June 25, 2021
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TODAY’S COLUMNS:
Scott delves into the New Orleans Pelicans and LSU Baseball
Dennis gives you his take on the LHSAA ruling on Catholic HS and offers his perspective on Carl Nassib coming out of the closet. Dennis’ views are his own
Please scroll down below.
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THE WIZARDRY OF OS
I would love to have faith and believe in what the Pelicans are doing, but how can any fan believe that the next move will be the right move?
David Griffin took 3 months to choose Stan Van Gundy in the fall. A full month after the regular season ended we are supposed to believe that Griffin and Van Gundy finally sat down to talk. It was at that time that they realized they did not have the same vision for the future of the team. Really?
What happened over those 3 months in the fall? What was the communication during the season? Look, I understand how these press conferences work. But, it brings up all new questions and reasons not to trust the result of this hiring process. How will the process be different this time to make sure the people choosing the team and the people coaching the team are on the same page?
When Griffin got the job, he went through some sort of evaluation process and decided that Gentry was the right man to lead the team. That evaluation was flawed because Griffin moved on after less than a year. We are less than two years into the Griffin era and he cannot find a coach to have the same vision. Maybe the vision is what needs correcting.
Meanwhile, LSU is still looking for a head baseball coach, and I am surprised. The narrative once Mainieri announced his retirement was that there was no way that Woodward was caught off guard. Certainly, LSU was preparing for this possibility, and as soon as the likely next coach ended his season, LSU would name their next coach.
Woodward has interviewed Bianco and Godwin, and neither has the job. So now the theory is that the next coach must still be coaching in the CWS. I don’t know.
Mississippi State has a better facility and just as good of resources and tradition. Texas has it all. So I am ruling out Price and Lemonis.
Paul Mainieri, as we all grew accustomed to, let the cat out of the bag and let everyone know that he already tried to get O’Connor from Virginia. Elliott Avent is the coach at North Carolina State. He has been the head coach there for 25 years and is 65 years old. Cross him off the list.
While we are at it, there is a consensus that Woodward and LSU only go after head coaches. History shows that to be true, so cross off any assistant coaches still coaching.
That leaves Arizona, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Stanford. Stanford’s coach played at Stanford. Forget that. Jay Johnson’s resume is good and he had a great team this year, but he has no connections to LSU or Louisiana. Hiring Johnson would be outside of Woodward’s way of operating in my eyes.
Vitello, from Tennessee, has created a lot of buzz, but would be an out of character hire for Woodward or LSU baseball. Vitello’s style is very different from Skip or Paul, and I have to believe they have some input in the new coach.
That only leaves Tim Corbin and Vanderiblt. If Woodward can pull that one off, then I will just shut up and hope Woodward is the AD at LSU until I die.
I believe Woodward is swinging for the fences, as he is apt to do. I do not know which of those fish he is trying to reel in, but he is certainly going to take a swing (mixing metaphors). That being said, I think LSU’s next baseball coach is going to be Cliff Godwin. He has coached at LSU and other places in the SEC. He has won without huge resources at East Carolina. He is young and energetic. And he clearly wants the job so badly that he will wait patiently for Woodward to chase after someone that does not seem like a real possibility.
Keep in mind that I have no sources, so who really knows? What I do know is that I have a lot more faith in the success of the next coach Scott Woodward hires than the next coach David Griffin hires.
HEY REF
I received two phone calls today from interested individuals wanting to know if I planned on mentioning the situation going on right now between the LHSAA and Catholic High of Baton Rouge. I told both parties that “Yes, I will make mention” but they probably won’t like what I’m about to write since I’ve got nothing to say about this situation because I’m not privy to any inside information.
But what I do know is that Catholic High isn’t guilty of anything the rest of the schools in Louisiana are guilty of. My callers thought that since the principals agreed upon a split between private schools like Catholic and public schools like Central High that this type of happening wouldn’t come to surface. The so called split between the two types of institutions under the LHSAA banner only pertains to playoffs and has nothing to do with the day in and day out everyday happenings.
