foot-5, 185-pound Alexandria native was also the triple jump champion at the 1946 National AAU Championships. He was voted LSU's "Best All-Around Athlete" in 1947 over future Louisiana Hall of Fame members Y.A. Tittle, Al Dark and Joe Adcock.
JIMMY McGONAGILL From 1945 to 1959, McGonagill won the La. State Amateur golf title nine times, including five straight titles from 1948 through 1951. During that same period, he won 110 tournaments and was a medalist in 30. He qualified and played in five National Opens and four National Amateurs. He played in the Masters in 1950 and won the Louisiana Pro championship in 1938 and 1940. He and son Pat won the U.S. Father and Son championship twice. He had 12 holes in one and two double eagles in his career and held stroke records at 37 courses. He won the 1975 Heart of Ohio Amateur Championship.
EUN JUNG LEE (OK) Nobody who ever saw Eun Jung Lee play college basketball will ever forget her dazzling, crowd-pleasing style. A concensus All-America point guard at Northeast Louisiana University, she led the Lady Indians to a fouryear 102-15 record. In 1985, NLU was 30-2 and reached the NCAA Final Four. She finished her career with 2,208 points (18.8 average), 878 assists (7.5 average) and 297 steals (2.5 average). A four-time pick as the Southland Conference Player of the Year, she led the conference in assists all four seasons, with a high average of 10.3 as a sophomore and a single-game best of 17 vs. LSU and Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer Joyce Walker. She played professionally in Europe. ALBERT LEWIS A four-time Pro Bowler, Lewis was a cornerback and safety who played 16 NFL seasons with Kansas City (1983-93) and Oakland (1994-98) after a stellar career at Grambling, where he was a first-team All-SWAC pick his final two seasons. The Mansfield native was a thirdround draft pick of the Chiefs in 1983 and earned AP AllPro honors in 1989 and ’90 and went to four straight Pro Bowls (1988-91). He played in 225 NFL games and finished with 42 interceptions, 123 passes defensed, 13 sacks and 13 forced fumbles. He ranks fifth on the Chiefs’ all-time interceptions list with 38, leading them in that category in 1985 (8), 1989 (4) and 1993 (6). A 10year starter for Chiefs, he was chosen to that team’s “40 Years in Kansas City” 40-man squad in 2002. Lewis was also one of 75 players on the initial Pro Football Hall of Fame ballot for 2003. FRANK LEWIS A Houma (Southdown High) product who starred as a running back/wingback/wide receiver at Grambling State University, then played 13 NFL seasons - seven with the Pittsburgh Steelers and six with the Buffalo Bills. He was a first-round draft pick by the Steelers in 1971. In his NFL career, he caught 397 passes for 6,724 yards and 40 touchdowns. He played on two Super Bowl championship teams. In his top pro season, he caught 70 passes for 1,244 yards (four touchdowns) in 1981. He earned a Pro Bowl start that year and made the All-AFC team chosen by UPI. He broke the Buffalo single-season records for passes caught and the number of yards that year. He was the first player in NFL history to gain 100 yards receiving in postseason games for two different teams. At Grambling, he had 42 career touchdowns, earned third-team Little All-America honors as a senior and twice made the All-Southwestern Athletic Conference team. He rushed for 1,428 yards, an average of 10.8 per carry. BOB LOVE Love, a Bastrop native and Southern University star, was known during his playing days as “Butter-bean.” He was All-South and NAIA All-American after his 1965 senior season at Southern. A fourth round NBA pick in 1965, Love had his greatest years with Chicago, leading the team in scoring seven straight seasons. In nine years with the Bulls, he averaged 21.3 points. He set Chicago records for most points in a season with 2,043
JOHNNY LYNCH Lynch is the only referee to officiate in all of the major bowl games. He worked in the Southeastern Conference from 1946 through 1961. Lynch officiated in the Orange Bowl in 1942, 1947 and 1951, the Sugar Bowl in 1944 and 1959, the Rose Bowl in 1945, the Cotton Bowl in 1955 and the Gator Bowl in 1952. Lynch helped form the Louisiana High School Officials Association, and he started officiating college games in 1931. He was president, vice-president and chief of referees for the Southeastern Conference. TED LYONS Born in 1900 at Lake Charles, Lyons pitched for the Chicago White Sox from 1923 until 1946 and managed the Chicago team from 1946 to 1948. A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, he won 260 games for the White Sox and had an ERA of 3.67 in 4,162 innings. He had a no-hit game against Boston in 1926 and led the league in shutouts in 1925 and 1940. He led the American League in ERA in 1942 with a 2.10 clip. He posted more than 20 victories in three seasons (1925, 1927 and 1930). CHARLIE McCLENDON In 18 years as LSU’s head football coach, McClendon led the Tigers to more victories and more bowl appearances than any coach in LSU history. He compiled a record of 137 wins, 59 losses and 7 ties for a winning percentage of .698. While guiding the Tigers to 13 bowl engagements, McClendon produced 17 first-team AllAmericans. After leaving LSU in 1979, he became executive director of the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Fla., and later served as executive director of the American Football Coaches Association. RICHARD “DICK” McCLOSKEY McCloskey coached Hanson Memorial of Franklin for 39 years (1947-85), becoming the winningest high school football coach in Louisiana late in his career and finishing with a record of 286-141-6 (.667). His 271st victory -- on Sept. 7, 1984, 13-9 over University High of Baton Rouge -- broke the record of L.J. “Hoss” Garrett of Ruston. McCloskey coached 21 teams into the state playoffs, the last 12 in a row. His 1976 team won the Class A state title with a 13-2 record. His next best year was 11-3 in 1983 and his 1984 team reached the state semifinals. He is in the LHSAA-LHSCA Hall of Fame. He died in 1986. MAX McGEE McGee is a Texas native who played college football at Tulane and later starred on Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers teams. He led the Packers in receiving four times and grabbed 342 passes for 6,410 yards and 51 TD’s in 11 seasons with Green Bay. A member of the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame, he played on five NFL championship teams, including both Packer Super Bowl wins. At Tulane, he averaged 4.4 yards per carry as a running back and also handled kickoff and punt returns. He played in the 1953 Blue-Gray game. McGee caught
2010 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration
ALVIN “BO” McMILLIN McMillin was a standout halfback for Centre College’s famed “Praying Colonels,” and won prominence as a coach at Centenary, Geneva College, Kansas State, Indiana and in the professional ranks. He coached at Centenary from 1922 to 1925, guiding the Gents to a 253 record and coached at Indiana for 14 years, winning the conference championship in 1945. He was head coach of the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles from 1948 until 1951. McMillin was a native of Prairie Hill, Texas. RUDY MACKLIN The first All-American of the Dale Brown coaching era at LSU, Macklin came out of Louisville, Ky., to become a four-year starter for the Tigers. He finished as the No. 1 rebounder in LSU school history (1,276 in 123 games and 10.4 average) and as the No. 2 scorer (2,080 points and 16.9 average). His point total stands behind only Pete Maravich’s 3,667 points. Macklin was a third-team All-SEC pick as a freshman, first team his last three seasons and was the SEC Player of the Year in 1981 when LSU made the NCAA Tournament and Final Four. He was a third-round NBA draft pick by Atlanta in 1981 and played three seasons in the league, two with the Atlanta Hawks and one with the New York Knicks. CARL MADDOX A Natchitoches native, Maddox was athletic director at LSU from 1968 to 1979. During his tenure, Tiger Stadium was expanded and the LSU Assembly Center was constructed. Five men’s sports were added at the university level while he was AD, and he was also instrumental in the establishment of five women’s varsity sports. When Maddox reached the mandatory retirement age at LSU, he was appointed AD at Mississippi State, where he guided a program of unprecedented expansion. Maddox coached football before becoming an AD. RON MAESTRI In 14 seasons as baseball coach, Maestri developed a fledgling University of New Orleans program into a national power, posting an overall 518-247-1 (.677) record and reaching nine NCAA Tournaments. UNO finished second in the 1975 Division II World Series and tied for fifth in the 1984 Division I CWS. Six of Maestri's players reached the major leagues and another 40 played professionally. UNO ranked among college baseball's attendance leaders three times. Coach of the 1981 USA team that played in the Far East, Maestri was inducted in the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1991. FAIZE MAHFOUZ The first high school coach to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, Mahfouz coached at Eunice High for 22 years and had 20 winning seasons. He later took over a New Iberia team that had lost 29 consecutive games and turned the program around. Known as an offensive
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Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers OLIVER MARCELLE Nicknamed "The Ghost of New Orleans," Marcelle was one of the great players in Negro League baseball in the 1920s. A 1952 Pittsburgh Courier poll named the Thibodaux native as the Negro League's greatest third baseman, ahead of future Baseball Hall of Famers Ray Dandridge and Judy Johnson. When he and Johnson teamed for five years in winter ball, Johnson played second base. Marcelle had a Negro League lifetime average of .310 from 1919-30, posted a .305 average in eight seasons in Cuba including a league-high .393 in 1923-24, and hit .333 in exhibitions against all-white major league teams. LEONARD MARSHALL A two-time Pro Bowl defensive end, Marshall is a Franklin native who played defensive end for LSU from1979-82 and was a second-round draft pick of the New York Giants in 1983. He blossomed into a highly regarded pro player in 12 NFL seasons with the Giants (1983-92), New York Jets (1993) and Washington Redskins (1994). A two-time Pro Bowl pick in 1986 and 1987, he helped the Giants win two Super Bowls (XXI, XXV) and led the team in sacks twice, recording 15 1/2 in 1985 and 11 in 1991, He also had 12 sacks in 1986 when the Giants went on to win Super Bowl XXI. During his 10 seasons with the Giants, they ranked fifth or higher against the run five times and were in the league's top 10 in total defense seven times. ERIC MARTIN Martin set LSU’s all-time career receiving records before a 10-year NFL career, nine with New Orleans, highlighted by a Pro Bowl season in 1988. At LSU, was chosen as a member of the “Modern Day Team of the Century” in conjunction with the football program’s centennial in 1993. For the Tigers, He led the team in receiving in his last three seasons. In his junior year, he caught 52 passes for 1,064 yards and 5 TDs, earning Sporting News All-America honors and LSU’s Offensive MVP award. He twice made All-SEC. After going in the seventh round of the 1985 NFL Draft to the Saints, he started 11 games as a rookie. The 6-1, 207-pounder led New Orleans in receiving for seven straight years (1987-93). He caught at least one pass in 107 consecutive games (105 with New Orleans). In 1988, Martin set club records for receptions (85) and yards (1,083) with 7 TDs. He broke the yardage record in 1989 with 1,090 and that mark remains standing.
