Hall of Fame weekend is set

Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
2023 Induction Class
Competitors

ALANA BEARD – A phenomenal shooting guard and defender at the high school, collegiate and professional levels, Beard was the 2000 Miss Basketball in Louisiana, the 2004 John R. Wooden winner as college basketball’s best player and a four-time WNBA All-Star (2005-07, 2009). … Helped Southwood High School to four consecutive state titles from 1997-2000 with a 144-6 record (ending her career with 53 wins in a row) and the WBCA All-American scored 2,646 points before going to Duke. … There, she scored 2,687 points -- 41 more than she did in high school – and was the first NCAA player to amass 2,600 points, 500 assists and 400 steals in a career while leading the Blue Devils to two Final Four appearances. … The three-time ACC Player of the Year (2002, 2003, 2004) averaged 19.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.0 steals for her career. … Her yearly scoring averages of 17.0, 19.8, 22.0 and 19.7 came while shooting 52.7% from the field and 77.4% from the free-throw line for her career. … The second pick of the 2004 WNBA draft by the Washington Mystics, Beard played 14 seasons with the Mystics and Los Angeles Sparks (she missed the entire 2010 and 2011 seasons with injuries) and averaged 11.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 419 career games. … While a capable scorer, she was a lockdown defender as the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2017 and 2018 and was a first-team All-Defensive team pick five times (second team four more times). … She was a member of the Sparks’ 2016 WNBA championship team. …Born 5-14-1982 in Shreveport.

PAUL BYRD – Part of the National League team in the1999 All-Star Game after being one of LSU’s most successful pitchers, including starring on Skip Bertman’s first College World Series-winning club in 1991, Byrd went on to a 14-year major league pitching career. ... Built a 109-96 record with a 4.41 ERA for seven teams. ...A fourth-round draft pick by Cleveland in 1991, Byrd won at least 10 games six times in his 14 MLB seasons -- going 17-11 in 2002 for a 100-loss Kansas City Royals team, 15-8 in 2007 with Cleveland and 15-11 in 1999 in his ASG year with the Phillies. ... Posted wins in the ALDS (Yankees) and ALCS (Red Sox), becoming one of only two pitchers to beat those storied clubs in the same postseason. ... Byrd remains in the top five in career pitching at LSU in wins (31, fifth) and strikeouts (319, fifth) in only three seasons (1989-91). ... The right-hander holds the school season record for victories with 17 in 1990, going 17-6 with a 3.84 ERA in 140.2 innings, including six complete games, while striking out 130 to earn Baseball America Second-Team All-America honors. ... Had 44 starts in 77 career appearances with the Tigers, going 31-11 with a 3.96 ERA in 333.2 innings, fanning 319. ... In the Tigers’ national championship season of 1991, he struck out 116 in 102.1 innings with an 8-3 record that included a CWS semifinal win over Florida. ... Widely admired in the big leagues for his friendly personality, Byrd was voted the Steve Olin/Tim Crews “Good Guy” Award by the Baseball Writers Association, and has won three regional sports Emmy Awards, one for the 2022 season, during his post-retirement broadcasting career. ... Now an analyst for Bally Sports coverage of the Atlanta Braves. Born 12-3-1970 in Louisville, Ky.

WALTER DAVIS — A two-time Olympian in the horizontal jumps, and a two-time World Games champion and four-time medalist, the Arnaudville native and Beau Chene High graduate had a short, but highly productive career at LSU from 2001-02 after transferring from Barton County (Kansas) Community College. ... In two seasons with the Tigers, he claimed six NCAA titles with victories in the indoor and outdoor triple jump in 2001 and ’02, the outdoor long jump in 2002 and 4x100-meter relay in ’02. ... Helped LSU win two of its six national championships in the sport — the 2001 indoor and 2002 NCAA outdoor crowns. ... Won the triple jump and was second at the 2001 indoor meet, scoring 18 of LSU’s 34 points in a one-point win over TCU. A year later, at the 2002 outdoor meet in Baton Rouge, he claimed both jumps titles and ran the leadoff leg on the winning 4x100 relay — scoring 22½ of his team’s 64 points. ... represented the United States in the Olympics in 2000 (11th, concentrating on the triple jump but also qualified for the long jump) and 2004 (long, 12th place, and triple, 11th place). ... Missed a third Olympics in 2008 when he finished fourth at the U.S. Trials in the triple jump by a half inch (top three qualify for the Olympic team). ... In 2012, at the age of 33, he was third and made the Olympic team — but he didn't go because he didn't have the Olympic "A" standard needed to participate. ... Davis also represented the U.S. at the World indoor and outdoor championships eight times — winning indoor and outdoor gold medals, an indoor silver and an outdoor bronze. ... Career bests of 27-0 ½ (LJ) and 58-2 (TJ). ... Inducted in the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame in September 2019. …. Born 7-2-1979.