I am one that is all for the splitting of private/public school playoffs because as I’ve written on many occasions the public schools just couldn’t compete with the private schools because PRIVATE SCHOOLS RECRUIT! And there should be nothing from keeping them from continuing this form of behavior since students at private schools must pay tuition. When my alma mater starting winning 5A football championships I was wanting to know how they built themselves into such a powerhouse.
Some of my old classmates said the school RECRUITS PLAYERS FROM OTHER STATES! But “How do they do it” I asked. The answer was “just come look at the school during Christmas holidays; the campus looks like an NCAA school”! I shot back “but I thought that was illegal”? Then I was told the school “doesn’t do it, it’s the ATHLETIC FOUNDATION”!
One such case involved a player that was a student at a school across the river. But FOUNDATION wanted him to play on this side of the river. So, I was told the FOUNDATION bought his mother a house and moved the family across the river so he could play there. All perfectly legal under the laws of the LHSAA would you believe? They went on to say other players from Texas, Arkansas and other states also came and moved into their designated player assignment jurisdiction.
But getting back to Catholic’s case, it isn’t what they did but that they got caught. Remember what “Hey Ref” says; “when you point a finger, you’ve got four pointed back at you”!
I do want to ask everyone a little something since Gov. Edwards vetoed the “trans-gender” bill. If you’ve got a daughter and they allow TRANSERS to play on the girl’s teams will they also allow those transverses TO SHOWER WITH THE TEAM? If not then aren’t you discriminating against them and their feelings? Of course you are. I keep hearing this cry of allowing everyone to be included no matter what they wake up and feel like if you take away that closeness isn’t that a form of discrimination? YES IT IS! I mean just because SHE’s 6’7” and weighs 275lbs. can’t she be accepted? SHOULDN’T SHE BE ALLOWED TO SHOWER WITH THE TEAM! These are the situations that will affect your children so you better be very careful how you make your bed cause one day your child will come home and tell you about how “DIFFERENT” the 6’7” player was that scrubbed her back while the team took a shower!
Now to the so called HERO, Carl Nassib of the NFL’s Raiders. I guess when you have the type of person residing in the White House that we have now individuals like Nassib are “Heroes” for some reason but I can’t agree on this guy! I’d just like to know when these types of individuals will become common place. Why is it when a homosexual does something this country has reason to celebrate? O. K. I forgot about what put that guy in the White House. A person’s sexual preference should remain PRIVATE! But while we’re having a “come-out” party let me also come out of the closet.
The column that follows I actually wrote back in 2013 when homosexuals became the darlings of everything American. I still want to know “WHY DIDN’T I GET THE SAME ATTENTION”? SO, take a peek at these words of wisdom from “HEY REY 5/2/13” and maybe you’ll understand I’m trying to break down barriers for those of us like me. The only thing I should change is the fact I’m 65 now…
So enjoy this SPECIAL EDITION OF “HEY REF”!
To insure equal rights and fair treatment for those that are like me, I must confess; “I’m a 57 year old sports columnist. I’m a white male. And I’m heterosexual”! In the entire history of sports columnists NO OTHER writer has come out and declared he’s a heterosexual.
Since I’m getting this off my chest and clearing the air I must also tell each and every one of you that I LOVE WOMEN! Yes, it’s true; I love to sleep with a woman! I love having dinner with a woman! I love pumping gas with a woman! And I’ll even go so far as to admit I love shopping with a woman! So that no one has to guess anymore about my sexuality, I love to do just about everything with a woman. There are of course two exceptions to the list when I’d rather have a male partner; fishing and officiating football.
Don’t hate me for loving women! I wasn’t born any other way, this wasn’t a decision I made. Rather; I believe God ordained me to be a heterosexual and I intend to do His bidding. I never knew “coming out of the closet” would feel so refreshing; never again will any person I meet have to wonder if I’m a real heterosexual.
