The Louisiana Sports Writers Association

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Doug Ireland

NATCHITOCHES – Opening the doors to the spectacular Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum provides an unprecedented highlight for the annual Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration June 27-29 that honors an 11-member 2013 class comprised of state sports greats.

The Grand Opening for the new $23 million museum is Friday night, June 28, the first time anyone will see the sensational exhibits showcasing Louisiana’s remarkable sports history and culture and featuring the Hall of Fame’s 355 previously-enshrined members plus the 2013 inductees. Louisiana Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, a driving force behind the museum’s completion, will welcome patrons and honored guests at the event.

The inductees will be enshrined Saturday night, June 29, at the Natchitoches Events Center during the 2013 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Dinner and Ceremony. The event is the culmination of the Induction Celebration beginning Thursday evening, June 27, with the Kickoff Reception and including the Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Scramble at Oak Wing Golf Course in Alexandria teeing off at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 28.

Available now are sponsorship opportunities that include ticket packages, golf entries, congratulatory advertisements and other benefits for the 2013 Induction Celebration. Individual tickets to the museum Grand Opening and the Induction Dinner and Ceremony will go on sale May 13 through secure online transactions at LaSportsHall.com or by calling the Hall of Fame Foundation office at 318-238-4255.

The Induction Celebration schedule was announced by the parent organization of the Hall, the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, and the Hall of Fame Foundation, led by CEO/President Lisa Babin, in conjunction with the Louisiana State Museum system.

Basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal, women’s tennis great Chanda Rubin and eight-time NFL Pro Bowl selection Kevin Mawae headline a sparkling 2013 induction class.

LSU football passing king Tommy Hodson and nationally-acclaimed jockey Ronald Ardoin, a Carencro native, are joined in the 2013 class by Grambling basketball legend James Jones, a Tallulah native who made the all-time team of the American Basketball Association.

Jonesville native Ervin Johnson, whose unlikely 13-year NBA career was launched at a grocery store and took root at the University of New Orleans, is the third pro basketball standout in the group. Two other inductees have amateur basketball ties: the late Ed “Skeets” Tuohy, who had a career 84.5 winning percentage as coach at New Orleans’ Newman High, and the late Anna Koll, a remarkable all-around athlete from New Orleans in the 1920s and 1930s.

O’Neal became a national star during his three seasons at LSU. Rubin, a Lafayette native, broke onto the world tennis stage as a teenager in 1992. Mawae played high school football at Leesville and blossomed into a second-round NFL Draft choice during 1990-93 at LSU.

Also honored with enshrinement will be New Orleans businessman and sportsman Milton Retif, recipient of the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award. Pulitzer Prize-winning outdoors writer Bob Marshall, a veteran of four decades with the New Orleans Times-Picayune, will go into the Hall as the 2013 winner of the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

The Kickoff Reception will again be hosted at The Landing Restaurant on Front Street in Natchitoches beginning at 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 27. The golf tournament at Oak Wing moves up to a 10 a.m. tee time this year to allow for the Grand Opening at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum starting at 7:30 on Friday, June 28.

The first-ever Hall of Fame Kids’ Autograph Session is set for 10-11 a.m. Saturday morning, June 29, at Prather Coliseum on the Northwestern State campus in Natchitoches. It will be free for children 5-18.

The Hall of Fame Induction Reception and Silent Auction begins that evening at 5 p.m. at the Natchitoches Events Center with the Dinner and Ceremony starting promptly at 6.

The 2013 athletes and coaching inductees will raise the total of Hall of Fame members to 302 competitors honored since the first induction class - baseball’s Mel Ott, world champion boxer Tony Canzoneri and LSU football great Gaynell Tinsley – were enshrined in 1959 after their election a year earlier.

Additionally, 52 journalists have previously received the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism, along with 11 previous Dave Dixon Award winners. This year’s 11 inductees will bring the total Hall of Fame membership to 364 in its 55 years of existence.

The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame includes nine members of the Basketball Hall of Fame, six of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players, six Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, 16 Pro Football Hall of Fame members, seven Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame enshrines, 18 Olympic medalists (10 gold medal winners), 34 College Football Hall of Fame members, five National High School Hall of Fame enshrinees, jockeys with a combined 12 Triple Crown victories, six world boxing champions, four College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, three NBA Finals MVPs and two Super Bowl MVPs.

A complete membership list and biographical information on current members is available at LaSportsHall.com/Inductees, with a steady stream of info available on Facebook and Twitter.

By Doug Ireland

NATCHITOCHES – New Orleans businessman and baseball giant Milton Retif is the 2013 recipient of the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award presented by the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

Retif, 80, has a lifelong record of sports leadership and accomplishment along with being a benefactor of prep, college and amateur sports in New Orleans. He will be among the 11 honorees at the 2013 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Dinner and Ceremonies on Saturday evening, June 29, at the Natchitoches Events Center.

