More on this year's Grambling Sports Legends Hall of Fame class of inductees ...

FRANK GARNETT (baseball) – A New Orleans native, Garnett was a three-sport letterman and a state champion in both baseball and basketball at St. Augustine High. He then served as a team captain on the 1962-63 Grambling baseball teams, as the Tigers advanced to the national NAIA baseball tournament for the third of what would be four times between 1961-67. He was named all-conference in each of his four years on campus – once at first base, twice at third base and once a shortstop – and earned first-team All-America honors in 1963. Garnett, later a longtime Los Angeles area educator, then signed a baseball contract with the Washington Senators, and played seven seasons of minor league baseball.

JAMES “SHACK” HARRIS (football) – A senior personnel executive for the NFL’s Detroit Lions, the Monroe, Louisiana, native led Grambling to SWAC championships in each of his four years as quarterback and was named MVP of the 1967 Orange Blossom Classic. Drafted by the AFL’s Buffalo Bills, he would become the first black player to start a season at quarterback, the first to start a conference championship game and the first to be named MVP of the Pro Bowl over the course of a career that also included stops with the Rams and Chargers.

TARCHA HOLLIS (women’s basketball) – A standout at Grambling from 1988-91, the Mobile, Alabama, native scored a total of 2,058 points. She boasted a career shot percentage of 58 percent, and a free-throw average of 64 percent. That included scoring in double figures 75 times in 85 games played. The Lady Tigers, under fellow Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame coach Pat Bibbs, claimed the SWAC regular-season and tournament titles in 1988-89. Hollis also notched double figures in rebounds in 69 career games, and had 140 blocked shots and 142 steals.

DELLES HOWELL (football) – Famously started at Grambling as a freshman cornerback, then in the NFL as a rookie. The Monroe, Louisiana, native starred on a trio of Southwestern Athletic Conference title teams for fellow Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame coach Eddie Robinson, then for the New Orleans Saints and New York Jets in a six-season NFL career – collecting 17 career interceptions. He has found a second calling in the ministry, serving as pastor of New Light Baptist Church in northeastern Louisiana.

JAMES “HOUND” HUNTER (football) – Drafted 10th overall out of Grambling, where the two-time All-SWAC corner claimed a league championship in 1974, Hunter led the NFL’s Detroit Lions in interceptions in 1976-77 and in 1980, eventually logging 27 career picks. Hunter was runner-up for NFL defensive rookie of the year before a neck injury in the early 1980s shortened a promising pro career. He died of an apparent heart attack in 2010; Hunter was just 56.

GARY “BIG HANDS” JOHNSON (football) – A three-time All-SWAC defensive tackle, the Shreveport, Louisiana, native helped Grambling to a trio of conference titles before becoming the first pick of the 1975 draft for San Diego, playing for the Chargers until a 1984 trade to San Francisco – where he won a Super Bowl. Johnson made the Pro Bowl in each of the 1980-83 campaigns, setting a 17 ½-sack season record for San Diego that still stands. Johnson died in August 2010 at age 57, having never recovered from a stroke he suffered the previous July.

JAMES JONES (basketball) – Averaged 20 points and 8 rebounds a night over 104 career games, as fellow Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame coach Fred Hobdy led the Tigers to three SWAC championships, then was selected 13th overall by the Baltimore Bullets in the 1967 NBA Draft. He finished as one of the old ABA’s all-time leaders in every category, becoming just the second in league history to score more than 2,000 points in one season. Jones played seven years in the ABA and then three with the NBA’s Washington Bullets.

FRANK LEWIS (football) – Part of the Pittsburgh Steelers first two Super Bowl-winning squads, Lewis helped Grambling to a SWAC crown and then led the league in scoring over his final two seasons. A two-time all-conference wingback, he finished with 42 career touchdowns at Grambling, then had nearly 400 receptions and 40 touchdowns in the NFL. Later an all-pro with the Buffalo Bills, Lewis was the first player in league history to gain 100 yards in receiving in postseason games for two different clubs. He is employed in workforce development in south Louisiana.