WENDELL DAVIS -- One of the most prolific wide receivers in LSU history, Davis was a two-time All-American in 1986 and ’87 when he teamed up with Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer Tommy Hodson. ... Playing for the Tigers from 1984-87, held most of the school’s receiving marks until 2001 Biletnikoff Award winner Josh Reed came along. ... Among the marks Davis set were for receptions in a game (14) and he established single-season marks for catches (80), receiving yards (1,244), receiving TDs (11) and yards per game (113.1) in 1986 and also had the school record for career receiving yards (2,708) -- all of which were shattered by Reed. Davis, however, still holds the school mark for career receptions (183). ... Shreveport native’s 2,708 career receiving yard total was also an SEC record, a mark that 30 years later ranks still ninth in league annals. ,,, Davis was a first-round draft pick (27th overall) of the Chicago Bears in 1987, but his NFL career was cut short by a devastating injury when he tore the patellar tendon in both his knees on the notoriously-bad artificial turf at Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium just five games into the 1993 season. ... In the two seasons prior to the injury in 1991 and ’92, Davis grabbed 115 passes for 1,679 yards and eight scores. ... For his 5½-year NFL career, he had 207 catches, 3,000 yards (14.5 yards per catch) and 14 TDs. Born 1-3-1966 in Shreveport.

MATT FORTE – A former Tulane star, Forte, who played at Slidell High School, was one of the NFL’s top dual threat running backs during his 10-year career with the Chicago Bears (2008-15) and New York Jets (2016-17). ... Retired at the age of 32 in Feb. 2018 with 9,796 rushing yards and 54 touchdowns and caught 554 passes for 4,672 yards and 21 TDs for a total of 14,468 yards from scrimmage with 75 TDs. ... A two-time Pro Bowler, Forte was a second-round pick (No. 44 overall) of the Bears in 2008 and became a five-time 1,000-yard rusher.... On the centennial anniversary of the NFL in 2019, Forte came in at No. 34 on the Bears’ list of the Top 100 players in club history. ... A two-time winner of the franchise’s Brian Piccolo Award, given each year to a rookie and veteran who best exemplifies “the courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and sense of humor of Brian Piccolo," Forte was selected to the All-Rookie team after a brilliant NFL debut season in which he had 1,238 rushing yards (a franchise rookie record) and eight TDs and added 63 receptions for 477 yards and four scores. ... Forte produced a career-best 1,339 rushing yards in 2013 and was voted to his second Pro Bowl (he first made it in 2011). ... In 2014, he rushed for 1,038 yards and caught 102 passes for 808 yards ... One of three backs in NFL history with 1,000 rushing yards and 100 catches in a season (LaDainian Tomlinson, 2003; Christian McCaffrey, 2018). ... Forte had 26 100-yard rushing games and his 8,602 rushing yards with the Bears puts him second on the fabled franchise’s all-time list behind only Walter Payton, who had 16,726 yards in 13 seasons. ... Payton averaged 88.0 yards per game to Forte’s 71.7. ... Forte rushed for a career-high 205 yards on 25 carries in a 34-29 win over the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 2, 2011. ... Since his retirement, Forte has dabbled in acting, making an appearance on the hit NBC drama Chicago Fire in Feb. 2020. ... At Tulane, Forte had a breakout season as a senior with a school-record 2,127 rushing yards – 11 fewer yards than he had in his first three seasons combined – and averaged 5.9 yards per carry with a school-record 23 TDs. ... Rushed for 342 yards vs. SMU, 303 yards vs. Southeastern and 278 yards vs. Memphis – accounting for the top three rushing games in school history. ... Forte’s 4,265 rushing yards are second in school annals behind Mewelde Moore’s 4,364 yards. … A two-time All-Conference USA pick, Forte was MVP of the 2008 Senior Bowl. … Born 12-10-1985 in Lake Charles.