The Induction Dinner and Ceremonies are the culmination of the 2013 Induction Celebration beginning Thursday afternoon, June 27, with the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Press Conference and Kickoff Reception.

Louisiana sport stars Ronald Ardoin, Tommy Hodson, Ervin Johnson, James Jones, Anna Koll, Kevin Mawae, Shaquille O’Neal, Chanda Rubin and Ed “Skeets” Tuohy are the nine athletes and coaches who will enter the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame this summer.

Also honored with enshrinement will be a recipient of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism, to be announced this week.

Tickets and other event participation opportunities will be available soon through the LaSportsHall.com website.

The 2013 Induction Class will be the first to be welcomed into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum, operated by the Louisiana State Museum system in a partnership with the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. The striking two-story, 27,500-square foot structure faces Cane River Lake in the National Historic Landmark District of Natchitoches and will open this summer.

The Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award is presented annually by the LSWA’s 30-member Hall of Fame selection committee to an individual who has played a decisive role as a sports leader or administrator benefiting Louisiana and/or bringing credit to Louisiana on the national and international level.

Dixon Award winners are enshrined as Hall of Fame members and will be recognized in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum.

The award 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, who passed away in 2010, is also considered the “father” of the Mercedez-Benz Louisiana Superdome, developing the concept for the innovative domed structure and pushing state officials for its construction in the late 1960s.

Retif is a member of the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame (2001) as an athlete, coach and civic contributor and three years later was enshrined in the Hilton Riverside Walk of Fame for “positive contributions to the way of life in New Orleans.”

A former outstanding infielder at Jesuit (an All-State selection who played for a state title team in 1950) and Tulane where he was captain of the team in the early 1950’s, Retif saved the Tulane program with financial contributions in 1966 when the Green Wave gave consideration to making baseball a club sport.

He took over the program a year later as an unpaid head coach and built a 123-73 (.628) record and coached the Wave to national prominence including a No. 1 national ranking in 1971. A highly-successful businessman and a major backer of the Green Wave program, financing team locker rooms and other necessities, his uniform number at Tulane is retired for his impact as a player, coach and supporter.

He holds an annual golf tournament benefitting many of his New Orleans-area charitable causes. For years, Retif has been a major sponsor of American Legion baseball programs for Jesuit and Archbishop Shaw high schools. He has received Shaw’s Don Bosco Award for being a “role model for youth through sports and school activities.” His alma mater, Jesuit, voted him Outstanding Alumnus in 1993. He has created an endowment for students there. Coaches, parents, and former players say his support far surpassed check-writing and fund-raising.

Soon after the 1975 opening of the Superdome, Retif was instrumental in staging a baseball exhibition between the Yankees and Red Sox, with proceeds going to Grambling State and Christian Brothers School in New Orleans. He was the cornerstone of a push to raise funds for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame earlier this century, helping organize support in New Orleans from civic and business leaders.

Ten men have previously been presented the Dixon Award since its inception in 2005. Last year’s winner was Marksville physician Dr. L.J. Mayeux, the former national president and chairman of the board for Ducks Unlimited renowned for his efforts to restore duck habitat across the nation.

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 basketball coach, and Doug Thornton, the executive director of the Superdome.

In 2008, the Dixon Award went to world renowned orthopedic Dr. James Andrews, a Homer native, LSU graduate and SEC champion pole vaulter.

The 2009 recipients were George Dement, a Bossier City boxing and youth sports activist; and “Mr. Softball” Benny Turcan, a New Orleans native and long-time state ASA softball commissioner.

In 2010 the Dixon Award winner was Gerald Boudreaux, the longtime City of Lafayette recreation director best known as one of the country’s top college basketball referees in the last three decades.

Two years ago, the committee honored Elmo Adolph, an Olympic and professional boxing official, and Billy Montgomery, who as a highly-regarded state legislator championed sports causes including construction of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame museum.

By Doug Ireland

NATCHITOCHES – Pulitzer Prize-winning outdoors writer Bob Marshall, a veteran of four decades with the New Orleans Times-Picayune, has won the 2013 Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

Marshall has spent much of his 39-year career chronicling the people, stories and issues of Louisiana’s wetlands culture. In 1997, Marshall was a member of the Times-Picayune’s three-man team that won a Pulitzer Prize for the series “Oceans of Trouble” which examined the plight of the world’s fisheries. In 2005, Marshall’s investigations into U.S. Army Corps of Engineers missteps in building the New Orleans levees and floodwalls was part of the newpaper’s reporting package that won a Pulitzer for coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

In addition, Marshall was a finalist for the Investigative Editors and Reporters award and the Polk Award for his on-going coverage into the causes of the disaster. He has won dozens of honors for writing and reporting and is also currently serving as conservation editor for Field & Stream Magazine.

