PHOTO: The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025 includes (back row L-R) Herb Vincent, Joe Scheurmann, Glenn Guilbeau, Vickie Johnson, (front row L-R) Robert Soileau (son of Bobby Soileau), Robin Daniels (widow of Ed Daniels), Danny Broussard, and April Burkholder. Andrew Whitworth will join the group Friday and Nick Saban arrives Saturday.
CREDIT: Chris Reich, NSU Photographic Services for the LSWA
To see more photos from the press conference, click here.
Written by Jonathon Zenk for the LSWA
NATCHITOCHES—During Thursday afternoon’s introductory press conference for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025, a couple sentiments were common threads — gratitude and relationships.
Memories and stories were shared by all the inductees, or those speaking on their behalf, as they reflected on the state where they built a legacy that led them to the honor they will officially receive Saturday night during the induction ceremony televised live on Louisiana Public Broadcasting.
Relationships are a major theme during every induction, so it makes sense that college chums Glenn Guilbeau and Herb Vincent were at the podium early in the chain of inductees.
“I am real proud of my friendship with Herb,” Guilbeau said. “We’ve been able to get along, dating back to when we were both at LSU at the same time.
“It was great to follow Herb’s career from the New Orleans Breakers in the USFL to the SEC. He’s been a great friend to have.”
Guilbeau, a two-time Louisiana Sportswriter of the Year, will receive the LSWA’s Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism.
LSHOF Foundation President & CEO Ronnie Rantz, a Menard High standout who pitched for LSU’s first two College World Series champions in 1991 and 1993, recounted a joke played on Guilbeau, who was working at the Alexandria Daily Town Talk when hometown hero Rantz played for the Tigers.
Rantz was pitching well but Vincent exaggerated when he called Guilbeau in Alexandria claiming Rantz had a no-hitter going late in a midweek game. Guilbeau quickly hung up, called the paper’s editors and told them be ready for a big story — before Vincent called back moments later saying while Rantz had a good outing going, it was not a no-hitter.
“Glenn hung up the phone before we could tell him it was a joke,” Vincent said. “We tried to figure out how to call him back to tell him to stop and wondered how long do we let this go? Finally, we called him back and told him the truth.
“That was when we realized Glenn would believe anything if he took the bait that Ronnie was throwing a no-hitter at an LSU baseball game.”
Vincent, now in his 12th year as an associate commissioner of the SEC, will receive the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award.
While those two had a relationship in the workplace, other inductees didn’t have to look sofar for their big relationships.
In 1990, Rags Scheuermann was inducted into the LSHOF as a legendary Delgado Community College baseball coach.
After 35 years, Rags will be joined by his son, Joe. They become the fourth father-son combination in the Hall.
The younger Scheuermann has won a state-record 1,207 games as the Delgado CC baseball coach and has led the Dolphis to five JUCO World Series appearances.
“It is special being a father-son duo in the LSHOF,” he said. “You grow up and you have idols — my dad was my idol. I just wish he was here. You follow somebody and you try to emulate him. I remember sitting on his lap in the dugout. The fact that we’re in it together is special.”
Three more inductees — Dale Weiner, George “Bobby” Soileau and the late Ed Daniels — were represented by family members.
Like Scheuermann, Weiner also coached his way into the Hall of Fame.
“It means a lot to my dad,” Dale’s son Neil Weiner said. “I think everybody who is being honored this weekend is here because they never made it about themselves and lifted other people up. It is great now after a career is over to finally get that recognition and be proud of himself. As a family, we are so honored. Our dad is our hero.”
The elder Weiner is battling Parkinson’s disease but despite a recent hospital stay of more than a month, has improved and plans to be on hand Saturday night at the Natchitoches Events Center for enshrinement.
Soileau, represented by his son Robert, was a four-time state boxing champion at Sacred Heart High School in Ville Platte before becoming the 1956 NCAA 125-pound champion for LSU.
Soileau passed along knowledge of the sweet science, teaching his son how to box from a young age.