Hall of Famer Kim Mulkey led the Baylor Bears to the 2005 NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship.
innovator, Mahfouz was the first prep coach in the state to install the Wing-T and SplitT, and he spoke at coaching clinics nationwide. He servcd as both president and vice president of the Louisiana High School Coaches Association. KARL MALONE Selected as an all-star 13 times in 19 NBA seasons, Malone ranks among the league's all-time great scorers and rebounders. The Summerfield native scored 36,928 points (second all-time behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 38,387) and pulled down 14,968 rebounds (sixth all-time) in 18 seasons with the Utah Jazz and one with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was also a member of the fabled USA “Dream Team” that won gold in the 1992 Olympic Games, and returned for another gold medal in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. A first-round draft pick of the Jazz in 1985, he averaged 25.0 points and 10.1 rebounds a game for his career. During a legendary college career at Louisiana Tech, he averaged 18.7 points, hitting on 57 percent of his field-goal attempts, and 9.3 rebounds in 92 career games. ARCHIE MANNING The New Orleans Saints’ first-round draft choice out of Ole Miss in 1971, Manning played for the Saints until 1982, when he was traded to the Oilers. He was Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player in the National Football Conference in 1978 and played in two Pro Bowls. He passed for 21,734 yards and 115 touchdowns as a Saint and ran for 2,058 yards and 13 touchdowns. Manning had three consecutive 3,000yard-plus passing seasons from 1978 through 1980 and 12 straight games with at least one TD pass in 1978-79. PETE MARAVICH Pistol Pete was a three-time basketball All-American at LSU. He averaged 44.2 points a game during his 1967-1970 career, and his 3,667 career total is still a Division I record. Later a standout in the NBA, Maravich still holds numerous LSU records, including most points in a game with 69, most field goals with 26, most free throws with 30, most points in a season with 1,318 in 1969-70 and most career points. He was an NBA All-Rookie in 1971 and played in five All-Star games during his pro career.
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TOMMY MASON An All-American running back for Tulane University in 1960 and a participant in several post-season all-star games, Mason became one of the first stars of the Minnesota Vikings expansion team in the NFL. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder led the Vikings in rushing for two years and played in three pro Bowls in 1962, 1963 and 1964. In his 11year professional career with Minnesota, Los Angeles and Washington, Mason rushed for 4,203 yards, caught 214 passes for 2,324 additional yards and scored 45 touchdowns. ABE MICKAL Abe Mickal, who grew up in McComb, Miss., is an LSU football legend. A dazzling passer and deadly place-kicker, Mickal led LSU to a 23-3-3 record from 1933 through 1935. Feared by opponents for his ability to unleash the long bomb, Mickal led LSU in scoring in 1933 and was twice all-SEC. He established a long-standing record of 18 straight PAT’s without a miss. Huey Long took a special liking to Mickal and made a State Senator of Abe for a brief period while Mickal was still at LSU. ROD MILBURN An All-American hurdler at Southern University, Milburn was the Olympic Games high hurdles gold medalist in 1972 at Munich. He tied an Olympic record of 13.24 but 13 times in his career was clocked at 13.0. In 1970 and 1971, Milburn won 78 straight races and was named “Most Outstanding Athlete in the World” in 1971. He swept four major titles in one year—NCAA Division I and II, NAIA and AAU. A member of the NAIA Hall of Fame, he was chosen in 1972 for the Jim Corbett Award as the state’s top college athlete. FRED MILLER A star tackle on the fabled 1957 Homer High “Iron Men” state runner-up team, Miller became an All-American defender at LSU from 1960-62. He led LSU to a Cotton Bowl upset of Texas as a senior, played in three postseason all-star games and instantly became a starter for the Baltimore Colts, holding that job throughout his 11-year NFL career (1963-74). He played in Pro Bowls in 1967, 1968 and 1969 and was captain of the 1970 Colt team that beat Dallas in the Super Bowl. SAM MILLS A five-time Pro Bowl selection, four while playing for the New Orleans Saints, Mills was nicknamed the "Field Mouse" by teammates because of his size (5-9, 225) and ability to make plays all over the field, especially from sideline to sideline. In a 12-year NFL career as a middle linebacker with the Saints (1986-94) and Carolina Panthers (199597), he recorded more than 100 tackles in eight seasons. Mills finished his career with 934 tackles while playing in 133 games during his nine years with the team.
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Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers BRIAN MITCHELL A standout quarterback at Plaquemine High School and UL-Lafayette, he went on to become one of the NFL’s greatest kick returners -- setting nine records while playing 14 seasons for the Washington Redskins (1990-99), Philadelphia Eagles (2000-02) and New York Giants (2003). Mitchell, a fifth-round draft pick, helped the Redskins win Super Bowl XXVI. When he retired in 2004, he held NFL career records for total kick return yards (19,013), combined kick returns (1,070), combined kick return touchdowns (13), kickoff return yards (14,014), punt return yards (4,999), kickoff returns (607), punt returns (463) and fair catches (231). He was also the leader in all-purpose yards (23,330) until Jerry Rice (23,546) passed him in 2004. At the age of 34, Mitchell averaged a career-best 27.0 yards on kickoffs and also averaged 12.3 yards on punts. He was a Pro Bowl pick in 1995. At ULL from 1986-89, Mitchell became the first quarterback in NCAA Division I history to pass for 5,000 yards and rush for 3,000 yards, finishing with 5,447 and 3,335, respectively, with both setting school marks. J.D. MOONEY Mooney, who died in 1966, rode the famed Black Gold to victory in the 1924 Kentucky Derby. He also guided Black Gold to wins in the Louisiana, Ohio State and Chicago Derbies and the Kentucky Derby Trial. Mooney rode for 10 years, posting 261 victories, placing second 258 times and finishing third on 280 occasions. Horses he rode were in the money 30 per cent of the time. Mooney and Black Gold were the subject of the popular book, “Black Gold.” The New Orleans native won the Louisiana Derby on Amole in 1923. BERNIE MOORE Former commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, Moore coached LSU to three national championships in three different sports between 1933 and 1936. He became head track coach at LSU in 1930, and his teams won 14 Southern and Southeastern titles. His Tiger football teams went 83-39-6, playing in three Sugar Bowls, the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl in the 1930’s and 1940’s. He won the national track title in 1933, basketball championship in 1935 and national football crown in 1936. JIM MORA The only successful head coach in Saints history, holding the job for 10 1⁄2 years (1986-'96). During that time, Mora coached the Saints to four playoff appearances and an overall record of 93-74 with a franchise that had never seen a playoff game or a winning season. In '87, Mora was named NFL Coach of the Year after leading New Orleans to a franchise-best 12-3 record. After serving as an assistant at Stanford, Colorado, UCLA and Washington, Mora's pro coaching career began in Seattle, where he was named the team's defensive line coach in 1978. Five years later, Mora got his first head coaching chance in the USFL, where he led the Philadelphia Stars to two consecutive league championships before departing for the NFL. After New Orleans, Mora took the Indianapolis Colts to NFL respectability before his coaching career ended after the 2001 season. AL MOREAU Moreau won international recognition both as a track and field star at LSU and later as the Tigers’ track coach. He was three times conference hurdles champion and was captain of the famous five-man LSU track team which won the national college title in 1933. Moreau was the world 110 meter high hurdles champion in 1935 with a time of 14.2 and won 13 straight races during a tour of Europe, including a 13.9. He coached LSU track teams to seven SEC titles between 1949 and 1963.