His career reflects extensive work as a reporter and columnist covering the outdoors, professional, college and Olympics sports, feature writing, op-ed columns, and special projects specializing in environmental issues.

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 Louisiana Sports 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.

Marshall will be among the 11 honorees spotlighted the 2013 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Dinner and Ceremonies on Saturday evening, June 29, at the Natchitoches Events Center.

The Induction Dinner and Ceremonies are the culmination of the 2013 Induction Celebration beginning Thursday afternoon, June 27, with the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Press Conference and Kickoff Reception.

Louisiana sport stars Ronald Ardoin, Tommy Hodson, Ervin Johnson, James Jones, Anna Koll, Kevin Mawae, Shaquille O’Neal, Chanda Rubin and Ed “Skeets” Tuohy are the nine athletes and coaches who will enter the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame this summer.

Also honored with enshrinement will be New Orleans businessman and sportsman Milt Retif, recipient of the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award.

Tickets and other event participation opportunities will be available soon through the LaSportsHall.com website.

The 2013 Induction Class will be the first to be welcomed into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum, operated by the Louisiana State Museum system in a partnership with the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. The striking two-story, 27,500-square foot structure faces Cane River Lake in the National Historic Landmark District of Natchitoches and will open this summer.

Distinguished Service Award winners will be recognized in the Hall of Fame along with the 304 athletes, coaches and administrators chosen for enshrinement since 1959. Only 52 prominent figures in the state’s sports media have been honored with the Distinguished Service Award since its inception in 1982.

Bob Marshall is one of the finest journalists in The Times-Picayune's 175-year history. I think he was the best in the 29 years I have been there,” said Jim Kleinpeter, the LSWA president and a colleague of Marshall’s on the Times-Picayune sports staff. “Regardless of the subject matter – sports or otherwise - he always gets to the heart of the story with great clarity and perspective while entertaining and informing his readers.

“His knowledge and background along with his writing ability have made him one of the most influential, important and respected media voices in all manner of environmental issues, from hunting and fishing to wetlands restoration to global warming to the impact of Hurricane Katrina and beyond. He is an extremely valuable resource to Louisiana and truly worthy of this honor,” said Kleinpeter.

In 2007, Marshall was co-author of the Times-Picayune’s series entitled "Last Chance: The Fight to Save a Disappearing Coast," about Louisiana's coastal erosion problems, which won the 2007 John H. Oakes Prize for Distinguished Environmental Reporting from Columbia University, and the Keck Award for outstanding science reporting from The National Academies of Sciences.

His environmental reporting and essays have also earned recognition from a wide range of conservation and environmental groups, and including Conservationist of the Year awards from the Louisiana Wildlife Federation. In 2004 Marshall was elected to the Circle of Chiefs by the Outdoor Writers Association of America, that group's highest award for contributions to conservation.

Marshall's other national and regional awards for journalism include top honors from the Associated Press, United Press International, Scripps-Howard Foundation National Journalism Awards, Society of Professional Journalists, National Association of Sportswriters and Sportscasters, the Pro Football Writers of America, Outdoor Writers Association of America, Louisiana Sports Writers Association, Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association, and Southeastern Outdoors Press Association.

In addition to his newspaper work, Marshall's professional credits include terms as South region editor of Field & Stream; South columnist of Outdoor Life Magazine; host of the F&S Radio Network; co-host of ESPN's The Outdoors Writers and feature assignments for a wide range of national publications from Men's Journal and Reader's Digest to National Geographic Adventure.

By: Doug Ireland

NATCHITOCHES – Basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal, women’s tennis great Chanda Rubin and eight-time NFL Pro Bowl selection Kevin Mawae headline a sparkling class of nine 2013 inductees who will enter the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in late June.

Grambling basketball legend James Jones, a Tallulah native who made the all-time team of the American Basketball Association, joins LSU football passing king Tommy Hodson and nationally-acclaimed jockey Ronald Ardoin, a Carencro native, in the Hall’s 2013 induction class.

Jonesville native Ervin Johnson, whose unlikely 13-year NBA career was launched at a grocery store and took root at the University of New Orleans, is the third pro basketball standout in the 2013 class. Two other inductees have amateur basketball ties: the late Ed “Skeets” Tuohy, who had a career 84.5 winning percentage as coach at New Orleans’ Newman High, and the late Anna Koll, a remarkable all-around athlete from New Orleans in the 1920s and 1930s.

O’Neal became a national star during his three seasons at LSU. Rubin, a Lafayette native, broke onto the world tennis stage as a teenager in 1992. Mawae played high school football at Leesville and blossomed into a second-round NFL Draft choice during 1990-93 at LSU.