ALEX PERO (baseball) – In 1962-63, Pero had a staggering 0.00 ERA to help Grambling to the national NAIA baseball tournament. Grambling led the nation in ERA that season, and the team would earn NAIA berths four times between 1961-67 under fellow Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame coach R.W.E. Jones. In 1965, Pero set a Division II mark for strikeouts per nine innings amongst 50-game starters that to this day remains second all time. He played for three seasons in the minor leagues. Pero passed in 2009 at age 65.

EVERSON WALLS (football) – An all-conference selection for the SWAC champion Tigers, Walls led the nation in interceptions in 1980 – setting a school record that still stands. He then played 14 NFL seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and Cleveland Browns, leading the league in picks in both 1982 and 1985, earning All-Pro honors three times and a Super Bowl after the 1990 season with the Giants. The Texas native works as a businessman in Dallas.

ROBERT WOODS (track and field; football) – A two-sport star, Woods left Grambling in 1978 with a SWAC championship and all-conference honors as an undersized but unstoppable wingback for fellow Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame coach Eddie Robinson. He was the Bayou Classic MVP of 1977, then was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in ’78. Woods played two seasons in the NFL. Now executive director of a residential treatment center for adolescents in Houston, Texas, he has worked in the mental health field for more than 20 years.

LARRY WRIGHT (basketball) – Wright, of Richwood, Louisiana, helped Grambling to the 1976 league tournament championship and then led the Washington Bullets to an NBA title in 1978. A former head basketball coach for the Tigers, Wright was a two-time all-conference selection, a two time NCAA small college All-American and the SWAC player of the year in 1975-76. Later, Wright was a celebrated player overseas, earning MVP honors as Roma claimed its first-ever European title. He currently serves as an associate high school principal in northeastern Louisiana.

AL DENNIS JR. (pre-1960 honoree) – A New Orleans native and World War II veteran, the late Dennis was one of Grambling’s most celebrated early football captains. Playing from 1946-49, he was a two-time All-America blocker for future College Hall of Famer Paul “Tank” Younger. In 1968, he would become the first African-American to receive a master’s degree in health and physical education from Northwestern State University in Louisiana. He coached and taught for more than 45 years, notably at Brown High in Springhill, Louisiana.

DOUGLAS PORTER (contributor) – A former assistant at Grambling under Eddie Robinson, Porter was a head coach at FCS programs Mississippi Valley State (1961-65) and Howard (1974-78) and finally at Division II Fort Valley State (1979-94), earning induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. He has remained a trusted advisor for every coach to have succeeded Robinson, and was instrumental in the efforts to construct a museum in Robinson’s honor on the Grambling campus.

For its third annual induction ceremony, the Grambling Legends Hall of Fame came to a more familiar location: the GSU campus.

Grambling inducted 14 of its own former stars into the Hall of Fame during a sold-out ceremony at the Fred C. Hobdy Assembly Center on Saturday. The previous two induction ceremonies were held at the Monroe Civic Center.

"It's the fact that we brought it home, and when you've got it at home — and you mix it with the national alumni — you make it a family affair," said GSU head football coach Doug Williams, who served as master of ceremonies alongside Mistress of Ceremonies Pat Bibbs.

Even with his reputation for being super fast, there was simply no way that Robert Woods could escape from the legendary shoulders he was rubbing up against this weekend.

Grambling's rich history once again will be on display when the Grambling Legends Hall of Fame inducts its third class of stellar athletes, coaches and contributors at a 6 p.m. Saturday ceremony at the Fred C. Hobdy Assembly Center.

Much like the previous two classes, the inductees always come back to the same subject: the family atmosphere at GSU.

"My ties to Grambling are so very, very deep," said inductee Douglas Porter, who was an assistant coach under Eddie Robinson and has been a close adviser for the coaches who succeeded Robinson. "The people who I come in contact with, they say, 'Why did you come back to Grambling?' I say, 'It's because I'm a Gramblingite. It's because I've got friends here that are the greatest friends you could ever have, and when you've got friends it's priceless."

Porter coached many of the eight football players who are included in the class, including James "Shack" Harris.

KTBS ABC-3, in Shreveport, La.: James "Shack" Harris highlights third Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame class.

NBC 10/FOX 14, in Monroe, La.: Feature on the 2011 class of the Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame.

KTAL NBC-6, in Shreveport, La.: Report on the 2011 classic, with bios of inductees.