JACKIE MORELAND A charter member of the Louisiana Tech Athletic Hall of Fame, Moreland was Tech’s first basketball AllAmerican, winning the honor in 1958, 1959 and 1960. The Minden native finished his three-year career with 1,491 points and 1,124 rebounds. In three seasons at Tech, he had a 21.3 scoring average. At Minden High, he was twice a Prep All-American and established a national high school record of 5,000 points. Moreland, who died in 1971 at the age of 33, also had an outstanding professional career. JOHNNY MORRISS One of Louisiana's early track standouts, Morriss tied the NCAA high hurdles record of 14.6 in 1930. An AllAmerican at Southwestern Louisiana, he won the hurdles in 14.5 in the World Games in Italy. An alternate on the 1932 Olympic team, he toured Europe in 1933 and won 17 straight hurdles races, tying the world record of 14.3. After his athletic career, Morriss coached at Southwestern Louisiana, Arkansas, University of Houston and Houston Baptist. He coached seven members of Olympic teams and 72 All-Americans. KIM MULKEY The second woman inducted in the Hall of Fame, Mulkey was a crowd-pleasing, championship caliber point guard at Hammond High, Louisiana Tech and on the 1984 United States women’s basketball teams. She led Hammond to four state prep titles, guided Louisiana Tech to two national championships and four Final Four appearances and a 130-6 record, helped the U.S. win the 1984 Olympic gold medal, and coached Baylor to the 2005 NCAA National Championship. She won the Corbett Award as Louisiana’s top amateur athlete in 1984. A.W. MUMFORD Mumford coached Southern University football teams for 25 years—from 1936 through 1961—and compiled a record of 169-57-14. His Southern teams won or shared the league championship 11 times and won the national black college title four times. His total football record, which included stints at Bishop College, Jarvis Christian and Texas College, was 232-82-25. Mumford, who also coached basketball, baseball and track in his early years at Southern, produced 35 All-Americans. Many became pro stars. CHARLES "COTTON" NASH A four-sport star, "Cotton" Nash attended Lake Charles High School in 1958-60, was a three-time All-America basketball star at Kentucky and played pro basketball and baseball. He played end on a state champion football team at Lake Charles High, was twice the “Outstanding Player” on the Class AAA All-State basketball team and won the state discus title twice. A threetime basketball All-American, he was the first Kentucky player to score more than 20 points a game (22.7) in three straight seasons. Nash played in the NBA and in baseball’s major leagues. CALVIN NATT A Bastrop native and All-America star at Norhteast Louisiana, Calvin Natt was the eighth player taken in the 1979 NBA Draft and played 10 seasons in the pro ranks. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team and played in the 1985 NBA All-Star Game. He retired with a career scoring average of 17.5 points. At NLU, he was an AllAmerica pick who averaged 23.0 points and 11.9 rebounds in his career. The 6-5 Natt was the top scoring freshman in the country in 1976, averaging 20.6 points per game. His 2,581 points still ranks 29th best all-time in NCAA major college history.
2010 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration
Three-time basketball All-American Pete Maravich was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1984.
MEL OTT Ott left New Orleans at the age of 16 to join John McGraw’s New York Giants. For 22 years, he played outfield and third base for the Giants. During his career, Ott set a National League career home run mark of 511. He played in 2,739 major league games, drove in 1,860 runs and scored 1,859 runs. Ott starred in the 1933, 1936 and 1937 World Series and posted a lifetime batting average of .304. A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, he also had a lifetime fielding average of .974. EMMETT PARE' In his 37 seasons as the Tulane Green Wave coach, Tulane was 285-61-19, including a share of the 1959 NCAA Championship with Notre Dame. He produced 20 Southeastern Conference team champions, 14 SEC singles titles, six NCAA singles winners and two NCAA doubles champions. He also coached Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame player Ham Richardson, a Davis Cup star. Pare' won the National Clay Courts singles title in 1929 and turned pro two years later. He toured with the original Bill Tilden troupe and in 1933, the same year before he took the Tulane job, he won the National Professional doubles title. ROBERT PARISH A Shreveport native and Centenary All-American who was named to the NBA’s 50th Anniversity All-Time Team, Parish was a nine-time NBA All-Star with Boston and a four-time NBA champion (3 with Boston, 1997 with Chicago). After his retirement Aug. 25, 1997, Parish ranked 13th on the NBA all-time scoring list (23,334 career points), sixth in rebounds (14,715) and sixth in blocks (2,361). He holds NBA career marks for seasons (21), games (1,611) and defensive rebounds (10,117). His trademark “00” jersey was retired by the Celtics on Robert Parish Day (Jan. 28, 1998). From his rookie year of 1976-77 until his next-to-last season, Parish was able to play in 95 percent of his team’s games, missing only 73 games over 20 seasons. In 1982, he was second to Larry Bird in MVP voting.
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Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers RAYMOND "BUDDY" PARKER Parker was a star player on the Centenary College powerhouse football teams of the 1930s and played six seasons in the NFL before launching a great coaching career. He became Detroit's head coach in 1951, and starting a year later, the Lions won three straight division titles and two NFL championships with stars like Bobby Layne and Doak Walker. He took over the moribund Pittsburgh Steelers and posted a 51-48-6 record through 1964. His overall NFL coaching record was 115-74-9 through 14-plus years. MEL PARNELL A native of New Orleans, Parnell has been rated the greatest left-handed pitcher in the history of the Boston Red Sox. He pitched for Boston from 1947 through 1956, winning 123 games and losing 75. He had career bests of 25-7 in 1949 and 21-8 in 1953. Parnell threw a no-hitter against the White Sox in 1956. He coached Tulane’s baseball team in 1958 and was general manager of the New Orleans Pelicans in 1959 before rejoining the Red Sox to manage Alpine, Tex., and Seattle, Wash. farm clubs. WLLIE PASTRANO Pastrano won the light-heavyweight boxing championship in 1963 over Harold Johnson and successfully defended his title twice the following year against Gregorio Peralta and Terry Downes. He lost the title to Jose Torres in 1965 and retired from the ring. Pastrano, who campaigned as a heavyweight toward the end of his career, had 83 fights, winning 62, losing 13 and drawing in eight. He had 14 knockouts and won on 48 decisions. Pastrano lost 11 decisions but was knocked out only twice. MICKEY PATTERSON (TYLER) A New Orleans native, Patterson in 1948 became the first black American woman to win an Olympic medal by taking the bronze in the London Olympics in the 200 meter dash. After graduating from Gilbert Academy in New Orleans, she competed at Tennessee State and retained her undefeated record in prep and collegiate competition. She won the 200 at the 1948 U.S. Olympic Trials. She was named Woman Athlete of the Year by the Amateur Athletic Union. Patterson later became a driving force in track and field, managing a 1969 USA women’s team and serving as vice president of the AAU. JOHN PENNEL Pennel was the first pole vaulter to break the 17-foot barrier, and he held the world record in 1963 and his last one six years later. His first world standard was 16-3. The Northeast Louisiana University star cleared 17-0 3/4 in the Gold Coast AAU meet in Miami in 1963, and his last record was 17-10 1/4 in 1969. He competed in the 1964 and 1968 Olympics and was selected as the Athlete of the Year in the United States in 1963. WARREN PERKINS An iconic sports figure in New Orleans as an athlete and civic leader, Perkins was in the starting lineup for the first-ever NBA game featuring his Tri-City Blackhawks against the Denver Nuggets. He was the first basketball player enshrined in the Tulane Athletic Hall of Fame in 1977 (playing career from 1945-49) as one of 11 charter members and is also a member of the Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame. He is a three-sport
Tulane letterman. He set scoring records for the Green Wave. He is a member of the Louisiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Twice an All-SEC selection (1948, 1949). He played in the NBA for the Tri-City Blackhawks from 1949-51. CRAIG PERRET A New Orleans native who began riding quarter horses at the age of 10, he ranked 33rd all-time with 4,384 career wins (through the 2004 season). Has a career winning percentage of 16.26 in 26,955 races, earning $111,832,051 on those mounts. Won the 1987 Belmont Stakes on Bet Twice and the 1990 Kentucky Derby aboard Unbridled. Claimed the prestigious Eclipse Award (equivalent to the Heisman Trophy) as the top jockey of 1990, riding Unbridled, Housebuster, Safely Kept, Rhythm, and With Approval to Grade I victories. He guided Safely Kept to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint title in 1990 and capped the year by tying Jorge Velasquez’s record for most stakes wins in a single season (57). Also won Breeders©ˆ Cup races on Eillo (1984 Sprint) and Rhythm (1989 Juvenile) and rode Peteski to the Canadian Triple Crown in 1993. Recorded his 4,000th career win aboard Heloise at Turfway Park on Sept. 30, 1995. Was inducted into Fair Grounds Hall of Fame in New Orleans in 1994. JIMMY PERRIN Perrin, whose real name was James LaCava, was born in New Orleans in 1916. He was a member of the U.S. Olympic boxing team before entering the professional ranks. His greatest years in the ring came in 1939 and 1940. By late 1940, he had rolled up 46 victories and had been defeated only three times. He was one of the world’s most successful boxers in 1939, winning 12 of 13 bouts. Perrin laid claim to the featherweight title by beating Bobby Ruffin and Joey Archibald in 1940 fights. KIM PERROT Named to the LSWA’s 20-woman All-Century Team for women’s hoops, she starred at Louisiana-Lafayette in her hometown from 1986-90, played for Team USA and overseas and became a