Their selection was announced late Saturday. They will be officially enshrined Saturday, June 29, 2013 in Natchitoches to culminate the June 27-29 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration.

The 2013 Induction Class will be the first to be welcomed into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum, operated by the Louisiana State Museum system in a partnership with the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. The striking two-story, 27,500-square foot structure faces Cane River Lake in the National Historic Landmark District of Natchitoches and will open this summer.

“What an incredible inaugural class for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum. I am particularly proud that three LSU Tigers I have watched throughout their careers are part of this class,” Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne said. “The museum is going to house a magnificent collection showcasing the many sports legends who are part of Louisiana’s extraordinary sports legacy.”

A 30-member Louisiana Sports Writers Association committee selected the 2013 inductees. The panel considered a record 146 nominees from 26 different sport categories on a 33-page ballot, said Hall of Fame chairman Doug Ireland.

O’Neal exploded into prominence playing for Hall of Fame coach Dale Brown at LSU, where he was the 1991 national Player of the Year. During an incredible 19-year NBA career, O’Neal evolved into one of the sports world’s most magnetic and charming personalities while winning four world championships, a 1996 Olympic gold medal, three MVP honors in 15 All-Star Game appearances and posting career averages of 23.7 points and 10.9 rebounds for Orlando, the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami, Phoenix, Cleveland and Boston. He was named one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players in 1996.

Rubin was ranked as high as No. 6 in the world in singles and No. 9 in doubles as a pro. She reached four Grand Slam semifinals in doubles, winning at the Australian Open in 1996, and made deep runs in singles in each major, along with claiming the 1992 Wimbledon Junior Singles crown at 16.

Mawae had a 16-year NFL career, the last 14 as a center for Seattle, the New York Jets and Tennessee Titans, starting 238 of 241 career games, including all 16 regular-season games in 12 seasons. He retired after playing in the 2010 Pro Bowl but remained president of the NFL Players Association until 2012, playing a key role in resolving a bitter labor dispute that nearly scuttled the 2011 season.

Jones helped Grambling win three Southwestern Athletic Conference titles while averaging 20 points and eight rebounds under Hall of Fame coach Fred Hobdy before being the 13th pick in the 1967 NBA Draft. The 6-4 swingman opted to sign with New Orleans in the ABA, and made six All-Star Game appearances in seven seasons and became the second 2,000-point scorer in league history before playing his last two years in the NBA with Baltimore.

Hodson, a Matthews native and standout at Central Lafourche High School, was a four-year starter and All-Southeastern Conference quarterback from 1986-89 at LSU. He guided the Tigers to the 1988 SEC championship while setting SEC and LSU records with 9,115 career passing yards, with that mark and his 69 touchdown passes still standing atop the Tigers’ annals more than two decades later. He played seven NFL seasons for four teams, finishing with the New Orleans Saints.

Johnson never played high school basketball and was a 6-foot-11 bagboy at a Baton Rouge grocery when introduced to then-UNO coach Tim Floyd. In four seasons (1990-93) for the Privateers, he developed into a second-team All-American who helped UNO to two NCAA Tournaments and was a first-round (23rd overall) 1993 NBA Draft choice. He played 845 games for Seattle, Denver, Milwaukee and Minnesota.

Ardoin finished a 30-year riding career with 5,226 wins, becoming only the 16th jockey to reach the 5,000-victory plateau. He won six riding titles at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans (four straight from 1993-96), five at Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, posting 4,539 of his career triumphs at those two Louisiana tracks. His mounts won just under $59 million in purse money before a wrist injury ended his career in 2003.

Tuohy developed into a revered prep basketball coach who won three state titles among nine state tournament appearances in 15 seasons before a 1975 stroke that halted his coaching career. His Newman teams won district championships each year as he went 403-74, and never lost more than nine games in a season. He passed away in 1982, at age 51.

Koll was described as “New Orleans’ Greatest All-Around Girl Athlete” in the 1930s as she excelled in tennis, track and field, indoor baseball and basketball. She won the Southern women’s tennis championship twice, set Southern AAU records in the sprints, hurdles and broad jump, led the AAU indoor baseball title three straight years as she led the league in hitting, and made all-star teams in basketball. She lived to be 83, succumbing in 1988.

The nine new inductees will raise the total of Hall of Fame members to 301 sports figures honored since the first induction class - baseball’s Mel Ott, world champion boxer Tony Canzoneri and LSU football great Gaynell Tinsley – were enshrined in 1959 after their election a year earlier.

