By JASON PUGH, Written for the LSWA
NATCHITOCHES – Thursday afternoon’s opening news conference for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame induction weekend was full of shock and awe.
The shock came, nearly word for word, from several inductees who recounted their surprise at being selected for inclusion in the state’s sporting shrine. The awe came from their varied and accomplished careers that – as a group – span nearly a century and brought together standouts from nearly every corner of the Bayou State.
“It’s very hard to put into words, but it means the world to me,” said longtime Episcopal High School cross country coach Claney Duplechin. “I remember when I got the call, I was in shock. It was like, ‘Wake me up from this dream.’”
The architect of a state championship juggernaut boys cross country program that won 25 consecutive state titles, Duplechin was one of 11 inductees or family members who took the podium inside the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum.
Once the initial shock wore off for each of the members of the Class of 2022, the gratitude flowed.
“This is pretty much the icing on the cake,” said Pro Rodeo and Cowboy Hall of Fame member Steve Duhon of Opelousas. “When Mr. T. Berry (Porter) got in three years ago, I didn’t know they had a Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. I thought it would be good to get in there one day. I’ve been in the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, all I can do now is watch the grandkids grow up and hope they do the same.”
Duhon, a three-time world champion steer wrestler and eight-time National Finals Rodeo competitor, became renowned for his rodeo performances in a 14-plus year career.
A broken leg suffered while playing basketball kept Evans off a football field for two seasons, including his true freshman season at Division II Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania. That trauma did not stop Evans from becoming a bedrock of the most successful era of New Orleans Saints football, an 11-year career that began in 2006 when the fourth-round draft pick started for the Saints, who reached the NFC Championship Game that season.
“I’m very fortunate and blessed to be here,” Evans said. “There have been a lot of accolades I’ve received, but this one is awesome. The state of Louisiana has a lot of great athletes and a very rich history in sports. Look at this place alone. I’m very honored to be in it.”
Evans shook back from that broken leg with a little help from a piece of paper.
“After I broke my leg, I had a note that said I would play this year, I would play in college and I would play in the NFL,” Evans said. “I’ll take two of those three. I got back on the field my redshirt freshman year and never looked back.”
Baseball coach Tony Robichaux, who died suddenly three years ago, built championship-level programs at his alma mater McNeese and later the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
The owner of Louisiana’s college baseball wins record made his mark professionally leading the Ragin’ Cajuns to the 2000 College World Series and the 2014 edition of the Cajuns to the unanimous national No. 1 ranking. He died of complications arising from a heart attack at age 57.
“He did a lot of interviews, and he opened most of the time by saying it’s an honor and a privilege,” his oldest son, Justin Robichaux, said. “To have this in the state of Louisiana, it meant something to him. He took it on the chin a lot. To watch him build a program at McNeese and to see what he developed at the University of Louisiana and to be a man that set a flagship of integrity, moral compass and character, that’s what 36 means to us. It is an honor and a privilege.”
The Class of 2022 inductees officially will take their place alongside their fellow state legends Saturday night at the induction ceremony at the Natchitoches Events Center. The ceremony begins at 7 p.m. and will air live on YurView TV and via web stream at www.lasportshall.com and on YouTube.
Photo by CHRIS REICH, Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame