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People SearchFind an individual who either played a sport or was a member of a support group. Search by last name by clicking on the first letter of the person's last name.
Mr. Donald "Cowboy" Landry
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Home Phone: 225-766-7349 Former Student Coach, SID, Manager: Former Nicholls coach leaves lasting sports legacy Brent St. Germain, Houma Daily Comet, July 25, 2015 Don Landry has a track record of success in athletics. As a head coach, Landry guided the Nicholls State University men’s basketball program to unprecedented success in the 1970s and continued that streak as the school’s athletic director. As a commissioner, Landry helped shape the future of the Southland Conference and the Sunshine State Conference. Throughout his 44-year career, Landry, 76, established himself as a leader and innovator in athletics. Those attributes helped him become a successful coach and administrator. “I’ve been fortunate to work for some great people that helped shape my career along the way,” he said. “I owe a lot of my success to people believing in me and believing I can become a successful coach and administrator. This journey would not have happened without them believing in me.” Landry’s journey began in 1960 after graduating from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana-Lafayette) and serving as a student coach in football, basketball and baseball. He went on to coach four years in high school and spent two years as an assistant on Scotty Robertson’s basketball staff at Louisiana Tech. In 1966, Landry got his big break when Nicholls took a chance on the then 26-year-old coach. WINNING WITH THE COLONELS When Landry arrived in Thibodaux, Nicholls was a basketball program looking for stability. In its first eight seasons, Nicholls had four head coaches and only three winning seasons. Despite being the youngest college head coach in the country at the time, Landry was determined to transform the Colonels into winners. Landry said the support of the administration and athletic director Raymond Didier helped him accomplish that goal. “I was fortunate to work for two outstanding presidents at Nicholls — Dr. Vernon Galliano and Dr. Donald Ayo — and they, along with Coach Didier, are responsible for helping Nicholls athletics grow and thrive,” Landry said. It took a few seasons, but Landry was able to get the Colonels heading in the right direction. Each year, Nicholls showed some improvement on the court and had a breakthrough during the 1971-72 season. Led by Division II honorable mention All-American Cleveland Hill, the Colonels finished the season with a 16-9 overall record. Jerry Sanders, a Nicholls basketball assistant from 1970-79, said Landry worked hard to get Nicholls headed in the right direction. “He was an excellent Xs and Os coach and was good at managing players,” Sanders said. “I thought he was really organized, and I learned a lot from him. I really liked working for him.” After tasting success during the 1971-72 season, Landry worked hard to find players who could keep the Colonels heading in the right direction. Shelby Hypolite and Richard Polk arrived for the 1972-73 season, and they were followed three years later by what could be called the greatest recruiting class in Nicholls history, highlighted by the most sought player in the state — Central Lafourche’s Larry Wilson. “Coach Landry and I worked really hard on recruiting,” Sanders said. “If we saw a guy locally, we worked hard in recruiting him to Nicholls. That’s probably why we were able to get a talented player like Larry Wilson to stay close to home.” The 1974-75 season proved to be the best in school history. The Colonels finished the season with a 22-4 overall record and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Division II tournament. Hypolite wrapped up his Nicholls career by being named an All-American. That season was only the beginning for the Colonels. “That was a magical year,” he said. “The gym used to be packed, and you had to fight to get a seat. It was a magic time from there until Larry’s senior year.” Three years later, Nicholls had another banner season, but it was one filled with tragedy and triumphant for Landry. On March 9, 1978, Landry lost his mentor when Didier died of a stroke at the age of 56. Landry took over as Nicholls’ athletic director, but he remained as the basketball coach for the 1979-78 season. That one turned into another banner season for the Colonels. With Wilson — a three-time Division II All-American — leading the way, the Colonels rolled to a 21-7 overall record and a Gulf South Conference championship. Nicholls’ dream of winning a Division II national championship ended again in the quarterfinals with a 103-97 loss to conference foe North Alabama in Thibodaux. North Alabama went on to win the national championship. “After North Alabama won it all, their coach called me and said that we were better than the teams they beat in the Final Four,” Landry said. “He said if we would have beaten them, there was a good chance we would have