The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame includes nine members of the Basketball Hall of Fame, six of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players (O’Neal will make it seven), six baseball Hall of Fame inductees, 16 Pro Football Hall of Fame members, seven Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinees, 18 Olympic medalists (10 gold medal winners), 32 College Football Hall of Fame members,five National High School Hall of Fame enshrines, jockeys with a combined 12 Triple Crown victories, six world boxing champions, five College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, three NBA Finals MVPs (O’Neal will be the fourth) and two Super Bowl MVPs.

The 2013 Induction Celebration will kick off Thursday, June 27 with the press conference and reception. It includes three receptions, a Friday morning youth sports clinic, and a Friday afternoon celebrity pro-am golf scramble at Oak Wing Golf Course in Alexandria. Tickets for the Induction Dinner and Ceremonies, and golf entries, will go on sale May 15 through the LaSportsHall.com website, said Hall of Fame Foundation president/chief executive officer Lisa Babin. Sponsorship packages including tickets and golf entries are available now by contacting the Hall at 318-238-4255 or Babin at 318-458-0166.

Also to be honored at the event will be two other Hall of Fame inductees, the winner of the 2013 Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award and the recipient of the 2013 Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism presented by the LSWA. Those award recipients will be announced in February.

Adding in the 301 sports competitors enshrined, 12 winners of the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership award and 53 recipients of the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism, there will be 366 members of the Hall of Fame this summer as the magnificent new museum welcomes visitors.

Doug Ireland/Sports Information Director

NATCHITOCHES – Norm Fletcher, a Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame member for his broadcasting career who also was elected three times as Natchitoches Parish sheriff, died at the age of 82 Friday afternoon in the Natchitoches Regional Medical Center.

Fletcher, a Natchitoches native, was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2010 as he received the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

He was elected as sheriff for the first time in 1979, and for several years spoke at the FBI Academy in Washington, D.C. on topics including efficiency and effectiveness of law enforcement operations. Fletcher spoke at the National Sheriff's Association Convention in 1981, and was keynote speaker at the Louisiana Sheriff's Association Convention in 1984 and the Louisiana Police Jury Association Convention in 1986.

An Air Force veteran, Fletcher was president of the Natchitoches Parish Chamber of Commerce, state chairman of the Louisiana Cultural Resources Commission in the 1960s, and was the volunteer City/Parish Civil Defense Director for 18 years before running successfully for sheriff.

Fletcher was instrumental in the John Wayne 1958 movie “The Horse Soldiers” being filmed in and around Natchitoches. He played the father of the groom in the popular 1989 motion picture “Steel Magnolias,” also filmed in and around Natchitoches.

Fletcher served in five decades as the "Voice of the Hall of Fame," lending his baritone delivery as the narrator for ceremonies and videotape. His stirring style ushered 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 beginning in the late 1940s and continuing into the 1990s, and still was a contributor until entering the hospital in October. Fletcher was "Voice of the Demons" calling Northwestern State sports beginning at the age of 18 in 1949 until running successfully for sheriff, and he reassumed the NSU broadcasting role for two years in the early 1990s.

He hosted two weekly morning radio shows in Natchitoches and contributed 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 was 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 became 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 to be honored.

A memorial service in Natchitoches will be held later. Fletcher donated his body to medical science.

NATCHITOCHES - After a two-month push to match a $250,000 Challenge Grant issued to quickly raise funding for exhibits in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum, the goal has been reached and exceeded, Hall of Fame Foundation President and CEO Lisa Babin announced Thursday.

What was a $1.1 million shortfall for exhibits in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum is now just $230,000 with the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation having raised a total of $561,704 thanks to the $250,000 Challenge Grant, said Babin.

Gifts from $10 to $125,000 from around the state were the result of a focused fundraising effort.  Babin expressed a heartfelt thanks to the New Orleans Saints and Hornets for their lead gift and to newspapers, radio and TV stations that were instrumental in raising awareness about the Challenge Grant.

“We are very grateful to the funding agency who issued the Challenge Grant as their generosity has allowed  issuance of the next phase of the exhibit production contract,” said Babin.  “We deeply appreciate every single gift received during the two-month fundraising drive as each gift represents an interested party in this important project.”

The LSHOF Foundation will continue its fundraising efforts with a goal of Dec. 31 for raising the final $230,000 needed, she said.

The push has the support of LSU football coach Les Miles and his counterpart at Alabama, Nick Saban. They each signed nine prints of an original piece of artwork entitled “Rivalry” by Hall of Fame artist Chris Brown featuring Miles and Saban in coaching poses.

In an effort to entice businesses and individuals to give within the next 60 days, the 14x18 custom artwork will be given as a token of appreciation for  gifts $30,000 and above.  A letter of authenticity will accompany artwork.