star in the first two years of the WNBA. She helped lead the Comets to back-to-back WNBA titles in her first two years in the league as the team's starting point guard. Perrot inspired the Comets to their third title despite being stricken with cancer and passing away in late August 1999. She etched her name into numerous spots in the Cajun record book as well as the NCAA record book. She registered 14 games in which she scored 30 or more points during her career. Perrot ended the 1989-90 season as the nation’s leading scorer with a 30.0 average. The Comets retired her No. 10 jersey, the WNBA’s Sportsmanship Award is named in her honor and the children’s treatment center at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is named “Kim’s Place.” She was an all-state performer at Acadiana HS in Lafayette. JOHN PETITBON A New Orleans native, John Petitbon had an amazing four-sport career at Jesuit High School, starred in football at Notre Dame and won an NFL championship in 1955 with the Cleveland Browns. In 1946, Jesuit won state titles in football, basketball, baseball and track behind Petitbon. The 1946 state MVP in football, he accounted for 50 touchdowns in his last two years. As a sophomore safety in 1949, he played for an unbeaten Notre Dame team that won a national title. In his last two years, Petitbon had 1,432 total yards and 10 TDs at halfback. In his pro career, delayed by the Korean War, he made 8 interceptions. His younger brother Richie is also in the Hall of Fame. RICHIE PETITBON A star Tulane quarterback, Richie Petitbon played 14 years in the NFL as a safety with Chicago -- helping the Bears win the 1963 NFL title -- Los Angeles, and Washington, helping the Redskins to the 1973 Super Bowl. Petitbon made four Pro Bowl appearances (1963, 1964, 1967, 1968), was All-Pro in 1963 and made the Sporting News All-NFL Western Conference first team in 1966. He had a career-high 8 interceptions with Chicago in 1963 and made 48 in his career. The New Orleans native helped coach the Redskins to Super Bowl titles in the 1982, 1987 and 1991 seasons. BOB PETTIT An All-American at Louisiana State University in 1953-54, Pettit went on to become one of the all-time great professional basketball stars and one of only four men to score over 20,000 points during his career in the NBA. He had 20,880. Pettit started with the Milwaukee team in 1954-55 and stayed with the Hawks for 10 more years in St. Louis. He was first team All-NBA every year he played except one and had a career scoring average of 26.4 points per game as a professional.
JELLY PIGOTT The girls prep basketball coach at Dry Prong, Selma, Greensburg and Jena, she made an indelible impact on state prep history as the Lady Giants coach. She coached at Jena from 1952 to 1970, averaging 35 wins a year and losing Three members of the 2006 induction class: Chuck Finley, Rick Robey and Eric Martin. no more than five games a season. Jena girls basketball became one of the state's premier high school programs in any sport during her reign. In 34 years of coaching her teams never had a losing season, winning about 90 percent of
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Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers their games. She had two one-loss seasons. Her teams won 29 district championships, six state titles and finished second three times, but no precise won-loss career record can be compiled. She is thought to have won 900+ games. She was the second girls basketball coach inducted to the LHSCA Hall of Fame (1980) a year after Edna Tarbutton was part of the first-ever induction class. A Northwestern State alumnus, she died in 1988. HOWIE POLLETT Pollett, a New Orleans native, gained fame as a member of the outstanding St. Louis Cardinals teams of the 1940’s. The stylish left-hander had a 14-year pitching record in the Major Leagues of 131-116 and a career ERA of 3.51. His best season was 1946 when he had a 21-10 record and helped the Cardinals win the World Series. He also had a 20-9 record in 1949 and led the National League in ERA in 1946. He closed out his career with the Pirates, Cubs and White Sox. HAROLD PORTER Harold Porter blazed into national track and field circles at USL after setting state sprint records at East Jefferson High. He was the state Class 3A 100 and 220yard dash champion in 1970, running a wind-aided 9.3 in the 100 to win the state title. He went on to set eight school records at USL, where he became the school's first NCAA Division I All-American as a freshman. He ran on the U.S. Track and Field Federation's national championship 400 meter relay team and went on to represent the USA in international tours of Russia, China and Cuba. He set USL records with a 9.2 100-yard dash, 20.8 in the 220 and 20.90 in the 200 meters. Porter was also a ninth-round NFL Draft pick as a football receiver. H. LEE PRATHER Prather coached at Northwestern for 38 years, winning more than 385 basketball games between 1913 and 1950, when he became president of the college. He was president of the NAIB, and his team represented Louisiana in the NAIB Tournament six of the last 10 years he coached. A native of Odessa, Mo., Prather coached all sports at Northwestern before becoming athletic director and basketball coach in 1934. He helped organize the old Louisiana Intercollegiate Athletic Association. EDDIE PRICE Price had 3,095 yards rushing as a Tulane running back, which stood as a state record for 27 years. He earned All-SEC honors in 1948 and 1949. In the 1949 game against Navy, he gained 289 yards in all-purpose running, a record that still stands. He averaged over six yards a carry at Tulane and became an outstanding pro back with the New York Giants. He had more 100-yard rushing games than any other Giant in history with 11 and still ranks in the top five in eight running categories in Giant records. GREG PROCELL Procell, the nation’s top high school basketball scorer of all time, had 6,702 points—a 37.2 per game average— in four years at Ebarb High from 1966 through 1970. As a senior, he scored 3,173 points and averaged 46.7 a game. He set a state single game scoring record that year of 100 points. All-State twice and All-America as a senior, Procell was also the state’s Most Valuable Player in Class C twice. He later led the conference in scoring at Panola College and completed his collegiate career at Northwestern State. JOE PROFIT A dynamic running back at Monroe’s RichwoodHigh School and an All-American at Northeast Louisiana University, Profit was a first-round NFL Draft pick by the
Louisiana Sports and Basketball Hall of Famer Joe Dumars advises the Northwestern State Demons basketball team before their thrilling NCAA Tournament victory over Iowa on March 17, 2006.
Atlanta Falcons and the seventh player selected in the 1970 draft. In 1967, he was the first black to play football for a predominantly white university in the state. At NLU, he became the career rushing leader in the old Gulf States Conference with 2,818 yards and was GSC Athlete of the Year in 1970-71. Despite a serious knee injury in his rookie year, Profit played six pro seasons with Atlanta, New Orleans and in the World Football League with Birmingham. HARRY RABENHORST Rabenhorst, who had a 115-yard punt for Wake Forest in 1919, coached at LSU for 32 years. During the Bob Pettit era at Tigertown, his basketball team had records of 17-7, 24-3 and 21-5. He also coached LSU AllAmerican Sparky Wade. Rabenhorst coached all sports during his three decades at LSU, and he also served as assistant athletic director and acting athletic director. At Wake Forest, he actually served as a player and assistant coach during his sophomore year. GARY REASONS A 1995 inductee in the College Football Hall of Fame, Reasons was the first three-time All-American in NCAA Division I-AA. The 6-4, 235-pound linebacker set Northwestern State records with 394 career tackles, 172 as a senior and 24 in one game. A fourth-round NFL Draft pick, he made the NFL All-Rookie Team and started on the New York Giants' two Super Bowl champion teams in 1986 and 1991. He was the leading tackler for the Giants in the 1991 Super Bowl win over Buffalo, making six stops. He is now a college football analyst for ABC-TV. WILLIS REED Reed was a standout at Grambling, scoring 2,235 points while leading the school to an NAIA championship, but he was best known for his career with the New York Knicks of the NBA. He was Rookie of the Year in 196465 and was named to five straight NBA All-Star teams beginning in 1966-67. He was Most Valuable Player in the league and MVP in the playoffs in 1969-70 in leading the Knicks to the world championship and was also
2010 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration
MVP in the 1973 playoffs. He averaged 18.7 points a game in his 10 year career. BILL REIGEL Reigel, who played basketball for only two seasons at McNeese, led the Cowboys to a 50-15 record during those 1954 through 1956 campaigns. He was the nation’s top scorer as a senior with a 33.9 average. Reigel was named NAIA Player of the Year and AllAmerican in 1956 when McNeese won the national NAIA championship. In two years at McNeese, he scored 1,501 points for a 31.7 per game average. He is a member of the McNeese, AAU, NAIA and Louisiana Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. DUTCH REINHARDT Associated with USL athletics for more than a half-century, Reinhardt was head basketball coach for 27 years, compiling a career mark of 346-253. His number of alltime wins is the second highest among Louisiana coaches. Reinhardt, who retired as a coach in 1957, is a member of the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame, Sugar Bowl Basketball Classic Hall of Fame, USL Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Association of Coaches Hall of Fame. He also served at USL as football coach, tennis coach and trainer. NICK REVON A New Orleans native, he is a member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame as the leading scorer in the history of basketball at the University of Southern Mississippi. Revon later won nearly 500 games as a prep coach and won nine district Coach of the Year honors. After scoring 2,136 points from 1950-54 at USM, Revon was a second-round NBA Draft pick in 1955 but chose along with 50 other first-or -second round picks to join an industrial league. Before knee trouble ended his career, he played for the USA in the Pan American Games.