O. K., now that I’ve come out as the first openly heterosexual sports columnist I can’t wait for all the attention from every national newspaper such as USA Today. Just think of it, here in Louisiana, all the major T. V. networks will be converging and jockeying to be the first to do an “up close & personal” story about me “coming out” and leading the way for more heterosexual, male, sports columnists.
Think how important this is to even those heterosexual female sports columnists as they too will now find it easier to “come out” and profess their heterosexuality. It’s truly a new day for all those “closet” heterosexuals like me out there that feared the discrimination we face constantly from every corner of today’s openly homosexual world.
And of course I’ll be forced to make all the rounds of every Talk Show airing in America. How long will it be before the cable networks start a war to be the first to produce my new Reality Show? I haven’t had time to compose an answer yet to the comparisons I’ll surely be getting to myself and Jackie Robinson. Every sports reporter will want to be the first to boldly compare my admission to living an openly heterosexual lifestyle to the name of one of baseball’s greatest!!!
I feel a huge weight has been lifted off my chest, I feel as though a new day is dawning in America and we can now accept someone for confessing to be a heterosexual. No more having to fear being discriminated against because you are “one of those kinds”. To be able to walk out in today’s America where being a heterosexual is frowned upon can only lead to thousands more like me in that I believe I’m a true pioneer of equal justice for all of America’s heterosexual citizens.
I only want; NO I DEMAND THAT as an openly, straight, heterosexual, male sports columnist that I should be given the very same rights and attention given to those homosexual sports columnists, football and basketball players, etc. After all; isn’t that what we all are fighting for in America? I’m tired of being discriminated against because I’m a heterosexual.
Equal rights for all heterosexuals should be the new law of our land. With those rights we’ll finally see heterosexuals being treated as equals to homosexuals. We shouldn’t face hatred because of our sexual orientation. It’s time to stop those needing jobs and/or advancement in those jobs from being put down because we are heterosexuals.
Here’s the much bigger question; “What if I don’t make those same headlines”? Or if no attention is paid to me for speaking out as a heterosexual then we as a nation must ask “WHY NOT”? If you tell me that an openly, straight, male, heterosexual sports columnist is the NORM and shouldn’t get any special attention then could it be that what you are really saying is “a homosexual sports columnist is ABNORMAL”.
So, I’ll close by asking, “Has our society flipped in such a way that we are now facing a future that’ll require fighting a nation full of HETEROPHOBES”?
Keep the fight going! Till next week!
Press Release
by
Jim Spring
The year 2020 marked the tenth anniversary of the Denham Springs High School Athletic Hall of Fame (HOF) since its inception in 2011, though celebration of this feat was postponed until now due to the Corona virus pandemic. Then school Principal Kelly Jones and Athletic Director Dru Nettles tasked J. W. “Pee Wee” Day, Butch Wax, Robert Graves, and Jim Spring—all DSHS alumni and former Yellow Jacket athletes—to form a Steering Committee to establish criteria, procedures, and a timeline that would bring into existence the Hall of Fame.
The Steering Committee believed that such an elite athletic fraternity could become a community treasure. The city has only one high school, thus enabling the public to rally around its flagship scholastic institution. Community support for the organization has been outstanding, benefited by generous exposure in The Livingston Parish News through the years.
The Committee embraced the notion of hosting a formal HOF induction banquet each year instead of pursuing a more minimalist approach that would involve little fanfare, such as the informal introduction of members during a sporting event. Held annually at Forrest Grove Plantation each September, the popular banquet has become one of the most anticipated events on the city’s social calendar. The affair is made possible through the gracious support of title sponsor Hood Dental Care and, before that, Sport-N-Center.
In 2011, one hundred and fourteen years after the school’s founding, leaders created this prestigious Hall of Fame—now a decade old—to celebrate its rich sports tradition and to honor its many sports heroes.