“We’re extremely appreciative to Les Miles and Nick Saban for the leadership role they are playing in raising needed funds for the museum exhibits,” said Doug Ireland, chairman of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.  “It’s great to have them on our team. The support we’ve received from the New Orleans Saints, the New Orleans Hornets, and coaches Miles and Saban sets a great tone for the final push of fundraising to assure a fabulous opening next summer for the Hall of Fame Museum.”

In addition to receipt of the artwork, gifts at the $30,000 level will receive naming rights for one of the following exhibits:  tennis, motorsports, boxing, hunting & fishing, watersports or the soundscape of Louisiana football featuring sounds from the Who Dat Nation, LSU faithful and high schools.

For more details on giving opportunities at all levels, contact Lisa Babin at lisababin@lasportshall.com or at 318-458-0166.

Gifts of any amount can be made in a secure online transaction by visiting the LaSportsHall.com website and clicking on the Support the Foundation button. Donors can scroll to “online payment” and select “Museum Exhibits” for the gift type.

Gifts by check are also welcomed. Checks should be issued to La. Sports Hall of Fame Foundation, with a note for exhibit account, and mailed to the Hall of Fame Foundation office at 500 Front Street, Natchitoches, LA, 71457.

The $23 million museum, a 27,500-square foot facility to be operated by the Louisiana State Museum system, is slated to open in Natchitoches next June. The state of Louisiana funded all but the final $1.1 million to complete the exhibits planned for the grand opening of the museum.

An anonymous Louisiana-based foundation provided the $250,000 Challenge Grant, matching each dollar up to $250,000 donated by other entities and individuals in September and October.

NATCHITOCHES, LA- A major Louisiana corporation is stepping forward to make a generous contribution to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum in Natchitoches.

Friday, Atmos Energy Corporation presented a $25,000 contribution to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation challenge grant campaign. The contribution will fund a community classroom in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum currently under construction in downtown Natchitoches.

In September, a $250,000 challenge grant was issued to help secure the funding needed to complete the exhibits for the new museum. “This gift is instrumental in reaching our challenge grant goal,” said Lisa Babin, president and chief executive officer of the Hall of Fame Foundation.

The Louisiana division of Atmos Energy is known for supporting community projects throughout the state. Atmos, one of the country’s largest natural gas distributors has been involved with the museum project from the beginning as it donated a portion of the land needed for the footprint of the building and parking lot.

“Atmos Energy is excited to have a role in this wonderful facility that will be home to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame,” said Trey Hill, Director of Public Affairs. “This additional donation will help provide the final funding needed to open the facility which will be a benefit not only to Natchitoches, but to the state and all the visitors that come here.”

Until Oct. 31, every gift up to the $250,000 will be matched by a philanthropic foundation based in Louisiana.

Individuals and business are urged to play a role in opening the museum by making a gift to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation before the Oct. 31 deadline. Gifts of any amount can be made in a secure online transaction by clicking here!

Gifts by check are also welcomed. Checks should be sent to the La. Sports Hall of Fame Foundation, with a footnote of exhibit account, and mailed to the Hall of Fame Foundation office at 500 Front Street, Natchitoches, LA 71457.

All donations to be applied to the challenge grant must arrive by Wednesday, Oct. 31, but other gifts are still needed to complete about $200,000 to round out the exhibit plan for the museum which is due to open next summer.

As a 501-c-3 non-profit entity, gifts are tax deductible to the extent of the law.

Louisiana’s incredible sports culture is certainlyone of our state’s major bragging points. Soon, we’ll have a place to celebrateit when the long-awaited Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum opens next summerin Natchitoches.

Now, Louisiana sports fans have an urgentopportunity. The Hall of Fame Foundation is racing toward an Oct. 31 deadlineto meet a $250,000 Challenge Grant with all proceeds supporting completion ofexhibits for the museum. The state has provided $21.7 million in funding forthis magnificent celebration of excellence in Louisiana, and the Hall of FameFoundation is within range of its goal of $1.1 million in private money tocomplete the exhibit plan.

The Challenge Grant will match each contribution, ofany amount (examples - $10, $25, $50, $100, $1,000 and above) to the LouisianaSports Hall of Fame Foundation. Contributions must be received by midnight October31.

It caps at $250,000, meaning that all contributionsreceived will be pooled, and the total amount raised up to $250,000 will bedoubled by the Challenge Grant, to produce a net of $500,000 for the Foundationto contribute to the museum exhibits completion.  Currently about $215,000 has been generatedtoward the Challenge Grant, including $125,000 in cash from the New Orleans Saintsand New Orleans Hornets, along a variety of contributions with smaller personalgifts ranging from $10 to $1,000. Every gift is doubled by the Challenge Grant.

