BATON ROUGE — Four former LSU standouts, including a football player, a golfer and two track athletes, have been elected to the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame, athletics director Skip Bertman announced Tuesday.
Named to the LSU Hall of Fame were former All-Southeastern Conference quarterback Tommy Hodson, SEC champion golfer Eddie Merrins, three-time All-American hurdler Eric Reid and eight-time SEC champion runner Bob Smith.
The four former Tigers will be formally inducted into the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame in the spring on a date to be announced.
Tommy Hodson, a 1990 graduate of LSU, was one of the most prolific quarterbacks in SEC history, setting virtually every LSU passing record and numerous SEC marks from 1986-89. Hodson, a four-time All-SEC signal-caller, led LSU to three bowl games, including the 1987 Sugar Bowl after taking LSU to the 1986 SEC title with a 9-2 record. He also led LSU to a 10-1-1 mark in 1987, and a tie for the SEC championship in 1988.
Hodson etched his name into LSU history with a late pass to Eddie Fuller for a win over No. 2-ranked Auburn in the famous Earthquake Game in 1988.
Eddie Merrins, a 1955 graduate of LSU, twice won the SEC Championship while finishing second in the NCAA Championships in 1952 and third in 1954. After graduating from LSU, he played in over 200 PGA Tour events, including the USGA Open eight times, the PGA Championship six times, and the British Open twice. The head coach at UCLA from 1975-89, Merrins is a member of the NCAA Coaches Hall of Fame.
For over 40 years, Merrins has been the pro at Bel Air Country Club in Los Angeles where he earned the name “The Little Pro” as the instructor to some of the great names in the world of entertainment. Among the celebrities that have been instructed by Merrins have been Fred Astaire, Joe Namath, Joe Pesci, Mikael Barishnokov, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin and Jack Nicholson.
Eric Reid, a 1988 graduate of LSU, was a three-time All-American and two-time All-SEC hurdler for the LSU track team. The NCAA 110-meter high hurdles champion in 1987, Reid was co-world record holder in the pentathlon hurdles in 1990 and a member of the world record shuttle hurdles relay team the same year. He ranked No. 15 in the world in the high hurdles in 1989.
Bob Smith, a 1976 graduate of LSU, was a four-year letterman in the 800-meters, mile run, 1500-meters and 4×800-meter relay for the LSU track team and All-American in 1974. He won eight SEC titles, setting three individual and one relay SEC record, as well as four individual and four relay LSU marks. A participant in the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Trials, Smith also won titles at the Drake Relays, Kansas Relays and California Relays for LSU from 1973-75.