WALTER IMAHARA – A member of the UL Athletics Hall of Fame and Louisiana Weightlifting Hall of Fame, Imahara was a six-time USA national champion in the 60kg (132-pound) weight class while competing in the press, snatch and clean & jerk. … The longtime Baton Rouge resident and businessman won his first titles in 1962 and 1963 while serving in the U.S. Army and then won four consecutive titles from 1965-68 representing the New Orleans Athletic Club. … Prior to him competing for the U.S. in international competitions, Imahara’s parents owned a 60-acre farm in California that produced table grapes and strawberries before they decided to go into the chicken business. … Their business went under, however, with the start of World War II and his family was forced after Pearl Harbor to go to an internment camp, where they remained for 2 ½ years. … Later, Imahara became the first Asian to attend UL (then Southwestern Louisiana Institute), in the mid-1950s and graduated in 1960 with a degree in horticulture. … Imahara joined the SLI weightlifting team and was an All-American when the program won the 1957 NCAA team title – the first-ever for the school – and was nicknamed the “Asian-Cajun” by the university president. … He was the NCAA featherweight champion in 1957, 1959 and 1960 -- improving his total each time, lifting a total of 645 pounds in 1957, 695 pounds in 1959 and 725 pounds in 1960 when he was named an All-American and earned “Best Lifter” acclaim. … He was the 1960 Junior National champion and 1967 Pan Am Games gold medalist; he also won eight Southern AAU titles, six Louisiana state titles, two Southern USA championships and was National Masters champion from 1980-2005 before retiring from competition at 68 with hundreds of Masters records while winning 26 consecutive national gold medals. … Born 2-14-1937 in Sacramento, Calif.

PAUL MAINIERI — A member of the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Mainieri retired after winning 1,505 games in 39 seasons as a college baseball coach, including 641 at LSU and the 2009 College World Series championship. ... Before what would be his final stop at LSU, he coached at St. Thomas College, Air Force and Notre Dame. Mainieri had his most success at LSU and Notre Dame, where he won 69.3% and 71.4% of his games, respectively. ... Was the winningest active coach in the NCAA ranks when he retired with an overall record of 1,505-775-8 for a winning percentage of 65.9%. ... The 1,505 wins put him seventh all-time among all NCAA Division I baseball coaches. ... During 15 seasons at LSU, he was 641-283-3 before stepping away because of recurring neck issues. ... Guided his team to the 2009 College World Series title as the Tigers topped Texas, two games to one, in the championship series. ... In his final 26 full seasons as a head coach at Notre Dame and LSU (not counting the 2020 COVID-shortened season), his teams won 40 games a total of 21 times. ... When he reached the 1,500-win milestone late in the 2021 season, Mainieri became the fifth coach to win at least 1,500 games and a national championship, joining Augie Garrido, Gene Stephenson, Jim Morris and Mark Marquess. ... During his time at LSU, where he played as a freshman in 1976, Mainieri’s teams won a CWS title, five NCAA super regionals, nine NCAA regionals, four Southeastern Conference regular-season titles, six SEC tournament titles and six SEC Western Division crowns. ... He has the third-highest career winning percentage in SEC history, trailing only Skip Bertman (870-330-3, .724) and Ray Tanner (738-316, .700). ... Mainieri coached 13 first-team All-Americans at LSU and as of September 2022, 25 Tigers have reached the major leagues with 88 players being selected in the MLB draft during his tenure from 2007-21. ... A four-time National Coach of the Year, Mainieri and his father, legendary Miami-Dade North Community College coach Demie Mainieri, are the only father-son duo in the ABCA Hall of Fame. … Born 8-29-1957 in Morgantown, W.Va.

