NEW ORLEANS — A distinctive combination of athletes, coaches, and prominent administrators is slated to be honored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl and Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Selection Committee at the annual Hall of Fame Ceremony on Thursday, June 7, at the Hilton Riverside Hotel’s Versailles Ballroom at 7 p.m.
Headlining the event is a quintet of local sports figures who have been elected to the 2006 class of the Sugar Bowl Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame. Whitey Esneault (boxing), Joe Keller (football), M.L. Lagarde (athlete/coach/administrator/reporter), Eddie Murray (football), and Ron Washington (baseball) will be enshrined during the event. Esneault and Keller will be inducted posthumously.
Tulane’s Micah Owings (baseball) and a pair of LSU athletes, Xavier Carter (track) and Seimone Augustus (women’s basketball), are recipients of the prestigious James J. Corbett Memorial Awards for 2005-06. The Corbett Award, which honors the most outstanding male and female college athletes in the state of Louisiana, was created in 1967 to commemorate the many contributions to intercollegiate athletics and the Sugar Bowl by the late administrator, who was the Athletic Director at LSU at the time of his death.
Special award winners selected include several key individuals along with a special group of Louisianans who played prominent roles following Hurricane Katrina. The 2005 Special Awards winners are: the LSU Athletic Department for opening its arms as a temporary home to the Saints, Hornets, and other Louisiana teams; and former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and Councilman At Large and former Saints Director of Administration Arnie Fielkow for their efforts in helping the Saints return to Louisiana.
The 2006 Special Award winners are Doug Thornton, SMG and the Superdome Staff for their efforts in the rebuilding, restoration, and reopening of the Superdome, and the New Orleans Saints Season Ticket Holders, who solidified the triumphant return of the Saints by purchasing every ticket to the team’s home games in producing the first full-season sellout in franchise history.
Yearly award winners for 2006 are: John Brady, LSU, Outstanding College Coach, State of Louisiana; Dave Baudry, Archbishop Rummel/Nationwide Restoration Baseball, and J.T. Curtis, John Curtis, Co-Outstanding Prep Coach, State of Louisiana; Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints, Outstanding Pro Coach, State of Louisiana; Robbie Broach, Archbishop Rummel/Nationwide Restoration Baseball, Outstanding Male Amateur, Greater New Orleans; Ashley Brignac, John Curtis Softball, Outstanding Female Amateur, Greater New Orleans; Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints, Outstanding Pro in both Greater New Orleans and the State of Louisiana; and Joe McKnight, John Curtis Football, Outstanding Prep Player, State of Louisiana.
The committee’s Athlete of the Month award winners for the 2006-2007 year will also be recognized. They are: September – Joe McKnight, John Curtis Football; October ? Suzanne Haydel, Sacred Heart Volleyball; November ? Daniel Borne, Archbishop Shaw Football; December ? Bo McCalebb, UNO Basketball; January ? Jami Montagnino, Tulane Women’s Basketball; February ? Greg Monroe, Helen Cox Basketball; March ? Johnny Giavotella, UNO Baseball; April ? Ashley Brignac, John Curtis Softball; and May ? Joey Butler, UNO Baseball.
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Esneault was the head boxing trainer at St. Mary’s Italian Gym in New Orleans for nearly 50 years. The World War I Navy Veteran trained many pro prospects and produced a pair of world champion fighters, Ralph Dumas and Willie Pastrano. Determined to stay in New Orleans, Esneault sent both of his future world champion fighters to renowned trainer Angelo Dundee. Once the cradle of boxing, New Orleans has been void of a developer of young boxing talent since Esneault’s passing in 1968.
From a player on the first football team in school history in 1924 to serving as football coach from 1934-70, Keller is forever woven into the fabric that is now East St. John High. Known then as Reserve High, the young quarterback emerged four seasons later to become the first all-state player in school history in 1927 before playing at LSU. During his tenure as head coach, he won 15 district titles and one state championship in 1958 while compiling a career record of 262-73-15. The stadium at East St. John is named in his honor.
Lagarde excelled as an athlete, coach, media member, and administrator. At 15, he co-founded the CYO and NORD tennis programs. In 10 years as high school basketball coach at his alma mater, St. Aloysius, as well as Jesuit High, he helped lead teams to 12 city and eight state championships. In 1959 he began covering high school and college sports for the Times-Picayune for 15 years before moving to Tulane. There, he worked 31 years as sports information director, assistant athletic director, and associate athletic director before retiring in 2005. Among other numerous accomplishments during his time at Tulane, he served as media coordinator for the first Final Four in the Superdome, coordinated media and press box activities for the Super Bowl for 12 years, and spent 10 years on the NCAA Final Four’s media committee.
Murray shattered nearly every Tulane record for place kicking. He’s tied for the longest field goal in school history at 54 yards and shares the single season record for PAT percentage, making all 35 attempts in 1979. His
Green Wave career sparked a remarkable 19-year career in the NFL, 12 of those with Detroit while also playing with Kansas City, Tampa Bay, Dallas (twice), Philadelphia, Minnesota, and Washington (twice). He had five 100-point seasons, including a career-best 122 scored with Dallas in 1993. When he suited up for Washington in 2000 at age 44, he was the sixth-oldest player ever to wear an NFL uniform.
Washington starred in both baseball and football at John McDonough High and spent parts of 10 seasons in the Major Leagues with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota, Baltimore, Cleveland and Houston. Washington became a footnote in history as he replaced Cal Ripken at shortstop during a September 1987 game, ending Ripken’s streak of 8,243 consecutive innings. In 1991 he moved to the coaching ranks, working with the Mets Class A affiliate before spending 11 seasons as an assistant coach with the Oakland A’s, helping the team twice lead the league in fielding percentage over the past five seasons. Washington currently is the manager of the Texas Rangers.
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Owings was the definition of a utility athlete in 2005. He played 36 games at first base, 19 as the designated hitter, five in left field, and had 18 starts on the mound in being named Conference USA’s Player of The Year and first team All C-USA utility athlete, helping the Green Wave earn a berth in the College World Series. He led the team in home runs (18) triples (three) and slugging percentage (.719) while batting .355. On the mound he was 12-4 with a 3.26 earned run average and led the team with 135 strikeouts. After the 2005 season, Owings was drafted in the third round by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Carter was named the NCAA Division I indoor and outdoor Male Track Athlete of the Year as well as Southeastern Conference Male Athlete of the Year in all sports in 2006. Perhaps most impressively, Carter became the first athlete since Jesse Owens in 1936 to win four championships at an NCAA meet. Carter won titles in the 100 meter and 400 meter dashes (becoming the first athlete ever to capture the 100-400 double), and was part of the Tigers’ 4×100 and 4×400 meter relay teams. Carter was the first LSU male athlete ever to win the NCAA title at 100 meters, and the second to win the NCAA outdoor 400 in 72 years.
Augustus is the only athlete in the history of the Sugar Bowl Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame to receive the Corbett Award four times. Augustus led the Lady Tigers to the Final Four in both 2005 and 2006 in averaging over 20 points per game in back-to-back campaigns, earning National Player of the Year honors in each season. In her senior year, Augustus led the nation in scoring, averaging 22.7 points per game and shot a career best 56 percent from the field in earning All-America honors for the fourth time, along with numerous awards as the nation’s top player. As a junior, among numerous awards garnered, Augustus was named SEC Player of the Year.