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Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers J.R. RICHARD Richard, from Vienna, had a remarkable prep career at Ruston’s Lincoln High that made him a first-round draft pick by the Houston Astros in 1969. He pitched for 15 seasons as a pro. His major league record of 107-71 included a 20-15 mark in 1976 and 18 wins in each of three consecutive seasons after that. Richard struck out 1,489 batters in 1,606 innings and had a career earned run average of 3.15. He led the league in strikeouts in 1978 with 303 and in ERA in 1979 with a 2.71 mark. HAM RICHARDSON Twice National Collegiate Men’s Singles Tennis Champion while competing for Tulane, Richardson was the nation’s top-ranked player in 1956 and again in 1958 after leaving Tulane and was a member of the Davis Cup team in 1958. He competed for years at Forest Hill, Wimbledon and all other major tennis tournaments. Richardson won numerous awards, including the Johnston Trophy and the Marlboro Award. A Rhodes Scholar, he was a Southeastern Conference champion at Tulane. WILLIAM ROAF The mammoth 6-foot-5, 320-pound tackle was the firstround pick of the Saints in 1993 (eighth pick overall and first offensive lineman) after a stellar career after developing from a diamond in the rough at Louisiana Tech. Roaf played 13 NFL seasons, the first nine with the Saints and the final four with the Kansas City Chiefs. As one of the top tackles in the game, he was a three-time AP All-Pro first-team pick (1994-95 with the Saints and 2004 with the Chiefs) and six times earned second-team honors. He was chosen to play in 11 Pro Bowls, including a club-record seven with the Saints. Is considered by many to be the greatest player in Saints' history. A threeyear starter at Tech, he made numerous All-American teams and was a finalist for the Outland Trophy as the nation's best lineman as a senior when he allowed just one sack. played in the Hula Bowl and East-West Shrine games before becoming the eighth selection in the 1993 NFL Draft. ISIAH ROBERTSON A New Orleans native, Robertson starred at Southern University, then became a six-time Pro Bowl linebacker in a hard-hitting 12-year NFL career. Southern's first College Division All-America pick in 1970, Robertson was the Los Angeles Rams' first-round draft pick and won the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honor in 1971. He made his first Pro Bowl appearance that year, then from 1973-77. He started all but two games in his first seven pro seasons, then started 51 straight games after being traded to Buffalo in 1979. He had 25 career interceptions, and three touchdowns. JOHNNY “RED” ROBERTSON This Northwestern State graduate coached Ferriday High School to an undefeated football streak of 56 games and four state titles in the mid 1950s. The unbeaten streak was a state record until the 2000 season. The four straight titles is also still a record, tied by Haynesville in the mid 1990s and Evangel and John Curtis in 1999. The winning streak began after the opening game of 1953 and ended with a defeat in the 1957 season opener and included two ties, both in 1956. Robertson ended his coaching career after seven years with a 78-9-3 record, becoming a school principal. SCOTTY ROBERTSON Robertson spent more than two decades in the NBA after 10 years as head coach at his alma mater, Louisiana Tech. Head coach of three NBA teams, including the first coach of the New Orleans Jazz, he currently serves with the Miami Heat. He was 163-91 as a prep coach in Louisiana for 12 seasons. Robertson, 165-86
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as Tech's coach, led the Bulldogs to No. 1 in the national college division rankings in the early 1970s and developed Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer Mike Green. After launching the Jazz into the NBA, he became head coach in the pros with Chicago and Detroit. EDDIE ROBINSON Robinson, whose entire 57-season coaching career was spent at Grambling, is the winningest coach in college football history with 408 victories (408-165-15). He surpassed Bear Bryant as college football's most successful coach. Robinson is also noted for sending more than 200 players to the pros including four Pro Football Hall of Famers. A native of Baker, Robinson is a former president of the American Football Coaches Association. As recently as 1994 he was Southwestern Athletic Conference coach of the year, and he led the Tigers to 17 SWAC titles since 1960. He retired in 1997 and passed away this past spring. JOHNNY ROBINSON Robinson played halfback opposite Billy Cannon on the great LSU football teams of the late 1950’s. He was an All-Conference selection in 1958 when the Tigers won the national championship. Robinson gained his greatest fame in pro football. He joined the Dallas Texans out of LSU and stayed with the team through the move to Kansas City for 12 years. He was All-Pro five straight seasons—1966 through 1970—and is in the Chief record book with 57 career interceptions and 10 interceptions in a season. He appeared in two Super Bowls. RICK ROBEY A New Orleans (Brother Martin HS) native, Robey played on teams that won NBA, NCAA, NIT and Louisiana Class AAAA titles. The 6-10 Robey was an All-American center at Kentucky who played eight NBA seasons with Indiana (1978-79), Boston (1979-83) and Phoenix (1983-86). The third player chosen in the 1978 NBA Draft, Robey was traded to the Celtics for Dennis Johnson and helped Boston win the 1981 NBA Championship. In 500 NBA games, he scored 3,762 points (7.5 ppg) and grabbed 2,292 rebounds (4.6 pg). At Kentucky, he helped lead the Wildcats to the 1976 NIT title and the 1978 NCAA crown, wrapping up his career as the all-time school leader with a .581 shooting percentage. At Brother Martin, he was an AllAmerican center.
A native of New Orleans, Connie Ryan spent 45 years in professional baseball, making two trips to the World Series (1948, 1957) and earning a spot in the 1944 AllStar Game. In 12 years as an infielder with the New York Giants, Boston Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox, he carried a career .248 batting average with a single-season best of .295 in 1944. He spent the last 30 years of his baseball career as a scout, coach and manager with Atlanta, Texas, Milwaukee, Houston and Kansas City, briefly serving as manager of Atlanta (1975) and Texas (1977). MICHAEL SANDERS Twice the Louisiana Prep Player of the Year and a third team All-American at DeRidder High School, Sanders was a UCLA co-captain for two years as a 6-6 center. He was two-time All-Pac 10 player who played 11 NBA seasons with four teams, averaging in double figures for three years (1984-87) with Phoenix. At DeRidder, he was a three-time All-State pick, averaging 27.3 ppg, 17.2 rebounds, shooting 68% from the field and 76% on free throws as a senior. At UCLA, he finished 15th in career scoring (1,210 points) and 17th in career rebounds (577). LEO SANFORD A native of Shreveport, Sanford starred at Fair Park High and Louisiana Tech before beginning a standout NFL career in 1951 with the Chicago Cardinals. He was defensive captain and played in Pro Bowls in 1957 and 1958. At Tech, Sanford was a 1950 All-American linebacker and was a two-time All Gulf States Conference center and linebacker. When the All-Louisiana First 100 Years of Football mythical team was picked in the 1970’s, Sanford was chosen for a linebacking spot. TONY SARDISCO The first Tulane guard ever to make a major All-America team (Look Magazine, alongside stars like Paul Hornung in 1955, Sardisco won All-AFL honors with the Boston Patriots in 1961. A 6-foot-2, 210-pounder in college (240 in the pros), the Shreveport native doubled as an offensive guard and linebacker. He captained the Greenies two years and was the Patriots’ first captain. Following his senior season at Tulane, he played in the Blue-Gray, Senior Bowl and College All-Star game in Chicago, being named outstanding lineman in the BlueGray after making 14 unassisted tackles. After a year in the NFL, Sardisco spent two years in the Air Force, then
RANDY ROMERO A highly-regarded jockey, Romero had 4,294 career wins on 26,091 mounts (16.5 win %) and earned $75,264,198 in purses. Romero, an Erath native, won riding titles at every Louisiana track (Delta Downs, Evangeline Downs, Fair Grounds, Jefferson Downs, Louisiana Downs). He won four riding titles at the Fair Grounds in six seasons from 1979-80 to 1984-85. His 181 wins in 1983-84 remains a FG record. He holds the single-meet record for wins at Evangeline Downs (136). In the mid-80s, he shifted his tack to New York and became the regular rider of Hall of Fame horses Go For Wand and Personal Ensign, who retired 13-0, the only horse in the last 50 years to retire unbeaten in as many starts. Included in that record was a dramatic win in the 1988 Breeders Cup Distaff, one of three Breeders Cup wins for Romero. ROLLAND ROMERO Romero was twice a member of the U.S. Olympic track team, being selected for the 1932 team at the age of 17 and repeating in 1936. Romero placed the highest of any U.S. triple jumper in the two Olympic Games. He went to Loyola from Welsh High School, and at Loyola, Romero established a number of Amateur Athletic Union track and field records. Romero was a charter member of the Loyola Sports Hall of Fame, honored for his Olympic performance in Los Angeles and Berlin. CONNIE RYAN
Eddie Robinson is the winningest coach in college football history, having compiled a 408-165-15 record in 57 years of coaching. He was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.
