Former MSU Star Will Clark Among Inductees For Nokia Sugar Bowl Greater N.O. Sports Hall Of Fame
May 25, 2016 | Baseball
Chosen as 2003 inductees by the Hall of Fame's Sports Award Selection Committee are: Will Clark, Dr. Artis Davenport II, Terry Robiskie, Pat Screen, Ted Washington.
Clark's overall major league baseball career spans 16 playing seasons during which he played 1,976 games, batted .303 and hit 284 home runs. He holds the record for most productive performances in post season play with a .650 batting average in 1989. Clark prepped at Jesuit High School and was a three year letter winner on the baseball team. He later starred three seasons at Mississippi State University and was a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic Tour, during which he batted .393 and hit 13 homers in 35 games. Clark hit a home run on his first major league at bat off Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.
Doing more with so little would be the best way to describe the legacy of Dr. Davenport. In his 42 years as coach on the collegiate level he won seven national titles, three national runner-up finishes, coached 40 individual track champions and 178 All-Americans. These accomplishments were done without a paid assistant, limited scholarships and virtually no budget. As head coach of both the men's and women's teams at Southern University at New Orleans, and with stints at Dillard and Alcorn State, he was named the NAIA National Coach of the Year four times and was selected the top coach nationally three times by the NCAA. Although SUNO is an NAIA institution, the track teams competed primarily against NCAA Division I schools. The Monroe, La, native received degrees at both Tuskegee Institute and Louisiana State University, he also served in the U.S. Army as an Infantry Officer.
Robiskie carried Second Ward High School in Edgard, Louisiana to a pair of state 1A football championships in 1971 and 1972 by a combined score of 74-2. Both of those championship teams were undefeated. He then moved on the LSU where he was one of the first African-American athletes in the LSU football program. Robiskie led the Tigers in points scored in both 1975 and 76. He rushed for a career high 214 yards on 30 carries in a 1976 game against Rice. He was named the Southeastern Conference MVP that season. Robiskie played football professionally for the Raiders and the Dolphins and currently is the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns.
Screen, a multi-talented athlete, who began his athletic career as a youth on the NORD play grounds. He prepped at Jesuit High School where he earned 12 varsity letters and led the Blue Jay football team to three consecutive Catholic League titles and a 39-5 record. He was selected the city's Outstanding Player Award winner all three years as a prep. While in high school he was chosen MVP of his American Legion baseball team. Screen moved on the LSU where he played football and shared quarterback duties for much of his collegiate career. A gridiron highlight for Screen came in the 1966 Cotton Bowl, when he took over for the injured starting QB and directed the Tigers to an upset win over top-ranked and unbeaten Arkansas. Screen will be inducted posthumously.
Washington is one of the most successful high school basketball coaches in Louisiana sports history. He coached the Lions of Booker T. Washington for 22 years and tallied an impressive 462-60 record and two state titles. Washington's teams, known for offensive discipline and defensive intensity, also won five Catholic Youth Organization Tournaments. He also served as the school's baseball coach for nine years, bringing home seven city and two state crowns during that span. Washington will be inducted posthumously.
To be eligible for nomination into the Nokia Sugar Bowl's Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, an individual must be born in the New Orleans area and/or have gained his or her athletic reputation in the New Orleans area.