The Challenge Grant is provided by an anonymousLouisiana-based foundation which strongly supports the development of the Hallof Fame museum as a springboard for educational, cultural and economicdevelopment reaching each corner of the state.

Contributions can be made online at the LaSportsHall.comwebsite by clicking on the button at the top right of the LaSportsHall.comwebsite and noting “Challenge Grant” as the contribution gift type on thedrop-down menu.

Contributions can be mailed to Louisiana Sports Hallof Fame Foundation, 500 Front Street, Natchitoches, LA 71457.  Call Foundation President Lisa Babin at318-458-0166 or e-mail her at lisababin@lasportshall.comwith any questions. The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation is atax-exempt organization as defined by the IRS section 501(c)(3), to which giftsare tax deductible.

An economic impact study in 2005 indicated the Hallof Fame museum, functions of the Hall of Fame Foundation, and constructioncosts could generate more than $100 million in statewide economic impact in thefirst year once the museum opens its doors.

The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame was founded in1958 by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association to honor the elite figures instate athletic history. A total of 293 competitors, along with 52 sportsjournalists and 11 administrators and officials who have received the DaveDixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award, are members of the Hall as of the 2012induction class.

Louisiana’s sports impact is immense and expanding.Our sports greats are produced in numbers disproportionate to our modestpopulation, and they make impact that stretches not only around the USA butfrequently around the world. You can start a list of Louisiana sportsluminaries that compares favorably to any state. You cannot end that list – ourcurrent day stars are shining brightly in the pro, amateur and college ranks.

The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame museum is locatedin Natchitoches, called “our state’s Cooperstown” by Times-Picayune columnistand Hall of Fame member Peter Finney. Natchitoches is the oldest permanentsettlement in the Louisiana Purchase, older even than New Orleans, and annuallyattracts an estimated 1 million visitors. Decades of dreams are being realizedwith the completion of the Hall of Fame Museum, which will be professionallyrun by the Louisiana State Museum system.

How many Louisiana sports fans are out there?Millions. We all pull for different teams. Here’s a chance to get on the sameteam, to celebrate all of our teams and many great individual Louisiana sportslegends.

Imagine if 5,000 of us gave $10 each by visiting theLaSportsHall.com website by midnight Oct. 31. That would be $50,000 doubled,all for the price of a couple of hot dogs and a drink at the concession stand thisweekend. It’s that easy and painless to join our team. Be our leadoff hitter.Visit LaSporthall.com now and give a little, to help Louisiana get a lot.

Doug Ireland

Chairman, Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame

October 5, 2012 – The New Orleans Saints and Hornets have contributed $250,000 to help fund exhibits and support promotion of the spectacular Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame currently in the final stages of construction in Natchitoches.

 “Louisiana is building one of the finest sports museums in the nation honoring home-state athletes,” said Saints Owner Tom Benson. “The Saints and Hornets are proud to support such a commitment to recognizing the careers and impacts that these great athletes have had on our state’s sports history.”

 “Louisiana’s sports roots run deep, and this generous gift will help us preserve these roots for future generations,” said Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne. “The Hall of Fame is an appropriate venue to showcase Louisiana’s athletes from high school through the professional ranks, as well as the officials, coaches and sportswriters who have contributed to Louisiana’s rich sports culture.”

 “This is a giant leap forward in our fundraising efforts,” said Lisa Babin, President of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation. “Thanks to the Saints and Hornets stepping up, we now have major impetus in our efforts to privately raise the funds necessary to complete the wonderful exhibits that will showcase the very best of Louisiana sports to our citizens and the rest of the world. News of this major endorsement by the Saints and Hornets will encourage others to step up.”

 The gleaming new $21.7 million, 27,500-square foot Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame building is being built in the National Historic District of Natchitoches on Front Street, facing the picturesque Cane River. It is scheduled for opening in the summer of 2013.

 The museum will include a massive wall featuring the Hall of Famers, currently numbering 293 legendary sports competitors along with 52 sports journalists and 11 recipients of the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award.

 Visitors will be able to touch screens and view biographies, statistics, and photographs of every inductee on large monitors in front of the wall. Spectacular displays of balls, gloves, helmets, shoes and a variety of other memorabilia will recall lifetime memories.

 On the second floor, exhibits and large video screens will commemorate major sports, significant events and outstanding achievements throughout the state. For hunting and fishing enthusiasts, the Louisiana Sports Paradise display will include the treasured Grits and Mary Gresham outdoors collection.

 That unique blend of sports history and culture will segue into the fascinating Northwest Louisiana History Museum, a collection of artifacts that will move into the new building from the Old Courthouse Museum in Natchitoches.

 The entire building is part of the Louisiana State Museum System under the office of Lt. Gov. Dardenne.

 The Hall of Famers are selected by a panel of voters from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. That group conceived the idea in 1951 and first began inducting members in 1958. The first real home for the Hall of Fame opened in Prather Coliseum on the campus of Northwestern State University in Natchitoches in 1972 and remained there until the present. The annual induction ceremonies are staged in Natchitoches each summer.

 The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame includes nine members of the Basketball Hall of Fame, six of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players, six Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, 13 Pro Football Hall of Fame members, seven Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame enshrines, 18 Olympic medalists (10 gold medal winners), 32 College Football Hall of Fame members, three National High School Hall of Fame enshrines, jockeys with a combined 12 Triple Crown victories, six world boxing champions, four College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees,  two NBA Finals MVPs and two Super Bowl MVPs. A complete membership list and biographical information on all 293 competitors enshrined is available at the www.LaSportsHall.com website, with a steady stream of info available at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Facebook page.

 “The construction of this fabulous facility is a dream come true for scores of dedicated journalists whose dedication and perseverance have led to its realization,” said LSWA President Jim Kleinpeter. “Having the Saints and Hornets on board as one of the museum’s biggest sponsors is certainly welcome news.”

 The Saints are well represented in the Hall of Fame, with16 honorees. Deuce McAllister is the most recent, inducted last June. Saints alumni who are in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame include Danny Abramowicz, Morten Anderson, Jim Finks, Bobby Hebert, Dalton Hilliard, Rickey Jackson, Vaughan Johnson, Buford Jordan, Archie Manning, Eric Martin, McAllister, Sam Mills, Jim Mora, Willie Roaf, Pat Swilling and Jimmy Taylor.

 Louisiana annually has more active NFL players per capita than any other state.

 While the Hornets are yet to have produced a Hall of Fame inductee, the NBA is deeply represented in the Hall, from players who took part in the NBA’s first-ever games (New Orleans native Warren Perkins, Zachary native Frank Brian), to three NBA MVPs (LSU great, New Orleans resident Bob Pettit; Summerfield native, Louisiana Tech star Karl Malone; Bernice native, Grambling All-American and former Hornets front office member Willis Reed) and a pair of NBA Finals MVPs (Reed and Natchitoches native, McNeese State great Joe Dumars). Six Hall of Fame members played or coached professionally in New Orleans, headlined by Pistol Pete Maravich and including Aaron James, Slick Watts, Jackie Moreland, Glynn Saulters and coach Scotty Robertson.

 The building’s innovative design, by Trahan Architects of Baton Rouge, is already drawing attention in architectural circles internationally.

 Construction is progressing, according to Doug Ireland, Hall of Fame Chairman. “You can see it changing every day. It is like a beautiful flower starting to bloom. People are really going to be fascinated when they see this building and will be enthralled with the experiences they will have walking through it.”

 “We certainly appreciate this very generous contribution by Mr. Tom Benson and the Saints and Hornets organizations,” said Robert Wheat, executive director of the Louisiana State Museum system. The strong bond between Louisiana’s major professional sports team and Louisiana’s great new Sports Hall of Fame will carry well into the future.”

NATCHITOCHES – A month-long push in September is underway to match a $250,000 challenge grant supporting the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum, which is nearing completion while seeking over $700,000 in private funding to complete exhibits for an opening next summer.

 During September, every gift to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation in support of exhibits for the museum will be matched, up to a maximum of $250,000, by a philanthropic foundation based in Louisiana. Lisa Babin, president and chief executive officer of the Hall of Fame Foundation, made the announcement.

 Gifts of any amount can be made in a secure online transaction by visiting the LaSportsHall.com website and clicking on the Support the Foundation button. Donors can scroll to “online payment” and select “Museum Exhibits” for the gift type.

 Gifts by check are also welcomed. Checks should be issued to La. Sports Hall of Fame Foundation, with a note for exhibit account, and mailed to the Hall of Fame Foundation office at 500 Front Street, Natchitoches, LA, 71457, for arrival by Oct. 1.

 For additional information, contact Babin at lisababin@lasportshall.com via e-mail or at 318-485-0166 by telephone.

 An original target of $1.1 million to complete exhibits as designed has been reduced after $367,000 has already been secured previous to the challenge grant being issued, said Babin.

 “The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation is committed to raising the remaining $718,050 required to complete the exhibit plan.  We are thrilled by the generous support provided with this challenge grant which has the potential of raising $500,000 of the $718,050 needed,” said Babin. “This grant allows any gift to be instantly doubled, speeding us on our path of achieving our private fundraising goal.  Reaching our fundraising goal by October 1 will avoid any delay in exhibit construction and installation setting the stage for opening the museum on schedule next summer.”

 Babin said the challenge grant donor wishes to remain anonymous but specifically issued the challenge grant in an effort to encourage immediate donations.