The four-member Steering Committee, which provided structure and gave birth to the institution, was then absorbed by an 11-member Selection Committee that meets each spring to review nominations and vote on that year’s class by secret ballot. School officials have striven to protect the integrity of the selection process, understanding that holding the community’s trust is essential to the credibility and long-term success of the Hall of Fame. To that end, DSHS relies solely upon the public to submit all nominations.
Though DSHS has become the second largest high school in the state since its founding in 1897, for the most part it was considered a small country school. Thus, all the more remarkable that it has produced such a surprising number of heralded sports figures. Among its alumni are five prep All-Americans, seven collegiate All-Americans, four professional athletes, an Olympian, an NFL team president, and a Golden Spikes Award winner (college baseball’s equivalent to the Heisman Trophy).
Notable athletic achievements are state championships in baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls softball, and girls bowling. The 1972 Yellow Jacket football team came close to a state title, earning runner-up laurels in a fierce match versus Hahnville that ended in a 26-26 tie, losing the game–-and the title—on first downs in an era before overtime play was part of the game.
One additional achievement, evidence of its solid reputation built over the past decade, is the HOF’s assistance to six other high schools seeking guidance in establishing such an institution on their campuses.
Member Demographics
Currently the Hall of Fame has enshrined 73 sports greats, an average of eight per class, with pending inductions of another six whose installations were delayed until September of 2021 due to the pandemic. Another such postponement occurred when The Great Flood of 2016 caused a deferment that year as well. In an effort to jumpstart the long overdue recognition of Yellow Jacket greats, the first two classes (2011, 2012) were expanded to no more than 15 each. Subsequent classes are limited to no more than eight each, although depending upon the size and quality of the nominee pool, the number varies from year to year.
Of the total membership, 20 are deceased including 11 whose inductions were posthumous. Though all the inductees lived in Denham Springs during their high school years, their life journeys have taken some to other states—Texas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Virginia, New York, Arizona, and Washington—and one to a foreign country. Katrina Hibbert, an exchange student from Australia who led the Lady Jackets basketball team to a storybook 37-0 season and a Class 5A state title in 1996, has since returned to live Down Under.
Fifty-four of the 58 members inducted thus far in the “Athlete” category earned All State honors or were State Champions in individual sports such as tennis or track and field. Some received this distinction more than once and some in more than one sport. Ten coaches and only five supporters have been so honored, rounding out the 73 members. The Yellow Jackets’ only three-sport, first team All State honoree—and thus considered the most well-rounded athlete in school history—is Cecil Harris who was lauded in basketball, baseball, and track and field during the 1960s.
While Cecil Harris may have been our most well rounded athlete, Ben McDonald is arguably the most celebrated and well known as a two-sport, two-time prep All State selection, a two-time collegiate All-American at LSU, winner of the prestigious NCAA Golden Spikes Award, a #1 draft pick in Major League Baseball, a gold medal Olympian, and an ESPN sports analyst.
On the other hand, Tasmin Mitchell is arguably the most heralded and decorated, having been a rare four-time prep All State choice (three-time MVP), a two-time prep All-American on three different teams (Parade, McDonald’s, EA Sports), the Grasshoops National Prep Freshman Player of the Year, a Louisiana Mr. Basketball selectee, Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year, a collegiate Freshman All-American at LSU, and a current LSU men’s assistant basketball coach.
Not to be overshadowed in state and national honors is 2006 DSHS graduate Regena Jackson, easily the most decorated female athlete in school history. A two-time prep All State basketball star for the Lady Jackets, she became a two-time NAIA All-American at Belhaven College where she was one of three NAIA National Player of the Year finalists her senior year. Averaging 24 points per game, Jackson led the nation as the NAIA National Scoring Leader as a senior. Her jersey is prominently displayed in the Ring of Honor at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee.