ELI MANNING – Following in the footsteps of his father, Archie, and older brother, Peyton, Eli Manning starred in 16 seasons with the New York Giants (2004-19) after a stellar four-year career at Ole Miss. … The Newman High School grad claimed the Maxwell and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm awards as a senior at Ole Miss, where he amassed career totals of 829 completions, 10,119 passing yards and 81 touchdown passes while setting or tying 45 school records (2000-03). … Going into the 2022 season, he still ranked in the SEC’s Top 10 in career completions (eighth), TD passes (eighth) and passing yards (ninth). … He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 draft by the San Diego Chargers, but declined to play there and was traded to the Giants. … The deal worked out well for both player and team as Manning led the Giants to victories in Super Bowl XLII and XLVI and was named MVP of both (one of only five players to win two or more). … A 17-14 win over the New England Patriots, who were 18-0 going into Super Bowl XLII on Feb. 3, 2008, is considered one of the all-time greatest upsets in sports history. … Manning’s miraculous escape from a fierce pass rush and 32-yard completion to David Tyree with 59 seconds left, a play now known as the “Helmet Catch” and later chosen as the Play of the Decade for the 2000s, led to the game-winning touchdown pass four plays later. … The Giants won another title four years later when they again upset the Patriots 21-17 with a last-minute TD. … Manning, who seven times threw for at least 4,000 yards, holds Giants’ franchise records for passing yards (57,023), completions (4,895) and TDs (366). Going into the 2022 season, he ranks ninth in NFL history in yards and completions and 10th in TD passes. … A four-time Pro Bowl pick, Manning played in 236 games with 234 starts and never missed a game because of injury. He started 210 consecutive games from 2004-17, the third-longest streak by a quarterback in league history. … The Giants inducted Manning into their Ring of Honor and retired his No. 10 in Sept. 2021; Ole Miss also retired No. 10 one month later in celebrating Eli Manning Day. … Born 1-3-1981 in New Orleans.

RON WASHINGTON – A New Orleans native who has reached three World Series, two as a manager, “Wash” played 10 major league seasons with five teams –primarily with Minnesota. … A middle infielder, he hit .261 in 564 career games (1977, 1981-1989) before becoming a coach with the New York Mets and Oakland where he helped develop some of the game’s top young infielders in the 1990s and early 2000s. … On Nov. 6, 2006, Washington was hired by the Texas Rangers as their field manager and held that position for eight seasons. … From 2007-14, he had five winning seasons and compiled a record of 664-611 (.521) with his best seasons being 2010-13 when he won at least 90 games each year. He’s the franchise’s all-time wins leader after passing Bobby Valentine with his 582nd victory on Aug. 4, 2013. … In 2010, Washington became just the second Rangers’ manager to lead his team to the postseason when they won the A.L. West title in going 90-72 (.556) … That year, Washington became the franchise’s first manager to win a playoff series when the Rangers beat Tampa Bay in the ALDS and eventually advanced to the organization’s first World Series. … Texas lost in five games to San Francisco, but Washington became only the third African-American manager to guide a team to the World Series -- joining Toronto’s Cito Gaston (1992, 1993) and San Francisco’s Dusty Baker (2002). … In 2011, Washington led the Rangers to a career-best record of 96-66 (.593) and a second straight division title, but Texas fell to St. Louis in seven games in the World Series – coming up one strike short of the title. … He has an 18-16 postseason record. … Washington, who was manager of the American League All-Star team in 2011 and 2012, won a World Series ring as third base coach of the Atlanta Braves in 2021, and remains with the Braves. … Born April 29, 1952 in New Orleans.