KNOE TV 8, in Monroe, La.: Feature on inaugural Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame inductee Eddie G. Robinson's stirring victory over Alcorn State and Heisman candidate Steve McNair at Robinson Stadium in 1994.

Lions executive James (Shack) Harris to enter Grambling Sports Hall of Fame

Lions senior personnel executive James (Shack) Harris will be inducted into the Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame on July 16 in Grambling, La.

Harris, who played quarterback for legendary coach Eddie Robinson, helped Grambling win or share the Southwestern Athletic Conference title in 1965-68 and compiled a 31-9-1 record. In 1969, the Buffalo Bills drafted Harris in the eighth round. In 1974 with the Los Angeles Rams, Harris became the first African-American quarterback to start an NFL conference championship game.

Former Richwood, NBA star Larry Wright to join GSU's all-time greats

Larry Wright, the product of a single-parent home in the poorest part of southside Monroe, never let his humble beginnings slow him down. He'd help teams win basketball championships in high school and college — then titles in the NBA and overseas.

That fiery determination will be recognized with Wright's induction July 16 as part of the third class of the Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame.

Walls' belief pays off with Grambling Legends honor

Former Charger Gary (Big Hands) Johnson joins Grambling Legends

Grambling to induct third Legends class

After all, he's the first African-American quarterback to start an NFL playoff game, and the first to be named Pro Bowl MVP. As a front-office member, he helped craft a Super Bowl-winning roster for the Baltimore Ravens.

But anyone who has spent time around Harris knows the current Detroit Lions personnel executive's heart always will remain in northeastern Louisiana. He often regales friend and stranger alike with the tales of exploits at Grambling and his nearby high school.

In keeping with that, Harris' newest honor no doubt ranks at the very top of his lengthy list of accomplishments: Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Famer.

NFL great Frank Lewis to join Grambling Legends Hall

Frank Lewis was as quiet as he was deadly proficient in the game of football. And, in many ways, the Houma native remains just that unassuming.

"There's something about Grambling," he said. "It's a small school in a secluded area. But if I had to choose again — even as big as things are in today's world of college football — I'd still go to Grambling. I'd want that same experience. It's unforgettable. I don't think you could trade that for anything."

That passion, which led to a league championship at Grambling and then a pair of Super Bowl titles in the pros, will be recognized Saturday when Lewis joins the Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame. The class also includes former Super Bowl winner Everson Walls, former NBA champion Larry Wright, former Pro Bowl MVP James "Shack" Harris and College Football Hall of Fame coach Douglas Porter, among others.

Lewis played football at Southdown High in Houma, and though he was not recruited for football out of high school after graduation in 1966, never gave up on playing in college.

A phone call led to a tryout in an all-star game, and that led to a scholarship.

Lewis, an all-conference player, continued to make the most of his chances and was selected No. 8 overall in the 1971 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, who he helped win Super Bowl titles following the 1974 and 1975 seasons.

Lewis, a receiver in the NFL, went on to play 13 years before coming back to Houma where he has been a prominent citizen ever since.

The honor is well-deserved. Lewis was a three-time all-SWAC performer and scored 42 touchdowns at Grambling. The Steelers drafted him eighth overall in the first round of the 1971 NFL draft.

In addition to two Super Bowl rings, Lewis was named to the Pro Bowl after leading the Buffalo Bills with 70 catches for 1,244 yards and four touchdowns.

Houma's Lewis inducted into Grambling Hall of Fame

He said he cherishes the honor and shares it with his family and legendary Grambling coach Eddie Robinson for whom Lewis played.

"I am truly blessed to a part of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and the Southwest Athletic Conference Hall of Fame, but my heart is Grambling," Lewis, 64, said. "This is my greatest honor because I know so many of the guys who played with me and before me were so great. It's a great honor for myself, my family and for Coach Rob. This is the pinnacle. It's Grambling's Hall of Fame, so it's the greatest honor I can receive."

Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame to induct 14 on July 16

From NewOrleans.com, June 21, 2011

The Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame will induct its third class of honorees during a gala ceremony to be held Saturday, July 16, at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center on the campus of Grambling State University.

This year’s honorees include former NFL Pro Bowl MVP James “Shack” Harris, former Super Bowl champions Gary “Big Hands” Johnson and Everson Walls, former NBA champion Larry Wright and Douglas Porter, already a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.