won the national championship. That was the closest we had ever come to winning a national championship.” At the conclusion of the season, Landry decided to turn his attention to becoming the full-time athletic director at Nicholls. Sanders took over as the head coach for the men’s basketball program. “Jerry Sanders deserves as much credit for our success,” he said. “He did a phenomenal job my last season as I was splitting time between being the head coach and athletic director. I probably did my worst coaching job in my life because my duties were split, but Jerry and the staff kept things together. At the end of the year, I won several coach of the year awards because of the job of Jerry and the rest of the coaching staff.” Sanders said he was ready for the challenge of being the head coach, in part because of what he learned from Landry. “I learned a lot from him,” Sanders said. “I constantly picked his brain on things, and I learned a lot about coaching from him.” After he hung up his whistle after 13 seasons, Landry had guided the Colonels to a 173-156 record, coached four All-Americans and was twice a finalist for national coach of the year. Despite all of the wins and accolades, one thing always remained important for Landry. It was for his players to get a quality education. “His No. 1 goal was to make sure that everyone on the team went to class and graduated,” Hypolite said. “He always said getting an education was more important than basketball. He wanted to have a good team, but he wanted us to have a quality education.” FULL-TIME ADMINISTRATOR Although he was no longer the basketball coach, Landry remained a fixture at Nicholls, and his goal was to continue to build on the legacy that Didier established. “Coach Didier is the most important athletic official to ever be at Nicholls,” Landry said. “He didn’t start the program, but he set it on the right course. His influence, charisma and experience added credibility to the program, and he cleaned it up. Didier was one of the biggest influences on my career by far, and I can’t thank him enough.” One of Landry’s first tasks was to help Nicholls make the transition from Division II to Division I. Didier started the process during his tenure as athletic director, and Landry took over to make sure the process went smoothly. Landry also helped establish the Gulf Star Conference in 1984, which featured Nicholls, Northwestern State, Southeastern Louisiana, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin and Southwest Texas State (now Texas State). He was also offered the commissioner’s job with the Gulf Star but opted to stay at Nicholls. But in 1987, Landry was offered a job he could not refuse, and he became the new commissioner of the Southland Conference. Landry said he enjoyed working with the Southland Conference, which was based in Plano, Texas, but there were some things he missed about Nicholls. “It was tough because at a school like Nicholls, you get to know all of the athletes,” he said. “When you are in the commissioner’s office, you know them by reputation, but you don’t really know the athletes. Getting to know all of the athletes was one of the things I enjoyed (about being at Nicholls). Before leaving the Southland Conference, Landry helped broker a deal that allowed Nicholls to join it starting in 1991. “One of my last achievements before I left the Southland was to get Nicholls in the conference,” he said. “I didn’t do it strictly for Nicholls because the conference wanted to expand. But the non-football playing schools didn’t want Nicholls and wanted Texas-San Antonio for basketball. I had to broker a deal and we comprised by adding Nicholls to help the football playing schools and adding Texas-San Antonio for the basketball schools. That was one of my proudest achievements.” NEW CHALLENGES In 1990, Landry was once again offered a job he could not refuse. He was approached by a search committee looking for an executive director for the National Cutting Horse Association in Fort Worth, Texas. Since he knew nothing about cutting horses, Landry said he thought it was a joke. “I laughed in the guy’s face because I thought someone was playing a joke on me,” he said. “I didn’t know anything about cutting horses. I’m surprised the guy didn’t hang up on me.” Landry said he had no intentions on taking the job and was offered it three times before deciding to take it. After three years, Landry said he decided that he missed college athletics and wanted to get back into it. With no immediate openings in college athletics, Landry took a job in 1993 as the Director of Special Projects for the Texas Rangers. His responsibilities included coordinating Nolan Ryan retirement activities, opening The Ballpark in Arlington and preparing for Major League Baseball’s 1995 All-Star Game in Arlington, Texas. Landry’s goal of getting back into college athletics came to fruition one year later when he interviewed for two commissioner jobs — the Southland Conference job and the Sunshine State Conference job in Melbourne, Fla. “Since I was living in Texas, I though the Southland Conference would be a