The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame itself will occupy the first floor of the 28,000-square-foot museum building, which should be completed by the end of this year. It will then take another six months to install and complete the finishing touches on the exhibits. The second floor will showcase the sports memorabilia. In addition, half of the second floor will be the Northwest Louisiana Regional History Museum, which will focus on the state’s cultural heritage.
Many of the Hall of Fame inductees recently had the opportunity to tour the two-story building’s construction already completed. “I think it’s a beautiful state-of-the-art building as good or better as any museum in the country. I think it will be a big tourist attraction,” notes Billy Allgood, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999. Allgood, a standout coach who coached 30 years of baseball and 26 years of basketball at Louisiana College in Pineville, says he plans to be at the museum’s grand opening.
Members of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association began planning a Hall of Fame to honor the state’s outstanding athletes and coaches as far back as 1951, but the first election to the hall was not held until 1958. “We have currently 293 sports figures, along with 52 Distinguished Service in Sports Journalism recipients and 11 Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award winners, for a total of 356 Hall of Fame members since the Hall was formed in 1958,” says Doug Ireland, chairman of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
The sports memorabilia showcased in the new museum will permit a glimpse into the lives of the state’s legendary athletes and coaches. Thinc Design of New York City is developing the exhibitions in the museum. Sports represented in the Hall of Fame will include football, basketball, baseball, softball, track and field, horseracing, hunting, fishing, tennis, golf, boxing, motor sports and water sports. “It will showcase the best of the best,” Ireland adds.
Kim Mulkey, a Louisiana Tech University basketball great and 1990 Hall of Fame inductee, echoes his sentiments. “Louisiana has such a rich history in sports and geographically, it is one of the smallest states in the country. The Sports Hall of Fame museum will be a first-class facility, and I feel blessed and honored to be a part of it,” notes Mulkey, who as the head girls basketball coach for the last 13 years led Baylor University to win the national championship last year.
Coach J. T. Curtis of New Orleans, a 2012 Hall of Fame inductee who has led his high school football team to a record 23 state championship titles, agrees. “Louisiana has such a tremendous history of outstanding sports performers, not just in a particular sport, but administrators, officials, coaches as well as athletes. I think the museum will honor their memories and what they did. It will be a fitting tribute to them all,” Curtis notes, adding it is a “humbling experience” to be included.
When a visitor looks through the exhibits and reads some slice of life histories about the sports figures in the Hall of Fame, Babin notes the common thread of hard work, drive and focus will be notable among the inductees. “With all the sports and historical components in the museum, it will become another reason for people to come to Natchitoches,” she adds.
Some of the interesting memorabilia included in the exhibit will be: a Baltimore Colts jersey worn by LSU star Bert Jones, autographed shoes worn by New Orleans Saints Bobby Hebert, a Sports Illustrated Cover with Cotton Nash, track shoes worn by Slats Hardin when he set the world record in the 400-meter hurdles in 1934 in Sweden, a Team USA warm-up jacket worn by Kathy Johnson, baseballs signed by Mel Ott, College World Series programs from Coach Skip Bertman and items representative of the 2007 Louisiana State University football national championship and the New Orleans Saints Super Bowl XIV title.
“There has been $367,000 of the almost $1.1 million originally needed that has been already secured. 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,” says Babin. “This grant allows any gift to be instantly doubled, speeding us on our path of achieving our private funding goal.”
Gifts of any amount may be made in a secure online transaction by visiting the museum’s website at www.LaSportsHall.com and clicking on the Support the Foundation button. Donors may scroll to “online payment” and select “museum exhibits” for the gift type. For additional information, contact Babin at (318) 485-0166.