In addition to their athletic achievements, many Hall of Fame members were campus leaders as well. All State basketball stars Donald Ray Hood and Eddie Joe Jones, the latter who went on to become an NFL President with the New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins, displayed exceptional leadership ability by serving as DSHS Class Presidents all four years of high school. Selected as Mr. DSHS during their senior years were Hall of Famers Pee Wee Day, Butch Wax, Jim Kemp, Sam Digirolamo, and Jeff Harris. Honored as Miss DSHS was All State basketball and track star, Nancy Davis McConnell.
The many family ties represented among HOF members may suggest that good genes play a role in creating great athletes. Fathers and sons Cecil and Jeff Harris, along with Van Foster Jr. and Van Foster III echo that sentiment, as do fathers and daughters George Meadors and Sarah Meadors Mestepey, plus Tony and Lisa Dugas. All State basketball players Sammy Dixon Hannaman and Nikki Dixon Leader are sisters, while Joey Chustz and Jamie Chustz-Felder are brother and sister. Brothers Cecil and Raymond Harris, A. E. and Lathan Sutton, and Rogers and Randy Pope are further examples. Prep football All-American Kelvin Robinson and his basketball star cousin, Drexel Robinson, also share family bonds.
Of all those inducted into the Hall of Fame, only two athletes have been honored to perform in the prestigious LHSAA All Star Game in two different sports. All State football and baseball great, Glenn Glass, participated in those two sports. All State basketball and softball star, Lisa Dugas, displayed her talent on the court and on the diamond. At the collegiate level, the only Yellow Jackets to earn All SEC laurels are Katrina Hibbert, Russ Johnson, Ben McDonald, Tasmin Mitchell, and Shannon Roubique. Hibbert was a three-time, first team All SEC basketball player at LSU. Roubique was a three-time, first team All SEC football player at Auburn.
Dual HOF Members
Before the DSHS Athletic Hall of Fame was established, the school was represented in the LHSAA Sports Hall of Fame by three legendary coaches and one legendary athlete. Louis “Loodie” Carlisle was the first successful Jacket football coach of the modern era, enjoying a 66-31-9 record. Having won a Class 2A state championship in 1964 while coaching at Assumption High of Napoleonville, he led DSHS to a Class 3A state runner-up finish to Hahnville in 1972. His teams won three district titles and made 11 playoff appearances. Carlisle was named District Coach of the Year four times.
Former DSHS student-athlete-coach-athletic director-principal Butch Wax was the winningest football coach in school annals with a 152-84-2 career record, earning five district titles and making 19 post season appearances with four quarterfinal finishes. He coached regular season undefeated teams in 1978 and 1983, plus one 12-win season, two 11-win seasons, and five 9-win seasons. Wax was selected District Coach of the Year five times.
Basketball mentor, Alton Leggette, was a fiery coach and masterful tactician who brought excellence to the DSHS boys basketball program after winning the Class C State Championship at Holden in 1963, building a remarkable 251-44 record in six seasons with the Rockets. His Jacket teams enjoyed a 247-111 record, winning one district title and making three playoff appearances. Widely respected within the coaching community, he was named Mr. Louisiana Basketball in 1990 and received the SLU Legends in Coaching Award in 1999. During his career, Leggette was selected District Coach of the Year four times, Parish Coach of the Year six times, and Class C State Coach of the Year in 1963.
The Jackets’ final member and only athlete in the LHSAA Sports Hall of Fame is Ben McDonald—superstar athlete at the high school, collegiate, professional, and Olympic levels. In addition to receiving college baseball’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy as a senior at LSU, he was also named National College Player of the Year by Sporting News, Baseball America, and ESPN in his junior year. He was a major league pitcher with the Baltimore Orioles for seven seasons and the Milwaukee Brewers for two before retiring after three shoulder surgeries. McDonald is also a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches and the National College Baseball Hall of Fame located on the Texas Tech campus in Lubbock, Texas.
Two-time National Prep All-American tennis sensation, Jana Garrison Orillion, and National Prep All-American football star, Kelvin Robinson, have been nominated to the LHSAA Sports Hall of Fame but not yet selected. Robinson was the first high school All-American at DSHS in any sport.