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Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers played a year in Canada before helping launch the AFL with the Patriots from 1960-63. GLYNN SAULTERS The first collegiate player in Louisiana to make a U.S. Olympic basketball team, Saulters starred at Northeast Louisiana University for four years. Named to the alltime All-Louisiana team in 1970, Saulters was the Gulf States Conference Athlete of the Year in 1968. He was All- GSC three times, All-America twice and Player of the Year in the conference in 1968. He was the league’s all-time leading scorer with a career average 23.5 points a game. In his senior season, Saulters had a 31.3 point scoring average. RAGS SCHEUERMANN Considered the patriarch of modern-day baseball in New Orleans, Scheuermann won well over 1,000 games as coach at Delgado Community College, Loyola University and All-America Amateur Baseball Association teams. His clubs won eight national championships. Before retiring as head coach at Delgado in 1990 at the age of 67, Scheuermann won 80 percent of his games and guided his 1985 team to the Junior College World Series. He was 242-82 as coach at Loyola. CLARK SHAUGHNESSY Shaughnessy coached football for 31 years after his graduation from the University of Minnesota in 1914. He launched his head coaching career at Tulane, coaching the Greenies for 11 years before taking over at Loyola of New Orleans for six years. The father of the TFormation, Shaughnessy also coached at the University of Chicago, Stanford, Maryland and Pittsburgh before joining the pro coaching ranks. His 1940 Stanford team was unbeaten and won the Rose Bowl. JAMES SILAS Silas, a Tallulah native, became a pro basketball All-Star with San Antonio. He was the first Spurs player to have his jersey retired after averaging 16.1 points (11,038 total) in 685 games during 10 seasons, eight with San Antonio and two with Cleveland. An ABA All-Star in 1975 and 1976, Silas averaged 15.7 points in 41 career playoff games. He was called "Captain Late" for his knack of making clutch plays late in games. After a great career at McCall High School, Silas was an NAIA All-American star at Stephen F. Austin, where his jersey was retired. He set 14 school records and averaged 18.7 points in his career.
LEE SMITH Born in Shreveport, Smith is a lifelong resident of Castor who became Major League Baseball's career saves leader with 478. Smith still holds the MLB record for consecutive errorless games (546) by a pitcher. A seventime All-Star, Smith was named the National League Fireman of the Year in 1991 and shared the award in 1983 and 1992. He won the American League award in 1994 and holds the Cubs and Cardinals club records for saves. (then pick up the sentence. He pitched 18 seasons (1980-97) for eight clubs (Cubs, Red Sox, Cardinals, Yankees, Orioles, Angels, Reds and Expos). A hard-throwing 6-6 right-hander, Smith appeared in 1,022 games and had a career record of 71-92 and 3.03 ERA, with 486 walks and 1,251 strikeouts. He recorded 30 or more saves 10 times in his career. Smith led the National League in saves in 1983, '91 and '92 and the American League in 1994. His best seasons were from 1991-93 when he had 47, 43 and 46 saves. Smith holds the Cubs and Cardinals club records for saves. A seventime all-star, Smith was named the NL Fireman of the Year by The Sporting News in 1991 and co-Fireman of the Year in '83 and '92. He was the AL Fireman of the Year in 1994. Smith signed with the Cubs after graduating from Castor High School, and also played 1 1/2 years for the Northwestern State basketball team. NEIL SMITH A six-time Pro Bowl selection, Smith is a product of McDonogh 35 High School in New Orleans who went on to star at Nebraska and in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers during a 13-year career as a defensive end. The second overall pick in the 1988 draft, Smith was a fierce pass rusher for the Chiefs from 1988-1996. He made the AP AllPro team in 1993 when he led the NFL with 15 sacks and was a five-time Pro Bowl selection (1992-96) for Kansas City. He also tied for the Chiefs team lead in sacks with 14 1/2 in 1992 and had 11 1/2 and 12, respectively in 1994 and ’95. His 86 sacks with the Chiefs (he had 18 1/2 with the Broncos and Chargers) ranks him second in club history behind the 126 1/2
recorded by Derrick Thomas. At Nebraska, Smith was a first-team All-America pick by The Sporting News and a second-team choice by the AP and Football News as a senior, and was the defensive MVP of the Ricoh Japan Bowl. BOBBY SPELL Selected as a member of the National Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame, Spell was considered the world’s greatest softball pitcher during the period from 1956 to 1960. During that time, he pitched on three world championship teams and was All-World three times. Spell, whose riser fastball was clocked at 126 miles per hour, pitched 205 innings in world tournament competition, allowing only eight runs, and he hurled over 200 no-hitters during his incomparable softball career. FREDDIE SPENCER Known to motorcycle racing fans as "Fast Freddie," Spencer will go down in history as one of the greatest road racers that America has ever produced. The Shreveport native is a member of the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. In addition to winning three world championships, he was the only rider ever to win the 250cc and 500cc Grand Prix World Championships in the same season (1985). He was the only rider to win three major races during Bike Week at Daytona International Speedway (Superbike, Formula One and International Lightweight races in 1985), the youngest to win the 500cc Grand Prix World Championship (21) and the youngest ever to win an AMA Superbike race in 1979 (18). He is the first motorsports inductee in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
MONK SIMONS One of the South’s greatest running backs in the early 1930’s, Simons played in his hometown for the Tulane Green Wave. He was an All-American halfback in 1934, leading Tulane to a 9-1 record. It was Simons who scored on an 85-yard kickoff return to ignite Tulane’s comeback victory in the 1935 Sugar Bowl over Pop Warner’s Temple Owls. Simons later became a successful businessman and served as president of the Sugar Bowl. He coached at Tulane from 1942 through 1948 and is a national Hall of Fame member. JACKIE SMITH Smith, elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994, is a native of Kentwood and a former Northwestern football and track star. He became the NFL’s all-time leading tight end with 480 career receptions for 7,918 yards. A five-time Pro Bowler, Smith played 121 consecutive games for the Cardinals and 198 altogether. Smith holds the Cardinal record for the most yards receiving in a season with 1,205 in 1967. After “retiring” in 1977, Smith was lured back for a final season with the Dallas Cowboys and played in the Super Bowl after the ’78 season.
Members of the 2005 Hall of Fame induction class. (L-R) Hoyle Granger, Mark Duper, Tom Hinton, Rudy Macklin, Janice Lawrence Braxton, Albert Belle.
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Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers also playing for the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots. He led the NFL in punt returns in 1962, averaging 15.8 yards, and topped the league in receiving yards in 1966 with 1,266 on 67 receptions, second in the NFL. The Lions voted him their MVP that season. Studstill set an NFL record with a 99-yard TD reception against Baltimore. He ranked among the NFL's top punters for more than 10 years. He first gained notice as one of the nation's fastest prep sprinters, with a 9.9 100yard dash to his credit. DAVE STYRON An internationally-renowned sprinter at Northeast Louisiana University from 1959 through 1962, Dave once held the junior world record in the 100-yard dash at 9.4. He tied the world indoor records in the 60 and 70-yard dashes and tied the world outdoor 100-yard dash record of 9.3. He also tied the American record in the 100 meters of 10.1. Dave also competed in the 220 dash, broad jump and high jump while teaming with twin brother Don to give Northeast one of the nation's best track teams.
Charles “Red” Thomas was an All-American basketball player at Northwestern State was was named MVP of the NAIA Tournament in 1941.