James 'Hound' Hunter honored posthumously by Legends

By Jerit Roser, The (Monroe, La.) News-Star, July 31

"James had a mouth, and he collected people — he made friends with everybody," wife Emmalene said. "He was funny. He was talented. He kept people on their toes. He was witty. Anything you said, you knew he had something coming back."

Both Hunter, and fellow posthumous honoree Gary "Big Hands" Johnson," went on to successful NFL careers and — even before then — left their individual marks on Grambling in the early 1970s.

Last month, both were posthumously recognized for those accomplishments as new inductees into the Grambling Legends Hall of Fame, an honor people they had touched along the way were ecstatic to see them receive.

"That's a no-brainer," said Carroll High School coach Jackie Hamilton, who played for Grambling from 1973-77. "Anybody that knows anything about Grambling knows it's well-deserved, and these guys are not getting voted in — they played their way in. To come from Grambling at that time, a small black college, and be top-10 draft picks speaks volumes."

Hoops standout James Jones recognized by Grambling

GRAMBLING — There was no gradual transition to college basketball when James Jones arrived on campus at Grambling State in 1963.

The most notable GSU basketball player of all time quickly let Jones know that his skills would be needed from the very start.

"I'll never forget when I first came to Grambling," said Jones, who was recently inducted into the Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame. "Willis Reed pulled me aside and told me, 'Even though you're a freshman, you've got to be one of the leaders on this team.'

"I'll tell you the truth, that did so much. I really appreciated that, and it gave me a lot of confidence, and it was a big help."

Grambling had won a national championship under head coach Fred Hobdy in 1961, and Reed was entering his final year at Grambling. There was a hole at the point guard position, and Reed, a center, knew the Tigers needed a good player to fill that hole if they were going to have a good season.

Grambling's 2011 football schedule is set

The Grambling Legends will make a donation of $10,000 to the newly opened Eddie G. Robinson Museum, honoring a coach, mentor and man who deeply influenced the group — and the nation.

“We are very proud of the museum, to have something that represents coach in such a positive manner,” said Legends co-founder James “Shack” Harris, who helped Grambling to four straight league championships under Robinson in the late 1960s.

Robinson Museum board chairman John Belton said a news conference with the Grambling Legends is set for 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 26, 2010, at the facility, housed in the former women’s basketball gymnasium on Grambling’s campus.

“They never forgot what this man meant to them, and they want others to see that. This will be one of the centerpiece donations,” said Wilbert Ellis, chief local fundraiser for the museum.

The Legends group most recently held a gala Friday reception for the 2010 class of its Sports Hall of Fame at the Robinson Museum, bringing together a number of former players and co-workers who hadn’t yet visited the newly opened exhibit space.

“Their involvement is tribute to a man who meant so much to so many,” said Ellis, who crafted his own American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame career at Grambling. “I’m just thrilled to death about it. They still want the best for a man who deserved the best.”

A 1997 inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame, Robinson coached at Grambling from 1941-97 — along the way, passing college football legend Paul “Bear” Bryant for career victories with 408. Plans to build a museum in Robinson’s honor, however, had endured a series of setbacks before his death in 2007 at age 88. Within months, the University of Louisiana System agreed to house the museum on the Grambling campus, and the state Legislature approved funding.

“He led a life so extraordinary that it was worthy of a museum,” said Richard Lapchick, director of UCF’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport and co-author of Robinson’s appropriately named autobiography, “Never Before, Never Again.”

“His achievements were unparalleled. When he retired,” Lapchick said, “he had more wins than any coach in the history of Division I football, had sent more of his players to the NFL than any other coach, had a team graduation rate of nearly 80 percent in a sport in which it hovered around 50 percent nationally, and never had a player get in trouble with the law until his last and 57th year as head coach of Grambling.”

The Eddie G. Robinson museum opened in February of this year, on what would have been Robinson’s 91st birthday.

“We want to be part of contributing to something that honors someone who was so important to us,” Harris said. “We think that it means a lot to the tradition. It’s a great tribute to Eddie Robinson, and done in a first-class way. That enhances Grambling, and shows future generations how he touched the lives of so many people.”

