Hap Glaudi

Sport: Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism

Induction Year: 1990

A true New Orleans original, Lloyd A. “Hap” Glaudi had three distinctive careers in local sports journalism. He spent 22 years with the New Orleans States-Item where he was the featured writer of high school sports. Horse racing was his other passion. When the Item folded, Glaudi implausibly moved to Evansville, Ind. where he was sports editor of the newspaper there for five years. But New Orleans kept calling, and In 1964, without any previous broadcast experience, he became the lead sportscaster at WWL-TV where he helped put WWL on top of the local newscast ratings, a position the station has retained since. Glaudi added added radio to his repertoire in 1974 where his nightly shows during the week and Hap’s Point After on Sundays following Saints games became mandatory listening. Although outspoken in his opinions, Glaudi always was respectful of his callers, frequently saying, “You’ve got a point there.” In 1964, Glaudi even appeared on an episode of Gunsmoke, at a time CBS was putting local broadcast celebrities in bit parts. At the time of his death, he was considered the “Dean of New Orleans Sportscasters.” (Written By: T. Lewis)