RUSTY STAUB A New Orleans native, Staub played for 23 seasons in the major leagues, finishing with a career batting averge of .279. A first baseman outfielder, he established records in the twilight of his career for most appearances in games as a pinch hitter and most at bats as a pinch hitter. During his career, which started at Houston and included stays with Montreal and New York of the National League and Texas and Detroit of the American, Staub hit 292 home runs and 499 doubles. He had a fielding average of .980 in the majors. JERRY STOVALL A consensus All-American running back for LSU in 1962 and runner-up in the Heisman Trophy balloting that year, Stovall was an All-Southeastern Conference selection three times. He was the St. Louis Cardinals’ first-round draft choice in 1963 and became an All-Pro defensive back. Stovall played in two Pro Bowls during his nineyear career with the Cards. In addition to his play in the defensive secondary, Stovall handled punting chores and still holds the St. Louis record for single game punting average. GEORGE “BO” STRICKLAND A big league shortstop for 10 seasons and a coach, manager and scout for 11 more, the New Orleans native managed the Cleveland Indians in the 1964 and 1966 seasons. He was the starting shortstop for the Indians when they won the 1954 World Series. Regarded as a slick fielding defensive specialist, he led American League shortstops in double plays in 1953 and in fielding in 1955. He shares the major league record for shortstops involved in double plays in a game (5) in 1952. He had a career fielding average of .965 and was in on 558 double plays. In 1955, he led all big league shortstops with a .976 fielding percentage. He batted .224 with 36 homers and 284 RBI. As a manager he had a 33-39 interim record replacing Birdie Tebbetts. Strickland is a member of the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame. PAT STUDSTILL A Shreveport native and Byrd High School product, Pat Studstill played 12 seasons in the National Football League and made three straight Pro Bowl appearances from 1965-67 as a wide receiver and punter for Detroit,
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DON STYRON A hurdler, Don helped lead Northeast Louisiana to unbeaten seasons of 14-0 in 1960 and 9-0 in 1962. Don still holds the world record for the 220-yard low hurdles at 21.9 and at one time he shared the 60-yard low and high hurdle world records. Don was twice selected as the world’s best hurdler by Track and Field News. Don and twin brother Dave were chosen Athletes of the Year in the old Gulf States Conference in 1959, 1960 and 1962, becoming the only athletes to win the prestigious honor three times. HAL SUTTON Hal Sutton has reached the pinnacle in amateur, professional and world golf, and is believed to be the only player who has outdueled both Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods in the final holes of major golf tournaments. The Shreveport native. who played collegiately in his hometown at Centenary, was named by Golf Magazine as the 1980 College Player of the Year after winning the U.S. Amateur, North and South Amateur, Western Amateur and Northeast Amateur titles. He also was a member of two U.S. Walker Cup-winning teams in 1979 and '81. After that, he embarked on a PGA Tour career that would net him 14 wins and more than $15 million in career earnings between 1982 and 2006. His biggest win on Tour came in the 1983 PGA Championship when the 25-year-old Sutton opened with scores of 65 and 66 and went on to win his only major title by one stroke over a late-charging Nicklaus. Sutton's best years came in the late 1990s when he claimed the title at The Tour Championship in 1998 and in 2000 beat Woods to win The Players Championship, which is often considered to be the fifth major. Sutton was a standout on four U.S. Ryder Cup teams (1985, 1987, 1999, 2002) and was the non-playing captain of the 2004 team. PAT SWILLING An outside linebacker with the Saints who played with the club from 1986-92, he was a five-time Pro Bowl pick (four with the Saints) during a 12-year NFL career. He was a member of the famed Dome Patrol (with fellow linebackers Rickey Jackson, Sam Mills and Vaughan Johnson) who made league history in 1992 when, for the first time, four linebackers from the same team were voted to the Pro Bowl. He is third on the club’s all-time list with 76.5 sacks and trails only Rickey Jackson (115) and Wayne Martin (82.5). Swilling was the AP’s Defensive Player of the Year in 1991 when he led the NFL with 17 sacks and recorded 60 tackles while forcing six fumbles. He was traded to Detroit and played for the Lions (1993-94) before moving on to the Oakland Raiders (1995-96, 1998). He finished his NFL career
playing in 185 games and had 106.5 sacks and six interceptions. He later served 2 1/2 years in the Louisiana legislature as a representative from New Orleans East. EDNA TARBUTTON Edna Tarbutton, elected to the National High School Hall of Fame, posted an unparalleled success record as the girls’ basketball coach at Baskin High School. In 33 years, her teams won nine state championships, including eight in a row (1948-55) with a combined record of 654-263-2. Her teams put together 218 straight victories from 1947-53; in eight years, they lost only twice in 313 games. Nicknamed “Tiny,” the Northwestern graduate was a strict disciplinarian and fierce competitor, but was one of the most popular teachers at Baskin High. JIMMY TAYLOR An All-American fullback at Louisiana State University, Taylor led the Tigers in rushing in 1956 and 1957. He became an all-time great in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers, gaining more than 1,000 yards rushing for five straight years beginning in 1960. He had a 10-year total of 8,597 yards in the pros and was considered one of the league’s best blocking backs. When Taylor was traded to New Orleans after the 1966 season, he ranked third on the all-time rushing list in the NFL. ROSEY TAYLOR A New Orleans native, Taylor starred as a defensive back in a 14-year NFL career with the Chicago Bears, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington, winning six Pro Bowl selections. He played twice in NFL title games, winning with the 1963 Bears and losing with the "Over the Hill Gang" Redskins in the 1973 Super Bowl. A Grambling College product, Taylor led the NFL with nine interceptions in that 1963 championship season with Chicago, coached by George Halas. Taylor is best remembered for a 96-yard interception return for a TD in 1968 against Philadelphia. CHARLES “RED” THOMAS Thomas, from Texarkana, was an All-American basketball player at Northwestern despite the fact he was only 5-6. He scored in double figures for the Northwestern team, led in assists and steals and was a good playmaker. In 1941, Thomas was selected as the Most Valuable Player in the prestigious NAIA Tournament. He returned
Pat Swilling had a stellar NFL career, mostly with the New Orleans Saints (1986-92), where he was a five-time Pro Bowl pick.
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Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers to Northwestern as basketball coach in 1950 and won 129 games while losing 76. His teams also won three Gulf States Conference championships. He is a former Vice-President of Northwestern. SHEILA THOMPSON-JOHNSON A great player (1977-81) and coach (1985-89) at Louisiana College, who led the Lady Wildcats to national prominence in both roles. A two-time All-American (AIAW Division II), she led LC to a national AIAW Division II fourth-place finish in her junior season. She is LC’s career scoring leader, male or female, with 2,659 points, a total which ranks among the state’s all-time top five women’s totals. Her performance led LC into the national semifinals in only the fourth year of the program’s existence. In her four years as head coach, after a successful high school coaching stint at Pitkin, she was 75-43. In her first season, she guided the Lady Wildcats to third place in the NAIA National Tournament. She was an all-state player -- and is believed to be the first prep All-American in state history -- at Pitkin High School. She made the 20-member LSWA’s All-Century Team for college hoops in 1999. GAYNELL “GUS” TINSLEY A native of Claiborne Parish, Gus was LSU’s first AllAmerican football player, winning the honor in 1935 and 1936 as one of the nation’s outstanding ends. He was runner-up for college football’s MVP award in 1936 after leading all ends in the country in scoring. An All-Pro with the Chicago Cardinals for two years, Tinsley returned to LSU to serve as head football coach from 1948 through 1954. Football great Bronco Nagurski picked Tinsley on his all-time football team. Y.A. TITTLE Tittle played at LSU from 1944 through 1947 and established a handful of records, including most plays, total offense, most touchdowns accounted for, most passes attempted, yardage gained and touchdown passes. He began his brilliant professional career at Baltimore and later played for San Francisco and the New York Giants, leading the Giants to three straight titles and winning the National Football League Player of the Year Award in 1961 and 1963.
CHARLIE “TANK” TOLAR One of the most popular figures in the early days of the American Football League, the 5-6, 210-pounder had dozens of nicknames, including "the Human Bowling Ball," and was named to AFL All-Star Teams in 1961-63. Tolar helped Houston win 1960-61 AFL titles and finish as runner-ups in 1962, when he was the team's Offensive MVP with 1,012 yards and a league record 244 carries. he was named to the Oilers' 30th Anniversary Dream Team chosen by fans in 1989. At Northwestern, Tolar was twice Gulf States Conference MVP and still holds a pair of school records. ANDREW TONEY Andrew Toney starred at USL from 1976-80, leading the Ragin' Cajuns into the NIT second round as a senior. Chosen eighth in the 1980 NBA Draft, Toney averaged 15.9 points per game in an eight-year career with the Philadelphia 76ers, shooting 50 percent in 488 NBA games. He averaged 17.4 in six postseason trips, including a 1982-83 World Championship. He twice played in the NBA All-Star Game (1983, 1984), scoring 13 points in 1984. He graduated ahead of his class at USL, had a 23.6 average in 107 games (2,526 points), and set nine school records. EMMETT TOPPINO A world class sprinter for Loyola of New Orleans in the 1930’s, Toppino ran a leg on the U.S. Olympic goldmedal winning 400-meter relay team in 1932. The time was a world record 40.0. Toppino also equalled the world mark of 6.2 in the 60-yard dash six times in his career and tied the world record of 10.4 in the 100-meter dash in 1932. Known as the “Human Bullet,” Toppino was a charter member of the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame and is a member of the Loyola University Hall of Fame. JACK TORRANCE Torrance won the NCAA shot put championship in 1933 and 1934 while performing for the LSU track and field team. He was also the National AAU shot put champion in 1933, 1934 and 1935. He set a world shot put record of 55 feet, 1-1/2 inches in 1934 and broke it twice with heaves of 55-5 and 57-1. He finished fifth in the 1936 Olympics at Berlin. When Torrance broke the world record of 57-1, coaches voted it the most perfect record on the books and predicted it would never be broken. HARRY TURPIN Turpin was head coach at Northwestern from 1934 until 1956. In his 23 years as head coach, he compiled a record of 101 victories, 83 losses and 11 ties. His 1939 team posted a record of 11-0 and held eight of its opponents scoreless. The other three teams had a combined total of only 18 points. Turpin was also an outstanding athlete at Tulane and later at Northwestern. At Tulane, he scored on a 65-yard play which stood for years as the longest pass completion in college football. STEVE VAN BUREN Van Buren, an LSU All-American, was football’s greatest running back from 1944 through 1951 with the Philadelphia Eagles. Born in British Honduras, Van Buren played high school football at Warren Easton of New Orleans. He was outstanding at LSU but enjoyed his greatest success in the professional ranks. In 1949, he chalked up 1,146 yards rushing and guided the Eagles to their second straight world championship. He led the NFL in rushing in only his second year with 832 yards.