Grambling Legends had different focus for second class of inductees

The Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame's inaugural class was full of familiar names. There were four NFL Hall-of-Famers, an NBA Hall-of-Famer, and the four late "legends" that made Grambling into what it is today — football coach Eddie Robinson, basketball coach Fred Hobdy, school president Ralph W.E. Jones, and sports information Director Collie J. Nicholson.

James "Shack" Harris, who founded the hall along with fellow former GSU quarterback Doug Williams and a host of other Grambling greats, said a focus for choosing the second class of inductees was to include some "contributors" — those who didn't necessarily have a major impact as a player or coach at Grambling, but were nonetheless influential.

The hall's second class will be inducted in a ceremony at the Monroe Civic Center at 6 p.m. on July 17.

"We wanted to make sure we had some contributors who were pre-1960," said Harris, who played at Grambling from 1965-68 before moving on to an NFL career that included a Pro Bowl selection with the Los Angeles Rams. He is currently a senior personnel executive for the Detroit Lions.

"This year we had a committee headed up by Howard Davis, and we took nominations, and selected the names base on research," he said. "It was a tough chore to do."

There are 15 inductees in the 2010 class including contributors like Eugene "Doc" Harvey, who served as a trainer and physical therapist for the Tigers for 32 years, and Adolph Byrd, who played on the Grambling football team in the 1940s, then became a crucial talent scout.

Also included in the class is Williams, who was a Heisman Trophy finalist during his GSU career, and then moved on to NFL, where he became the first African-American quarterback to start a Super Bowl.

MORE HERE: http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20100616/SPORTS/6160336/1006/GSU--Legends--had-different-focus-for-second-class-of-inductees?GID=PEN0napc7L7Lv/AamUXihzX7Z4wd2joqjQKbqXpOoZU%3D

Byrd's fingerprints are all over Grambling legacy

By Jerit Roser, The (Monroe, LA) News-Star, June 20, 2010

Adolph Byrd's voice was far from the most popular at Grambling College when he returned to the school in 1946 after World War II to complete his education.

But it gained more and more influence, respect and recognition over the years en route to becoming one of the first 40 members of the Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame.

"I began to sing in the choir under the music teacher Sarge King," the now 88-year-old remembered with a smile. "My voice was so bad he told me, 'Young man, I want you to hum your part because you're disrupting my class.' So I had to hum when all the group, the girls and the boys, started to sing together, and then I didn't disrupt his class — too much."

Choir might not have been Byrd's forte while at Grambling — he was a proud member of the football team — but his voice would prove valuable after his graduation.

He had followed Eddie Robinson by a few years at McKinley High School before each made his way to Grambling, Byrd as a football player and Robinson as a legendary football and basketball coach among other positions.

Byrd was a tackle on Grambling's legendary unbeaten, untied and unscored-upon 1942 football team in Robinson's second year, the first of the coach's 45 winning seasons. He continued to contribute to the program's success, however, for decades after his graduation.

"There were so many basketball and football players I can't name all of them, but coach Robinson gave me permission to sign any young man or young lady that I considered Grambling material," he said. "I had the scholarships in the trunk of my car."

MORE HERE: http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20100720/SPORTS/7200304/1006/Byrd-s-fingerprints-are-all-over-Grambling-legacy

The Legend of Grambling's Garland Boyette

By David Henry, The Beaumont (TX) Enterprise, July 16, 2010

Orange native Garland Boyette is officially a "Legend."

The 70-year-old who was an All-American offensive guard and defensive tackle during his college playing days at Grambling State University from 1958-1961 will inducted into the Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame today, joining stars such as Doug Williams - the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl.

But to family and friends, Boyette has been a legend for quite some time - and not for his accomplishments on the football field.

"He built his own house - it's a nice house - I was amazed," said friend Thomas Norwood, a teammate of Boyette's at Emma H. Wallace High school in Orange, about Boyette's home in Missouri City, outside of Houston. "You can't find too many people that build their own house. I know someone who drew the plans and had someone else build it, but no one else who actually built it themselves. It's an example of his character-if he sets his mind to something he is going to accomplishment."

In fact, Boyette rarely discusses his football accolades.