Community Support
Throughout the HOF’s ten years as the seat of athletic excellence in the community, local businesses and individual Jacket fans have been charitable with their support. During the first year when the annual banquet, though well attended, lost about $300 because of associated expenses, Pee Wee Day recommended that local sponsors be solicited to underwrite the cost of plaques. It is the custom to present inductees with a handsome keepsake plaque made of walnut with an 8X10 space to insert a photograph of the individual. A separate metal and acrylic plaque bearing an etched likeness of the inductee is displayed in the Hall of Fame. The two plaques, which cost a total of $400 annually are made by A-1 Awards, Inc. in Indianapolis. Thus, they represent an expense of $3,200 for, say, an eight member Hall of Fame class. The goodwill of local sponsors now absorbs this significant expense.
In 2014 Stacy Phipps of Sport-N-Center was approached about becoming the first HOF title sponsor that would largely underwrite the expense of the catered banquet. Following a generous five-year run as title sponsor, Sport-N-Center handed the mantle to Dr. Ed Hood of Hood Dental Care which is beginning its third year in that distinguished role. The benevolent spirit of these two community leaders and former DSHS student-athletes cannot be overstated.
The Great Flood of 2016 caused the postponement of the annual banquet that year as well as the relocation of the Hall of Fame itself. When floodwaters wrecked the former display area in Hornsby gym, Big Mike’s Sports Bar & Grill became the new home in 2019. The former site at DSHS offered limited public access since it was located on a closed campus. The new site offered by Mike O’Neal provides unlimited access seven days a week during restaurant hours. Local carpenter and handyman John Olivier created the handsome display, while local painter Lionel Kabel provided the attractive signage.
Yellow Jacket Firsts
A number of Hall of Fame members were groundbreaking pioneers in DSHS athletics and the first to achieve some sports-related milestone. Rex Wilkinson is believed to be the first All State athlete on the first state championship team in school history (1923). He is also believed to be the first to play men’s basketball at LSU. Longtime DSHS principal of 35 years, Grady Hornsby, changed the school’s mascot from Tomcats to Yellow Jackets and adopted purple and gold as the school colors in 1930. He also coached the first 11-man football team from 1930-1933.
Bert Barnett, a two-sport All State honoree in basketball and track (1946), was the first to receive a full athletic scholarship in these sports at LSU. Universally considered the Yellow Jackets’ first great football player, Randy Rushing was a two-time All State running back (1957, 1958), boasting a 13-yards per carry average with 1,873 yards as a junior and 1,862 yards as a senior. He was also the first DSHS thinclad to break the 10-second barrier in the 100-yard dash with a 9.9 second record that still stands.
Tom Kelly is believed to be the first to play football at LSU, as a walk-on freshman quarterback in 1960, and also the first to play four years of college football (LSU, USL). Les O’Neal, an All State pitcher, was the first to sign a four-year athletic scholarship to play baseball at the college level (USL) in 1961, eventually earning All Gulf States Conference selection (twice) and Conference Player of the Year. In 1963 Jim Spring became the first to receive a four-year athletic scholarship to play football at an SEC university (Tulane). Slammin’ Sam Digirolamo was a 1968 All State linebacker and the first to sign a four-year athletic scholarship to play football at LSU.
During the era of school integration, Drexel Robinson was the first black athlete at DSHS to earn a four-year athletic scholarship in any sport at the collegiate level. In 1973 he signed to play basketball at Louisiana College where he was honored as team captain three times and MVP twice. He would later be inducted into the Louisiana College Sports Hall of Fame. Rene Moseley Severio, a two-sport All State choice in basketball and track, was the first female athlete to receive an athletic scholarship in any sport to a four-year college (Northeast Louisiana) in 1980. She was also the first to win an individual State Championship in track in any event, as a record-setting long distance runner with a time of 5:14 in the mile.