“We boxed almost every day from the time I was five or six years old,” Robert said. “In the living room, he’d get on his knees and he’d make me put on one of the gold jerseys that is actually on the second floor of this museum and we’d put the gloves on and we’d spar in the living room. He had fun with it. We enjoyed the bonding through boxing.”
To begin the interviews, the late Ed Daniels was represented by his wife Robin and daughter Erin, who was wearing a jersey replica of LSU’s 2024 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels.
“Ed would be so humbled by all this,” Robin said. “I know he is looking down at us now. His family is so proud of him and all of his accomplishments and we’re all thankful and grateful for all these accolades and all his contributions are recognized.”
Ed was a five-time Louisiana Sportscaster of the Year, as the sports director of WGNO-TV in New Orleans for 33 years.
“This is the culmination of his life’s work,” Erin said. “I know that he’d be really proud. He always said that the work day is not done until you’ve worked your hardest and taken the most pride in that day and the opportunities that it provided. That is why he is being inducted this weekend.”
While Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson and Napheesa Collier dominate the present-day WNBA, former Louisiana Tech star Vickie Johnson walked so the current trio could run. The Coushatta native, currently an assistant coach with the Atlanta Dream, played in the WNBA’s inaugural season.
“The WNBA started in 1997, and I was one of the original 32 players in the league and I was placed in New York with some amazing players, Teresa Weatherspoon, Rebecca Lobo …. We didn’t make a whole lot of money, but it wasn’t about that. It was about the next generation and now you see the league’s growth with Clark and Angel Reese.”
Johnson was a two-time All-American for the Lady Techsters before playing 13 seasons in the WNBA. In her 13 seasons, she averaged 10.4 points, set the WNBA record for minutes played in a career, and made a pair of WNBA All-Star teams.
LSU gymnast April Burkholder, who finished her career in 2006 as the program’s most accomplished competitor, wasn’t worried about school before she got to LSU. She was a gymnast first and foremost, to her detriment.
“Freshman year was kind of rocky,” she said. “The year before my freshman year, I actually had to sit out a year to become academically eligible. I dedicated my life to gymnastics and a lot of sacrifices were made and education was one of them. I was in the gym 10 hours a day at 10 years old. You show up to sixth grade two hours late too many days in a row and they’re wondering what are you doing.”
Burkholder got her academic act together and was a 14-time All-American gymnast for LSU and the 2006 NCAA beam champion.
She was a part of the LSU’s rise in women’s athletics, when the program’s gymnastics team, along with the women’s basketball team, softball team and volleyball teams became national powers.
As talented as former NBA All-Star Danny Granger was on the court, former Grace King High head coach Jeryl Fischtziur knew he was an even better scholar and gentleman.
“He’s the kind of young man you’d want your daughter to date,” Fischtziur said. “He had a 32 ACT and a perfect 4.0. He was and is the perfect gentleman.”
He wanted to be a civil engineer, and turned down Yale because the Ivy League school didn’t have that curriculum Granger starred at New Mexico and then went to the NBA.
Granger, who was unable to travel to Natchitoches from his Arizona home because of back problems, was an All-Star Game starter in 2008-09 whilew scoring a career-high 25.8 points per game. It was the first of three consecutive seasons for Granger that he recorded at least 20 points per game.
“I knew he had the ability to go to the NBA, but didn’t know if he could be an All-Star,” Fischtziur said. “His work ethic was there. He was always the first one at practice and last one to leave. He was a team leader and very coachable.”
Providing a high-energy end to the media session was prep basketball coach Danny Broussard, who has St. Thomas More High in Lafayette to six state championships and is sixth in the United States in high school basketball coaching victories with 1,162.
“I base everything on fundamentals,” Broussard said. “I figured that at St. Thomas More, we didn’t get the greatest athletes, for us to survive, we have to be a fundamentally sound team. So I base my entire coaching philosophy on the fundamentals of basketball.”
A replay of the 2025 Induction Press Conference is available online via the LSHOF’s YouTube channel.