M.L. WOODRUFF – Won 11 state championships in his Hall of Fame prep baseball coaching career ... Started coaching at Doyle High School in Livingston Parish 1981 as the school’s baseball coach. After one season, Woodruff became the head baseball coach, head basketball coach and assistant football coach at Parkview Baptist in Baton Rouge, where he spent the remainder of his 30-year teaching and coaching career before retiring in 2010. ... Aside from two years, while he served as the school’s full-time athletic director, Woodruff was the Eagles’ head baseball coach for 27 seasons while Parkview’s baseball program became one of the best in the state in all classes, winning 21 district titles and making 23 playoff appearances in his tenure. ... The 11 state championships came over a 23-year span: 1986, 1987, 1989, 1997, 2002-2006, 2008 and 2009. The Eagles achieved a perfect record of 22-0 in all semifinal games and finals games played under Woodruff. ... Holds a 603-163-2 career record for a winning percentage of .785. ... Woodruff was the LSWA’s coach of the year in 1986, 1987 and 1989, and was honored as the American Baseball Congress Association’s national Coach of the Year in 2007. ... Inducted into the Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2016 and Louisiana Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2018.

2023 Induction Class – Contributors
Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism

BRUCE BROWN – Served on the sports staff of the Lafayette Daily Advertiser for 21 years, and for 37 years overall as part of the Advertiser editorial staff ... most of that time – 20 years – he served as sports editor and helped guide the Advertiser through radical changes in both that newspaper and in the industry ...the Advertiser sports department won more than 100 LSWA awards for writing, layout and photography, as well as numerous Louisiana Press Association honors ... the Advertiser also won a coveted national Best of Gannett award in 2005 for its coverage of Lafayette’s team in the Little League World Series ... Brown began his career as a part-timer in January of 1975, covering a prep basketball game between Pecan Island and Meaux as his first assignment. He joined the Advertiser staff full-time in August of 1975 under then-editor Bob Tompkins, and one year later he took over as sports editor where he served for two decades. In 1995 he left that role to concentrate on writing and covered prep, college and pro sports as well as military, faith and values and non-profit organizations for the Advertiser. He moved back to sports in 2011 before retiring in 2012 ... in 1980, Brown wrote “Prides of Acadiana,” a book about legendary UL sports standouts including Hall of Famers (fellow 2023 inductee) Walter Imahara, Ron Guidry, Bo Lamar, Harold Porter and Chris Cagle among others ... he served two years as LSWA vice president, treasurer, and secretary, and has been a member of the Hall of Fame selection committee for two decades ... in retirement, he has been a freelance writer for the UL Athletic Network, for Quick Slants and Tiger Rag magazines, the Crowley Post-Signal and the Abbeville Meridional, and still contributes pieces to the Baton Rouge/Acadiana Advocate and the UL Athletic Network.

LORI LYONS -- Houma native started her newspaper career as the Assistant Society Editor at the Houma Courier while still in high school ... a member of The Mirror staff at Terrebonne High School and, later, The Maroon while majoring in English and Journalism at Loyola University in New Orleans, she began professionally as a sports agate clerk at The Times-Picayune in 1986 and rose to become the president of the LSWA (the second woman in that role) with an impressive collection of writing awards ... climbing a steep hill at a time when women sports journalists were uncommon in Louisiana, she became the high school reporter for the T-P’s River Parishes Bureau in 1991, remaining there until 2012 ... she continued to cover the River parishes as a freelancer until she became the Sports Editor at L’Observateur in LaPlace, winning an Louisiana Press Association writing award as well as an award for Best Photo.... after leaving L’Observateur in 2017, she continued to freelance for multiple outlets ...twice the LSWA Prep Writer of the Year, was honored by the LHSAA as its Prep Writer of the Year in 2008 and won the LSWA’s prestigious Mac Russo Award in 2008 ... she was president of the LSWA from 2012-2014, helping to oversee the opening of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches. She created, launched and continues to maintain the LSWA’s website (lswa.info) and Facebook page ... authored Adoption in America: The Diary of a Mom-in-Waiting, an account of her and husband Marty Luquet’s quest to adopt a baby. Their daughter is a reporter ... Lyons is now teaching high school journalism, creative writing and multimedia at Riverside Academy in Reserve and is the advisor for the Rebel Express student news website.