Jana Garrison Orillion shocked the tennis world as the first girl in Louisiana to win four consecutive high school State Championships (1983-1986). She became a tennis superstar as the first two-time National Prep All-American (1985, 1986) in school history, boasting a career record of 65-1. Considered the first great female softball player at DSHS, Shannon Covington Fuentes was a two-time All State pitcher with a 78-3 career record and a 50-game winning streak. She led the Lady Jackets to state titles in 1986 and 1987.
A two-sport All State star in football (1985) and baseball (1986), Glenn Glass was the first running back to break the single season rushing mark of 2,000 yards (2,036) and the first to rush for over 4,000 career yards (4,016), along with 39 career touchdowns. Laurin Byars Garrison is the only DSHS coach in any sport to be directly involved in winning four state championships (1986, 1987, 1998, 2000), while also securing four state runner-up finishes. As an assistant coach and co-head coach, her softball teams amassed a superb 479-123 career record.
Nikki Dixon Leader is the only Yellow Jacket in school history with the distinction of being an All State athlete (basketball/1964) and a two-time State Championship coach (softball/1986,1987). She was also named District Coach of the Year in girls basketball eight consecutive seasons. One-year Australian exchange student and All State basketball player, Katrina Hibbert, led the Lady Jackets to a state title in 1996 and, after a sterling career at LSU, became the first (and only) DSHS female athlete drafted into the WNBA (Seattle Storm) to play professional basketball. In 1999 Joey Chustz became the first (and only) Jacket in school history to be drafted into the NFL (Jacksonville Jaguars) and play professional football, having been an All State pick at DSHS and All-America honoree at Louisiana Tech.
HOF Banquet
The annual banquet at Forrest Grove is a dignified yet fun event that is well supported by the community. Crowds typically exceed 200 attendees with a record turnout of 276 in 2017. Shortly before the new members are introduced, deceased members are acknowledged individually with the clanging of a bell as their name is announced and their photo displayed. The most anticipated happening of the banquet is the videotaped interview of each inductee, displayed on three large screens. The interviews provide a delightful mix of humor, nostalgia, little-known sports tales, and great storytelling.
Orchestrating all the moving parts of the banquet agenda is the Emcee who must be organized, likeable, verbally facile, and sometimes humorous. During the past decade, Hall of Fame emcees have included these local personalities—Pee Wee Day, Randy Smith, Doug Hughes, and Kelly Jones—all DSHS alumni who have each made the event memorable. Only once has the banquet been headlined by a guest speaker, in 2018, when popular LSU men’s basketball coach Will Wade filled the room with laughter, inside basketball nuggets, and colorful recruiting stories.
Perhaps a bit old fashioned—yet jubilant in this setting on this nostalgic evening—the banquet concludes as the crowd is invited to give a rousing, pride-filled rendition of the school’s alma mater.
The DSHS Athletic Hall of Fame has earned a reputation for integrity, for being well organized, for its classy banquet. Thanks to the support of the Denham Springs community, the dedication of volunteers, and a pool of quality nominees, your Hall of Fame is well positioned for continued excellence in future decades.
Prep All-Americans Collegiate All-Americans Professional Athletes
Kelvin Robinson Ben McDonald Ben McDonald
Jana Garrison Orillion Russ Johnson Russ Johnson
Ryan Byrd Joey Chustz Katrina Hibbert
Tasmin Mitchell Tasmin Mitchell Joey Chustz
Cade Doughty Regena Jackson
Travis Swaggerty
Abby O’Donohgue
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DENHAM SPRINGS HS FOOTBALL RADIO BROADCASTS ARE A JON FINE PRODUCTION ON FAMILY RADIO, 91.9 FM, BATON ROUGE and JonFineProductions.com.
JON IS THE OWNER OF AN EBAY STORE. ArrestedDevelopmentMediaGuides, SELLS SPORTS PUBLICATIONS. YOU CAN LINK TO IT BY VISITING JonFineProductions.com.
JON IS PROUD TO WORK AS A MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE FOR SPORTSRADIO-1310-KEZM-SULPHUR/LAKE CHARLES.