natural fit, but once I found out about the success of the Sunshine State Conference, I wanted that job,” Landry said. “The Sunshine State Conference is the best Division II conference and has history of winning national titles, and everyone wants to be associated with a champion.” Landry became the Sunshine State Conference’s commissioner in 1994, and 25 teams won national titles in his 11-year tenure. Landry retired from athletic administration in 2004. ENJOYING RETIREMENT After his retirement, Landry and his wife, Lucille, stayed in Florida for three years before moving back to Baton Rouge to be closer to their kids. Although he is no longer coaching, Landry is once again associated with college athletics as he is the color analyst for Pelican Broadcasting for Baton Rouge Community College athletic events. Landry also become a published author since returning to Louisiana, penning the book “Boxing: Louisiana’s Forgotten Sport — A History of High School and College Boxing.” “Next to football, boxing was No. 1 with Louisiana high schools back in the day,” he said. “It was big.” Because of Landry’s efforts, Louisiana will soon have a High School Boxing Hall of Fame, which will be located at the Iberville Historical Museum in Plaquemine. The museum is scheduled to open in the fall. “The history of high school boxing in Louisiana will be retained forever, and I am very proud of that,” he said. Although he is no longer in the game, Landry’s influence as a coach and administrator is not forgotten. The Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches and Sunshine State Conference have awards named after him. Over the years, Landry has received numerous awards, including being named a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame after winning the Dave Dixon Award in 2007. Hypolite said Landry deserves those honors because he was more than a coach. Many considered him mentor and a role model. “Coach Landry was the type of coach who took his time with you and talked to you to help you become a better player and a better man,” Hypolite said. “He never really said a lot. He wanted you to just do the right thing and to respect people.” Athletic Network Footnote: Special appreciation is expressed to Brent St. Germain who provided the electronic copy of this story to the AN. Peace, Ed Dugas * * * * * * * I was the student coach for the SLI baseball team and was the school�s SID (schools did not have full-time SIDs in those years). Pete Wilson, the head baseball coach, offered me a full scholarship to work full-time as the school SID in my senior year. I explained that I wanted to be a coach, that I wanted to continue to assist in baseball and that I would also like to help in football and basketball. After meetings with Coach Jim Hoggatt and Coach Beryl Shipley I was hired to do all three. Therefore, my senior year I was on the coaching staffs of football, basketball and baseball at SLI. I learned a lot about basketball from Beryl and his assistant Kenny Curtis. They opened a lot of doors for my future career. I still have fond memories of coaching the undefeated J. V. team that included Bobby Andrews and Mike Wallace. I especially enjoyed learning the game from Beryl and Kenny. I coached at Cathedral High School, Chalmette High School, and St. Aloysius High School. I got into college coaching in 1964 as an assistant basketball coach at Louisiana Tech. Starting in 1966, I served 13 years as the head basketball coach at Nicholls State University. Since that time, I have been the Athletic Director at Nicholls State, 1979-1987; the Commissioner of the Southland Conference, 1987-90; the Executive Director of the National Cutting Horse Association, 1990-93; and Director of Special Projects for the Texas Rangers Baseball Team and owner, George W. Bush, 1994-94. Since 1994, we live in Orlando, Florida and I am Commissioner of the Sunshine State Conference based in Orlando. I learned how to organize and run basketball practices and I especially learned the Auburn Offense under Beryl. In 1964, Scotty Robertson became the Head Basketball Coach at Louisiana Tech University. He offered his assistant coaching position to former Shipley assistant Sonny Roy. Sonny turned it down, but both he and Beryl recommended me strongly to Scotty. I will always be grateful to Beryl and Sonny for getting me into college coaching. I coached against Beryl for many years. My dream was to beat him at least once. It never happened. SLI would beat us bad in Lafayette, but we usually played them tough in Thibodaux. One of the toughest losses of my coaching career came against Beryl�s great team that featured All-American Marvin Winkler and freshmen star, Dwight �Bo� Lamar. We played a great game and had a two-point lead with a few seconds left for the upset victory. Beryl called time-out to set-up a final shot. We geared our defense to stop Winkler, their star player. At the buzzer, Bo hit an extremely long shot to send the game into overtime. Once again, Beryl had outcoached me and I still could not get a win over my mentor. SSC COMMISSIONER DON LANDRY ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT After overseeing the operation of one of the nation�s most successful NCAA Division II athletic conferences for 10 years, Sunshine State Conference Commissioner Don Landry has announced his retirement, effective August 1, 2004, it was announced by University of Tampa President Dr. Ronald L. Vaughn, who concurrently serves as SSC President. �I leave this position with mixed emotions,� Landry said. �I am excited about the new activities I will be pursuing in retirement. However, I will miss working with the many great friends I have made and all the associates I have worked with throughout the Sunshine State Conference and Division II during the past 10 years. I am very proud of the achievements that the Conference and our member institutions have made during my tenure.� �The Sunshine State Conference will certainly miss Don Landry, a man who has displayed tremendous service, leadership and integrity for the past decade,� added Vaughn. �The Sunshine State Conference and each of our nine member institutions are models for all that is positive in intercollegiate athletics. Don Landry has played a primary role in unifying the athletic leadership throughout the Conference, while never losing sight of the fact that education is our primary purpose. He has left a legacy that will be a part of the Conference for many years to come.� Under Landry�s watchful eye, the SSC has emerged as a national power in virtually every of the Conference�s 14 sports. SSC teams have won 25 of the league�s 57 national championships during Landry�s decade-long tenure. Landry has seen SSC membership increase to nine schools, the Conference�s largest membership total in 28 years of existence, with the addition of Lynn University in 1997 and Nova Southeastern University in 2002. Landry has had a tremendous impact on shaping the SSC�s past, while leading the Conference into the 21st century. Landry is responsible for creating the SSC�s first conference office, while also enlarging the Conference�s full-time staff to its current size of four. During his tenure, Landry has been responsible for bringing numerous corporate sponsors to the SSC family and also creating the SSC�s partnership with Sunshine Network, one of the largest conference-wide television packages in NCAA Division II. �Don Landry provided strong and fair-handed leadership to the conference during a period of unprecedented growth in membership and in NCAA conference distributions,� stated Dr. G. Jean Cerra, Dean of the School of Human Performance and Leisure Sciences and former Director of Athletics at Barry University who chaired the search committee which hired Landry in 1994. �He provided much-needed objectivity at appropriate times and always presented the facts in a candid and forthright manner. I will miss him as Commissioner but he will always remain a special friend of the Conference and my friend as well.� �For the past decade, Don Landry has served the SSC in an extraordinary fashion,� said Dr. J. Phillip Roach, Director of Athletics at Rollins College since 1992. �Under his leadership, we have become nationally recognized as the �Conference of Champions�, while also being known as a conference that has high regard for academic achievement. His national prominence as a leader in college athletics has been most important to the success of the conference.� �The Sunshine State Conference is recognized as one of, if not the best NCAA Division II conferences in the country,� added Florida Tech Athletic Director Bill Jurgens, the longest-tenured athletic director in the SSC (28 years). Don Landry has greatly contributed to that recognition.� –more– FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACTS: Gregg Kaye, Assistant Commissioner � gmkaye@ssconference.org May 26, 2004 #72 Kelly Harrison, Information Coordinator � kharrison@ssconference.org NEWS RELEASE 7061 Grand National Drive, Suite 140 � Orlando, FL 32819 Phone: 407-248-8460 � Fax: 407-248-8325 � www.ssconference.org Don Landry, Commissioner Barry University, Miami Shores � Eckerd College, St. Petersburg � Florida Southern College, Lakeland Florida Tech, Melbourne � Lynn University, Boca Raton � Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale Rollins College, Winter Park � Saint Leo University, Saint Leo � University of Tampa, Tampa Conference of National Champions � 57 National Titles Landry, 65, was hired as the SSC�s second full-time commissioner on July 1, 1994, following a highly successful 36- year career in coaching and athletic administration. A 1960 graduate of the University of Southwestern Louisiana, Landry served as a high school coach before joining the basketball staff at Louisiana Tech. In 1966, Landry began a successful 13-year tenure as head basketball coach at Nicholls State. A two-time finalist for National Coach of the Year, Landry assumed responsibilities as Athletic Director at Nicholls State in 1979, a position he held until 1987. Following a 21-year stay at Nicholls State, Landry became commissioner of the Southland Conference. He spent three years in that capacity before being recruited to become Executive