Ten to remember and honor for their on-field exploits

So when I received a ballot from the Allstate Sugar Bowl Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, a few days ago, I felt connected to the real world of sports again.
    

I became a member of the selection committee shortly after joining the Clarion Herald family in the summer of 1997. As sports editor of the archdiocesan newspaper, I was reunited with a passion that had consumed most of my adult life.
    

This committee, under the watchful eyes of the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s director of media relations and communications John Sudsbury, selects the city’s and state’s most outstanding sports talent for annual honors. The highest tribute one can receive is being chosen for the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame. The selection committee doesn’t take this charge lightly.
    

The committee’s normal practice in the spring is to begin the nomination process in a general meeting held at the Sugar Bowl’s office in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. I am one of 15 members of the media who sits at a long conference room table surrounded by football helmets representing every Division I college football team in the U.S.
    

The chairs are filled with the most respected members of the media this city has been blessed to have: I get to share my thoughts with men and women such as Ken Berthelot, Ro Brown, Bill Bumgarner, Ed Cassiere, Ed Daniels, Les East, Peter Finney Jr., Lori Lyons, Doug Mouton, Rene Nadeau, Tyler Scheuermann, Ken Trahan, Rod Walker and the committee’s chairman, Will Peneguy, with whom I attended high school and covered sporting events near and far. Now, who would want to contend with the knowledge these professionals can recall at any time?
    

Past members no longer with us or on the committee include local sports media legends Peter Finney Sr., Buddy Diliberto, Bob Roesler, R.L. Stockard, retired pro football defensive end Rich Jackson, former Superdome spokesman Bill Curl … the list seems endless. And having a seat next to past and present men of sports Valhalla is the greatest resume someone from my profession can offer.
    

Since the coronavirus struck in March, the committee has limited its meeting to a conference telephone call. I’m not sure the hall of fame induction this year will be a public event. But it will happen.
    

My list of nominees I submitted as my top 10 include the following, alphabetically:
 

Perry Clark: Revived Tulane’s basketball program when he became its head coach in 1989. He was named the National Coach of the Year in 1992 after taking Tulane to its first NCAA Tournament.
    

Tyrell Fenroy: The Former St. Charles Catholic back ended his college career as UL-Lafayette’s all-time rushing leader with 4,646 yards from 2005-08. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of his four years in Lafayette and received the Jim Corbett Award as the state’s No. 1 male amateur athlete in 2008.
    

Bernard Griffith: Over the decades, St. Augustine has benefited from several outstanding head basketball coaches, but Griffith is my personal favorite. During his 18-year career, his teams won 635 games, posted a .767 winning percentage and won 12 Catholic League championships. Three of his teams were state champions.
    

Leroy Hoard: A punishing fullback from St. Augustine, Hoard also starred at the University of Michigan and in the NFL as a workhorse in the Cleveland Browns backfield. He scored 51 career touchdowns playing for four NFL teams.
    

Shaun King: Any player who could lead Tulane football to a perfect season (12-0 in 1998) deserves HOF notoriety. Although he had a brief pro career with Tampa Bay, King’s feats in the Greenies’ perfect season is enough to get him a plaque on the Superdome wall of honor.
    

Rick Jones: As Tulane’s head baseball coach over a 21-year span, Jones led his teams to 818 victories and 12 NCAA playoff appearances. He was named National Coach of the Year in 2005 after his Green Wave posted a 56-12 record.
    

Craig Perret: The 1990 Eclipse Award winner as the national’s outstanding jockey piloted his mounts to 4,415 wins from 1967-2005. His biggest victories came aboard Bet Twice in the 1987 Belmont Stakes and in 1990 aboard Kentucky Derby winner Unbridled. He was inducted in the National Museum of Racing’s HOF in 2019.
    

Patrick Surtain: The former Karr quarterback (1993) and four-year letterman at the University of Southern Mississippi became a three-time Pro Bowl selection while playing for the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs over an 11-year span. He is in the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.
    

Ashley Tappin: Some of my friends and cohorts on the committee think I’m all wet for continually nominating her, but Tappin is a three-time Olympic gold medal winning swimmer. And, this area hasn’t exactly excelled in world swimming competition. The St. Martin’s alum has four NCAA championships in freestyle events from 50 to 200 meters while at the University of Arizona. The university lists her as an 18-time All-American, based on her winning times.
    

Norris Weese: Arguably Chalmette High’s greatest quarterback. His 1968 team nearly beat Woodlawn and its All-State QB Joe Ferguson in the state semifinals. Weese went on to star at Ole Miss in football and baseball. He played in 57 games with the Denver Broncos and played in Super Bowl XII.
    

Ron Brocato can be reached at rbrocato@clarionherald.org.