MORE HERE: http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/sports/local/the_legend_of_garland_boyette.html

'Doc' Harvey joins old friends in Grambling Legends hall

By Ethan Conley, The (Monroe, LA) News-Star, July 16, 2010

Eugene "Doc" Harvey will be encountering plenty of familiar faces on Saturday at the Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony. If an athlete played for Grambling in the last 50 years, chances are that athlete ended up on Harvey's training table.

Harvey was a trainer and physical therapist at Grambling for "34 or 35 years," starting in the late 1950s, and continued to work part time as a coordinator of sports medicine until last year.

"If they played at Grambling, I probably worked on them," Harvey said.

Harvey is one of 15 inductees that make up the Hall's second class. The induction ceremony will be held at the Monroe Civic Center on Saturday at 6 p.m.

MORE HERE: http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20100716/SPORTS/7160309/1006/-Doc--Harvey-joins-old-friends-in-Grambling-Legends-hall

Roosevelt Taylor's consistency earned him Legend status at Grambling

From NewOrleans.Com, July 13, 2010

Roosevelt Taylor was part of a heralded 1960 Grambling squad that earned the program its first-ever Southwestern Athletic Conference championship.

Still, few might have guessed that the New Orleans native would be among that team's four future All-Pros.

Even Taylor, hailed later as one of the Chicago Bears' greatest defensive backs, had his doubts.

"I really didn't have any expectations when I went to Chicago, because I'd never been around a guy who had played professional football," Taylor said. "From this whole city of New Orleans and the whole southern part of Louisiana, I don't think there had been an African-American yet to play in the National Football League. The only Grambling guy who had come along before me to make a name in the NFL by then was (Lincoln Parish native Paul) 'Tank' Younger."

Taylor would lead the NFL in interceptions with 9 in 1963, snatching a career total of 32. His three interceptions for touchdowns tied for the most by any safety in Bears history, and was tied for the second-most ever. He is also the first of just two Chicago free safeties to be named first team All-Pro, later having been joined by Mike Brown in 2001.

That's earned Taylor a spot in the second annual Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame class, with induction ceremonies set for 6 p.m. Saturday, July 17, at the Monroe Civic Center.

MORE HERE: http://www.neworleans.com/sports/local-sports-news/grambling-state-news/433955-new-orleans-native-roosevelt-taylor-2010-grambling-legends-honoree.html

ALSO: http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20100714/SPORTS/7140333/1122/GSU/Roosevelt-Taylor-s-consistency-earned-him-Legend-status-at-Grambling

Former Talladega College president to join Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame

By Heather Baggett, The (Talladega, Ala.) Daily Home, July 8, 2010

Former Talladega College President Joseph B. Johnson is one of 15 people being inducted into the Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame.

Johnson, a graduate of Grambling State University, played basketball at the school and later served as president of the university from 1978 until 1991. He was president of Talladega College from 1991 until 1998.

While in Talladega, Johnson was on the Talladega Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the advisory board of the Federal Correctional Institute in Talladega and the Industrial Development Board of Talladega County.

Johnson is already a member of the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame and Grambling State University’s Gallery of Distinction.

Before serving as president of the universities, Johnson coached basketball at Carver High School in the late 1950s and the early 1960s. He then coached at B.T.W. in Shreveport, La. and Greenville Park in Hammond, La. He led Greenville Park to a state championship in 1968 with a 33-2 record.

MORE HERE: http://www.dailyhome.com/view/full_story/8616703/article-Former-TC-president-to-join-Grambling-Legends-Sports-Hall-of-Fame?instance=home_sports_bullet

Grambling Legends applaud quiet contributor Melvin Lee

From NewOrleans.Com, July 7, 2010

For Grambling's ageless Eddie Robinson, Melvin Lee was a constant.

Over nearly five decades, Lee either played for Robinson or coached beside him. Yet he remains a shadowy figure in his old boss' march to a still-standing Division I record of 408 career football victories.

Lee, unassuming and fiercely steadfast as an offensive assistant, was most comfortable outside of the spotlight. But his fingerprints are all over the Robinson era.

He was there for more than 300 of the College Hall of Famer's wins, and every league title Robinson ever claimed -- eventually earning such profound respect from Robinson that the two would collaborate on playcalling.

It's fitting, then, that Lee has claimed a spot in the Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame, a collection that already includes a trio of those whom Lee credits with propelling him into a life around football.

"It started at the top, of course," said Lee, who still lives on Martin Luther King Drive in Grambling. Former school president "R.W.E. Jones set the stage and then (longtime sports information director) Collie J. Nicholson gave us so much attention in news print. That helped Coach Robinson focus on being a consistent fundamentalist. They allowed us to learn and progress as the years went by."

READ THE REST: http://www.neworleans.com/sports/local-sports-news/grambling-state-news/429951-meet-new-orleans-native-melvin-lee-a-2010-grambling-legends-sports-hall-of-fame-inductee.html

HBCU DIGEST: http://www.hbcudigest.com/2010/07/grambling-legend-melvin-lee-provides-link-to-the-past/

POSTSCRIPT: GramblingLegends.net released a terrific story about Melvin Lee, the longtime assistant to Grambling State coaching legend Eddie Robinson. Lee, who will enter the Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame on July 17, was always credited by Robinson with making the Tigers' Wing-T such an effective offense, yet Lee often gets overlooked for what he contributed at the side of the man known as Coach Rob. "Being in charge wasn't the most important thing to me," Lee said. "Seeing things work well was." -- By The Sports Network, July 7, 2010: http://www.ksdk.com/sports/college/story.aspx?storyid=206345&catid=198

Versatile Freeze lands in Grambling Legends Hall

The (Shreveport, LA) Times, June 30, 2010

Mackie Freeze, known today as a sideline icon at Richwood High School, had already established his credentials during a memorable stint as a student-athlete at Grambling.

Freeze was a standout pitcher, helping the Tigers win 120 of 137 baseball games over his final three college seasons. That included Grambling's first ever national NAIA championship under the late coach R.W.E. "Prez" Jones, who was also the school's second president.

Jones had first spotted Freeze trying out a curve ball in the yard.

"Boy, you're a pitcher," Freeze remembers "Prez" saying.

Was he ever.

Freeze never lost a game on the mound at Grambling, and even subbed — though, at Jones' direction, quite sparingly — as a guard on the football team under Eddie Robinson.

MORE HERE: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20100630/SPORTS/6300334/1001/SPORTS

Sammy White enjoys legendary career at GSU

The (Shreveport, LA) Times, June 23, 2010

As unassuming off the field as he was dramatic on it, Sammy White is finally finding recognition for a too-often overlooked football career.

A three-time SWAC champion, twice both All-SWAC first team and NCAA Division II All-America, a three-time NFL All-Pro, then a five-time league champion over an 11-year stint as assistant coach at Grambling State University, White let his actions do the talking.

"I guess you play these games, and you really play for the love of it," he said. "Then, if you do pretty good and something special-like happens, it's an honor and blessing."

That's Sammy White.

Even so, slowly but surely, the honors are piling up.

First, White claimed a well-deserved spot on the 25th anniversary team of the Minnesota Vikings, the NFL team that drafted him in the second round out of Grambling before the 1976 season.

The Richwood native was then belatedly inducted into the Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame — home league to the GSU program where White played as a standout wingback in the 1970s. His latest honor arrives this summer, when White is welcomed into the Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame.

MORE HERE: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20100623/SPORTS/6230339/1001/SPORTS

Grambling Legends: The inaugural Sports Hall of Fame class

By Nick Deriso, July 17, 2009

THE INAUGURAL CLASS OF THE GRAMBLING LEGENDS SPORTS HALL OF FAME, broken down by sport ...

FOOTBALL: Willie Brown, Buck Buchanan, Willie Davis, Henry Dyer, Lane Howell, Charlie Joiner, Willie Joseph, Ernie Ladd, Leglian “Boots” Moore, Bo Murray, Willie Young, Tank Younger.

BUCHANAN, who Grambling coaching legend Eddie Robinson called “the finest lineman I have seen,” became the first African-American to be selected No. 1 overall in a pro football draft — going to Kansas City in 1963. He had been a letterman and NAIA All-America defender at Grambling, helping the program to its first-ever Southwestern Athletic Conference title in 1960. He played in two Super Bowls, winning one. Two years after his 1990 induction to the Pro Hall of Fame, Buchanan died from lung cancer at the age of 51. Posthumous College Football Hall of Fame honors followed in 1996.