Everson Walls played 13 years in the NFL and is the only player in NFL history to lead the league in interceptions for three seasons (1981, 1982, 1985).
MALCOLM “SPARKY” WADE A native of Jena, Wade is considered the greatest dribbler and backcourt guardian in LSU basketball history. Standing only 5-9, Wade played from 1932 until 1935, winning All-American honors both as a junior and a senior. Before moving to LSU, he was named to the Louisiana All-State Team three times from 1928-1930. In his senior year, when Jena lost by four points in the National high school championship playoffs, Wade was selected as the Most Valuable Player in the national tournament. JOYCE WALKER One of the great scorers in women's basketball history, Walker still ranks fifth all-time in NCAA history with 2,906 points at LSU from 1981-84. Her 24.8 average ranks sixth all-time and her 1,259 career field goals is an NCAA record. Twice a Kodak Coaches' All-American, the 5-8 guard was a three-time All-Southeastern Conference pick. She shot a remarkable 56.2 percent from the field and also ranks in the LSU career top 10 in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and blocked shots. An alternate for the 1984 USA Olympic Team that won a gold medal, Walker later played with the famous Harlem Globetrotters. EVERSON WALLS One of the greatest ball-hawking defensive backs in pro football history, Everson Walls defied the odds as a walk-on player at Grambling and a free-agent NFL rookie. He played 13 pro seasons, finishing with 57 career interceptions to tie for ninth place on the all-time NFL list with fellow Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame members Mel Blount and Johnny Robinson. Walls is the only player to lead the NFL in interceptions three times (1981, 1982, 1985). His 11 interceptions as a rookie with Dallas in 1981 are the most in a season by an NFL player in the last 17 years. He later played for the New York Giants and led them in interceptions in 1991, when they won the Super Bowl. At Grambling, he led all collegians with 11 interceptions in his senior year.
An LSU record-setter, Y.A. Tittle played in the NFL for the Baltimore Colts, San Francisco 49ers, and the New York Giants.
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Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers AENEAS WILLIAMS A third-round draft pick of out of Southern University in 1991, after walking on to the Jaguars team out of Fortier High School, Williams earned a reputation as one of the NFL's top cornerbacks during a sparkling 14-year NFL career with the Arizona Cardinals (1991-2000) and St. Louis Rams (2001-04). He was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and four-time All-Pro pick in becoming one of the league's top shutdown corners before moving to safety late in his career. He played in 211 regular-season games with 206 starts, seeing action in 183 consecutive games with 180 straight starts before a broken fibula in 2002 ended those streaks. He had 55 career interceptions, collecting at least four picks in eight of 14 seasons, and came up with six interceptions in postseason play. At Southern, he ranked second in Division I-AA with seven interceptions as a junior and tied for the national lead in 1990 with 11.
Doug Williams led his Washington Redskins to the Super Bowl XXII championship, and in return, was named MVP.
RALPH WARD Ward, born in Jena and raised in Natchitoches, is one of only two Louisiana men's basketball coaches to win a national championship, leading McNeese State to the 1956 NAIA title. Coach at McNeese for 19 seasons, until 1971, Ward won 59 percent of his games (282-194) and was named Gulf States Conference Coach of the Year six times. He earned national acclaim for his teams' tough defense and disciplined offense. BARBARA FAY WHITE A Shreveport product, she was one of America's top amateur players in the 1960s - a three-time Curtis Cup selection and a two-time member of the U.S. team in the World Amateur. She never lost a match (3-0-1 in singles, 4-0-0 in foursomes) in two Curtis Cup appearances and had to withdraw from a third because of pregnancy. She was second in the World Amateur individually in 1966 and helped lead the U.S. team to the Women's World Amateur Championship. She was the medalist in the State Amateur six times. She was the Western Amateur champion in 1964 and 1966. She was the Broadmoor Amateur medalist and champion in 1964 and the medalist three times in the Southern Amateur, winning the 1967 championship and finishing second in 1963. She played on the LPGA tour in 1973-74 and won $3,500 in 1973 (including one second-place finish) and $4,000 in 1974.
DOUG WILLIAMS MVP in Super Bowl XXII, Doug Williams set records for yards passing (340), yards passing in one quarter (228), touchdown passes (4) and longest completion (80 yards). The Zachary native and Grambling All-American played nine seasons in the NFL (1978-82, 1986-89) for Tampa Bay and Washington. He threw for more than 25,000 yards and 147 touchdowns, and ran for 19 more touchdowns, as a pro. At Grambling as a senior (1977), he was a first-team AP All-American, won Louisiana’s College Athlete of the Year award, was fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting and was MVP of the East-West Shrine Game. EARL WILSON A Ponchatoula native, Wilson had an 11-year major league baseball career with Boston, Detroit and San Diego. The right-hander was 121-109 lifetime with 1,452 strikeouts in 2,051 2/3 innings with a 3.69 earned run average. He made the 1967 American League All-Star Team and led the AL in wins with a 22-11 record for Detroit. He started the third game of the 1968 World Series and helped the Tigers win the world title. Wilson, the first black player signed by the Red Sox, fired a nohitter for Boston against the Los Angeles Angels in 1962. He clubbed 35 career homers.
ROY "MOONIE" WINSTON A Baton Rouge native, Winston was a prep (Istrouma) and college (LSU) All-American who played 15 seasons (1962-76) with the Minnesota Vikings as a standout linebacker. He played in four Super Bowls (IV, VII, IX and XI), was the Vikings' Most Valuable Defensive Player in 1972, and was named to the Vikings' Silver Anniversary Team in 1985. He had 835 career tackles and 649 career solo stops. Team captain of LSU's 1961 SEC Champions, Winston was an All-SEC and All-America offensive guard as a senior. He played left field for the LSU baseball team that won the 1961 SEC baseball title. TANK YOUNGER Younger set a modern intercollegiate scoring record while at Grambling College from 1945 through 1948 with 60 touchdowns. He was the first of a long string of Grambling All-Americans, and in 1947 he led the nation in total offense. He was a black pioneer in pro football, joining the Los Angeles Rams in 1949 and gaining immediate stardom. Younger, who also played linebacker, was the last player in the NFL to earn All-Pro honors on both offense and defense. He spent 10 years in the NFL. He was the first black person inducted in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. DON ZIMMERMAN Zimmerman set nine football records at Tulane from 1930 through 1932, some that stood for five decades. A consensus All-American in 1932, he led the 1931 Tulane team to the Rose Bowl and passed for a touchdown in the bowl game. A passer, runner and punter, Zimmerman was in on 569 plays on total offense that were good for 3,293 yards in his career. He averaged 5.8 yards a play and was responsible for 219 points. In his three years at Tulane, Zimmerman helped lead the team to a 25-4-1 record in Tulane’s most successful era.
SAMMY WHITE White, a sensational football and basketball star at Monroe's Richwood High School, won All-America honors as a wingback at Grambling and starred in the NFL for 11 seasons as a receiver with Minnesota. He is the Vikings' club record-holder with 6,400 receiving yards and 50 touchdown catches, and his 393 receptions ranks No. 2 in team history. He was the NFL "Rookie of the Year" in 1976, played in the Pro Bowl twice, and was named to Minnesota's 25th Anniversary All-Star Team in fan voting. At Grambling, White scored 43 TDs. In his senior year, he was named Black College Offensive Player of the Year. Earl Wilson played 11 seasons in the Major Leagues with Boston, Detroit, and San Diego.
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