Director of the National Cutting Horse Association in 1990. In 1993, Landry was named Director of Special Projects for the Texas Rangers, where his responsibilities included the Nolan Ryan retirement activities, the opening of the Ballpark in Arlington and preparation for the 1995 All-Star Game. A member of the Louisiana Basketball and Nicholls State University Halls of Fame, Landry was honored by the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches (LABC), which created the �Don Landry Award� for outstanding contributions to Louisiana Basketball. In addition to founding the LABC, Landry is also credited with the inception of the Louisiana Athletic Directors Association, the Gulf Star Conference and the Disney Division II Tip-Off Classics. On a national level, Landry has served as president of the Division II Commissioners Association, chair of the NCAA Division II Men�s Basketball Committee and numerous other NCAA committees. Landry and his wife of 44 years, Lucille, will make their home in The Villages, a retirement community located near Ocala, Florida. A national search for Landry�s replacement will begin immediately. * * * * * * * * Nobody Ever Lost a Fight Louisiana’s ‘forgotten sport’ is set for a long overdue remembrance, thanks to local sports legend Parker Coliseum is a shadow of its former self these days – at least as a sporting venue. What was the biggest building of its type at time of construction – eclipsing even New York’s Madison Square Garden – is now host to little more than the overlooked droppings, remnants of the few annual livestock shows. But buried deep within “The Cow Palace†– known mostly for its tenure as host of LSU Basketball teams and legends like Pete Maravich and Bob Petit – is the previously untold history of a sport arguably once greater in success and stature than anything in the Pistol’s arsenal. From 1929 to 1956, Parker Coliseum, home of the long-extinct LSU Boxing program, was the Mecca of (arguably) the South’s greatest amateur boxing state. The relics of that sport’s history on campus have been buried for years under the dirt floors of Parker, trodden by horses and Ag Center employees these days, and only recently are the stories of the South’s lost sport finally being told again. A gentlemen’s sport And in contrast with the contemporary depictions of violence and deficiencies of sportsmanship prominent in today’s fighting contests, early boxing was a nobler, albeit still physical, contest. “Early on, boxing was a gentleman’s sport,†explained Don Landry, a boxing historian. Dr. Chad Seifried, an assistant professor of Kineisology at LSU and a research assistant of Landry’s, said amateur boxing in particular was both exciting and genteel. “College boxing likely attracted the attention of spectators because its rules and etiquette were quite different from the professional version,†Seifried wrote in his paper, Boxing at Louisiana State University (1929-1956): The Development and Fall of the South’s Premier Boxing Program. Collegiate contests were only three rounds (two minutes each), meaning amateur fights were more strategic and lacked the clinching and stalling of professional bouts. Amateur fighters also wore protective headgear and thicker gloves, and referees awarded points for good defense and ring generalship. Likewise, crowds were vocal and supportive, but were generally controlled. The father of Louisiana Boxing Francis G. Brink, a lieutenant in the U.S. Army charged with the duty of promoting the sport at LSU. In the 1920s, LSU required almost all of its students to take military training courses. The Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) was mandatory for all freshman students. Meanwhile, the U.S. Army embraced boxing as an excellent sport for training up its men for war. Using these ROTC programs, they encouraged universities to provide boxing programs through men like Lieutenant Brink. Brink was a former professional fighter with connections to the U.S. Olympic team, and when he first fielded a team at LSU in 1929, the sport caught on like wildfire. But Brink was not shortsighted. “He knew once he started his program that, if he was going to build a good program, he needed a good feeder system,†Landry said. Just two years after implementing the sport at LSU, Brink hosted the first high school tournament in 1931 to encourage more high schools to start boxing. The idea: to build up the Louisiana boxing community from the bottom to the top, ensuring LSU secured the commitment of the best fighters in the state. “There was some selfish reasoning to it, but he also loved the sport,†Landry said. From there, the sport (and the program) took flight. The best in the south In its existence, LSU’s boxing program produced a team national championship in 1949, as well as 31 individual conference champions, 11 national champions, and 12 runner ups, while accumulating a dual-meet record of 101-22-6 over the course of three decades, with crowds of 11,000 turning out regularly for the biggest brawl. Among those champions were LSU greats like Pee Wee Moss, Calvin Clary, Crowe Peele, and former lieutenant governor, Bobby Freeman. “LSU was the premier boxing program in the South,†Dr. Seifried said. The success at the top trickled down into the high schools. Catholic High, Baton Rouge High, Istrouma, and especially Plaquemine, dominated the high school boxing scene in the 1930s and 1940s. In fact, from 1931 to 1949, only three schools from outside the capital city won a state title. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, that success spread to southwest Louisiana, which brought home seven state titles, as well as a national champion in Scott High School. Plaquemine also earned a national runner-up during that time. Spectators turned out to matches at both levels to witness the spectacles. Parker Colisseum was packed to its full 8,000-seat capacity for every fight, while high school gyms, filled with smoke and screaming fans, were home to some of the greatest names in amateur boxing, such Plaquemine coach Sam Distefano Jr. and pugilist Ronald Fremin from New Iberia. Landry attributes part of the sport’s wild success to the social climate of the time. “The sport was big during the depression, and it was a sport that didn’t require a lot of equipment or money, so it was a pretty cheap program to run,†he said. He also noted the sport’s all-inclusive nature, which took young athletes too small for football and put them in boxing’s wide range of weight classes. “Regardless of the weight, there was a place for you, so they were able to get athletes of all sizes out there,†he said. The final rounds “Everybody dropped boxing during World War II,†Landry said. Instantly, as men were called overseas and the nation focused on the war, the sport lost both its supply and demand. And it never really recovered. “Many schools chose not to restart boxing, so we didn’t have as many teams after the war,†Landry said. The sport also had to battle parental perceptions of excessive violence, and lost much of its fan base to professional bouts, which were now readily available for free on America’s great postwar phenomenon: television. “Fans saw the pro fights, so they would watch that instead of paying to watch a college fight,†Landry said. “The pro fighters were so popular, and fans didn’t know the names of college fighters.†Fighting for its life LSU and Olympic Boxing head coach J.T Owen led a national crusade to save the sport at the amateur level in the 1950s. Specifically, he battled to get collegiate boxing televised, arguing that the quicker collegiate fights were a more exciting product. For a while, his efforts worked. While college boxing was never televised, several prominent programs – including LSU and national powerhouse Wisconsin – continued to sponsor the sport. However, as more and more local programs dropped the sport, the boxing purses tightened, and the sport became more and more expensive to compete in on a national level. “In the South a lot of the other programs dropped off, so it became a lot harder to schedule,†Dr. Seifried said. “They had to spend a lot more money to travel places, which weren’t always filling up the joint like they were here.†The knockout blow There, Wisconsin boxer Charlie Mohr was knocked out in his quest for the title. A week later, he died from a brain hemorrhage. Wisconsin – the premier program in the nation – dropped the sport 22 days after Mohr’s death, unofficially ringing amateur boxing’s death knell. “That spelled the end,†Landry said. High school boxing fell shortly after. Parents and school boards found the sport too brutal, while the U.S. Army support that spurred the sport’s initial success was no longer available. The few remaining champions of amateur boxing were left punching above their weight: they were fighting a battle of perception, one they were ill equipped to handle. The violence of boxing accrued plenty of parental opposition, and the weight-control methods implemented by coaches seeking to regulate fighters’ weight class movements did nothing to help the matter. Furthermore, the LHSAA passed legislation after the war requiring coaches to also teach classes, severely limiting the supply of high school boxing coaches, who were traditionally former pros working in insurance or sales around town. “People were coaching boxing that really didn’t know the fundamentals, and they didn’t put the kids first,†Landry said. Even the crowds turned ugly. “By the end, people in the stands were betting; it got violent,†Landry said. “In one case, a spectator threw an open knife into the ring.†The somewhat-proverbial knife gutted the last remaining vestiges of amateur boxing in Louisiana, and it would lie dormant for 50 years. Landry’s quest Landry is already a local legend, thanks to stints as head basketball coach and athletic director at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, as well as his decade as commissioner of the Sunshine State Conference in Florida. But while basketball became Landry’s bread and butter, his athletic career began in the boxing ring, where he lettered as early as eighth grade. Yet after over a half-century away from the sport, Landry is now fighting to save the fading memory of what once stood toe-to-toe with football as the sport dearest to the Louisiana heart. On June 7, 2008, Landry attended the 11th Louisiana Boxers Reunion in Crowley. There, he witnessed an unparalleled vivacity among former high school and collegiate boxers for a sport long lost in the state’s collective memory. He was particularly inspired by each boxer’s tale – no matter how exaggerated they may have become over the years. “Nobody ever lost a fight,†he said, laughing. “They must have all been undefeated.