DYER, Grambling’s leading runner in both 1963 and the SWAC title season of ’65, was the school’s first documented 1,000-yard rusher. He was named first-team All-SWAC at fullback from ’63-65, and scored 30 times in his final two years. His NFL career lasted from 1966-72, and included stops with the Rams, Redskins, Bengals and Cardinals.

HOWELL, a two-way lineman for Eddie Robinson, was the first of three brothers to star for Grambling, beginning in 1960. GSU also won its first SWAC title with Lane up front, establishing a 23-5-2 mark between 1960-62. He played pro ball with the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants between 1963-71.

JOSEPH’S nickname name — “Automatic” — says it all: Over the 1947-49 seasons, he established a 48-point school record for career points by a kicker that still stands. Grambling wouldn’t lose more than three games in a season over that span.

MOORE helped Grambling to its seminal 21-6 win over Southern University in 1947, a first-time-ever moment that Robinson always said put the program on the map. Later toured with the Harlem Globetrotters.

MURRAY, then a redshirt sophomore, was a critical piece of Grambling’s 1955 undefeated team, helping the Tigers won the Orange Blossom Classic on scoring runs of 75 and 8 yards. He also kicked the extra point on his winning TD, beating Florida A&M 28-21.

YOUNG was a two-time All-Southwestern Athletic Conference first-team offensive guard in 1964-65, as Grambling won its second SWAC title. He played 11 seasons, from 1966-76, for the New York Giants.

YOUNGER, despite playing from 1945-48, still holds GSU record for career points with 369. His 86-yard blast against Morgan State in 1946 also remains the school’s longest non-scoring run. In all, Younger scored 60 touchdowns — at the time a collegiate record, and still tops at Grambling — during his storied career under Robinson. Named black college player of the year in 1949, he was the first Grambling player inducted into the SWAC Hall of Fame, in 1973. Induction into the GSU hall followed in 1982. Significantly, Younger went on to become one of the highest-ranking early black pro executives ever. He entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000, but died just days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

BASEBALL: Tommy Agee, Ralph Garr.

AGEE hit .389 in 1962 at Grambling, including 38 RBI, before signing a major-league contract — where his pro career lasted until 1973, including a stint at centerfield for the legendary 1969 champion New York Mets. Played in 1,129 pro games, where he stole 167 bases, hit 130 homers and 27 triples, added 433 RBI and boasted a career average of .255. Credited by Coach Wilbert Ellis with one of the longest home runs ever at the old Grambling baseball field.

GARR hit .582 as an outfielder for the 1967 Grambling team that won 33 of 34 games, losing only to Sam Houston State in the NAIA playoffs. GSU had only lost 10 total games over Garr’s previous three seasons on the squad, as he built a career collegiate batting average of .421. Garr then had a celebrated pro career, leading the National League in hitting in 1974, while batting .353 for Atlanta. He only hit lower than .299 once between 1971-77 in the big leagues.

BASKETBALL: Charlie Hardnett, Robert Hopkins, Willis Reed, Helen Richards-Smith, Hershell West.

HARDNETT, a legendary power forward, averaged 17 rebounds a game over one legendary season on campus. He was the leading scorer on the Grambling squad that went 32-4 and won the NAIA national title in 1961 under Fred Hobdy. Later, scored nearly 2,000 points over 165 NBA games.

HOPKINS is already in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, with his uniform on display at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He played three sports at Jonesboro High School (later Jackson High School), averaging over 30 points a game in basketball, and the team never lost a home game during his four years. Hopkins scored 3,759 points in 138 basketball games at Grambling State University for a 29.1 average, the national record for 47 years. He played four seasons with the NBA’s old Syracuse Nationals, and coached at six colleges and with the NBA’s Seattle franchise.

TRACK: Stone Johnson, Richard Stebbins.

JOHNSON, so fast he won the 1960 NAIA national 200-meter title, was a wingback and punter (averaging 36 yards per kick) on Grambling’s first SWAC title team. He also competed as a sprinter in the Olympics, before suffering a neck fracture during an NFL preseason game. He died 10 days later.

STEBBINS, a running back speedster who excelled in track events, competed with “Bullet” Bob Hayes in U.S. Olympic events in the 1960s.

COACHES AND ADMINISTRATORS: Fred C. Hobdy, Ralph W.E. Jones, Collie J. Nicholson, Eddie G. Robinson.

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