†He also realized that these stories, great as they were, would likely soon perish with the men telling them. “Unfortunately, these older fighters are like World War II veterans,†Landry writes. “We are losing them on a regular basis. Who will know about this important part of sports history in Louisiana if the stories of these former boxers are not recorded soon? This history will be forgotten.†It was that day Landry decided to embark on a journey to preserve the history of boxing in Louisiana. He started by composing an eight-page paper briefing the sport’s existence in Louisiana high schools from 1931 until 1958. He also convinced Louisiana Public Broadcasting to chronicle the 14th Louisiana Boxers Reunion in a documentary special, as well as securing a commitment from the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame to include an exhibit on high school and college boxing. But what started as a small project soon evolved into something much greater. Landry said expansion on the project became necessary after investigation of the state’s records revealed results insufficient to his standards. “One: the records were incomplete,†he said. “Second: they had a lot of mistakes.†Even at LSU, there was very little indication the sport ever even existed. “Even the LSU Athletic Department didn’t have anything of their own [boxing] history,†Dr. Seifried said. “They only had info on people who achieved hall of fame status, and they knew they got a national title in 1949.†As a result, the preliminary steps then became the foundation of what is now to be his 20-chapter book, entitled Boxing: Louisiana’s Forgotten Sport. The book, now in the final stages of production and expected to be released in September 2011, chronicles the rise and fall of amateur boxing in the state at both the high school and collegiate levels. “[The former athletes at the Reunion] just wanted to see each other, and tell the stories,†he said. “It was just a happy moment to share the sport, but no one made an effort to preserve it.†Landry said his goal is to ensure that every high school that had a boxing program in Louisiana puts a copy of the book in their library to ensure its history is accurately preserved. “I try to tell the story of what it was like,†Landry said. “Even the boxers I’ve talked to haven’t heard many of these stories.†Despite his claims to have been “lousy fighter,†Landry is doing his best to prove amateur boxing in Louisiana – or, at least, its story. He still has a punch or two left. * * * * * * * * Dixon Announcement Added May 18, 2007. NATCHITOCHES � Longtime collegiate athletic administrator Don Landry joins Doug Thornton, who spearheaded the rebuilding and reopening of the Louisiana Superdome, as co-recipients of the 2007 Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award presented by the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. The Dave Dixon Award is presented annually by the Hall of Fame’s selection committee to an individual who has played a decisive role as a sports leader/administrator benefiting Louisiana and/or bringing credit to Louisiana on the national and international level. Landry and Thornton tied in voting by a 30-member statewide media panel considering seven outstanding nominees. �With a 44-year career beginning with outstanding coaching accomplishment and transitioning to remarkable roles in athletic administration, Don Landry is a richly-deserving recipient,� said Kent Lowe, president of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, the parent organization for the Hall of Fame. �Doug Thornton leaped out at the voters as a wonderful choice for the Dixon Award,� said Lowe. �It is a fitting reward, named after the man chiefly responsible for building the Superdome and presented to the man chiefly responsible for rebuilding it.� The Dave Dixon Award is named for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame member credited with, among other sports entrepreneurial accomplishments, being the “father of the Louisiana Superdome” and also bringing the Saints to New Orleans in the 1960s. Dixon, still a resident of New Orleans, was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1999. The initial recipient in 2005 was New Orleans native Randy Gregson, the former president of the United States Tennis Association. Last year�s winner was Emmanuel �Boozy� Bourgeois, Jr., praised for his dynamic and innovative contributions during more than three decades as the president of Louisiana Special Olympics. Landry and Thornton will receive their 2007 Dixon Awards Saturday night, June 23, in Natchitoches at the Hall of Fame’s 2007 Induction Dinner and Ceremonies in the Natchitoches Events Center. Eight new Hall of Fame members will be enshrined: football stars Pat Swilling (Saints), Brian Mitchell (Plaquemine, ULL, NFL) and Stan Humphries (Shreveport-Southwood, ULM, NFL), recently enshrined Baseball Hall of Fame member Willard Brown, Louisiana�s all-time winningest high school boys basketball coach, Joel Hawkins of Baton Rouge-Southern Lab, along with women�s basketball pioneer Kim Perrot of Lafayette and ULL, Olympic gold medalist Esther Jones, who is LSU�s most decorated track and field athlete of all-time, and Tulane basketball All-American and first-round NBA Draft pick Warren Perkins of New Orleans. Brown and Perrot will be honored posthumously. Also honored will be two winners of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association�s Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism. Those recipients will be announced in the next few days. For ticket information and a schedule of events during the Hall of Fame Induction Celebration June 21-23, visit www.lasportshall.com on the internet. Banquet tickets are just $25 per person. The Superdome sustained severe damage during Hurricane Katrina, and Thornton coordinated the biggest stadium reconstruction project in U.S. history. The reopening of the Dome on Sept. 25, 2006, with the Saints winning a nationally-televised game, stands as a milestone in the recovery of storm-ravaged South Louisiana. The regional vice president for SMG, the private management company of the Superdome, Thornton persevered despite the near-destruction of his own home. A total of 35 subcontractors and 850 workers toiled around the clock and seven days a week to rebuild the Dome. Through Thornton�s ingenuity, major improvements to the Dome were funded and incorporated into the repairs. The Superdome was declared �football ready� in less than seven months, and the entire football season was saved, including the home games of the Saints and Tulane, plus the Bayou Classic, New Orleans Bowl, LHSAA football championships and Sugar Bowl. Thornton is a native of Shreveport and a graduate of McNeese State University. Under his watch at SMG, dating back to 1997, the Superdome has continued to attract national events and the New Orleans Arena has flourished. Thornton also oversees SMG-managed facilities in Kenner, Baton Rouge, Gonzalez, Shreveport and Bossier City. Landry retired as the commissioner of the Sunshine State Conference in September 2004 after completing a highly successful and honor filled 44-year career in coaching and athletic administration. A nationally-prominent head basketball coach at Nicholls State for 13 years, Landry became director of athletics at Nicholls before taking the helm as commissioner of the Southland Conference. A 1960 graduate of the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana-Lafayette), he served as a student coach in football, basketball and baseball. He was a high school coach for four years before joining the basketball staff at Louisiana Tech in 1964. In 1966, Landry was hired as head coach at Nicholls. A two-time finalist for National Coach of the Year, he was named director of athletics in 1979, a position that he held until 1987. Following a 21-year stay at Nicholls State, Landry became commissioner of the Southland Conference. He spent three years in that capacity before being recruited to become the Executive Director of the National Cutting Horse Association in 1990. Landry was hired as the commissioner of the Sunshine State Conference in Florida in 1994 and served until his 2004 retirement. He is a member of the Louisiana Basketball, Nicholls State University Athletics, Sunshine State Conference, and National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Halls of Fame. Landry has received the Carl Maddox Award for intercollegiate athletics leadership from the Louisiana Athletic Directors Association, while winning the Mr. Louisiana Basketball Award from the Louisiana Basketball Coaches Association, and receiving the NCAA Division II Commissioner�s Award of Merit and the Disney Sports Appreciation Award. The LABC created the �Don Landry Award� for distinguished service and significant contributions to the association. He was also honored by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association�s Top 28 Tournament for outstanding accomplishments in the game of basketball in Louisiana. Landry is recognized as a founder of the LABC, the LADA, the Gulf Star Conference and the Disney Division II Tip-Off Classics. He has served as president of the LABC, president of the LADA, president of the NCAA Division II Commissioners Association, chairman of the NCAA Division II men�s basketball committee and numerous NCAA committees. He was also the president of the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, which presents the Butkus Award to the nation�s top college linebacker. Landry promoted basketball on the international level by taking six teams on foreign tours. Dixon Announcement Added May 18, 2007.
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