La Capitol FCU has supported and celebrated the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame for nearly two decades. As notable 2023 inductees Superbowl quarterback Eli Manning and College Baseball World Series coach Paul Mainieri take their part in history, La Cap plans to share the excitement with everyday fans.
La Cap’s Journey to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame contest will send winners and their guests to exclusive activities during the three-day event. The contest, that will run through June, will highlight the credit union’s own MVPs – products, services, and people poised to improve members’ financial well-being and keep them in the winner’s circle.
The 2023 Hall of Fame marks the 18th year of sponsorship for La Cap and specific involvement will include:
- Thursday, July 27 – Sponsor of Welcome Reception
- Friday, July 28 – Two teams in Celebrity Bowling Bash
- Saturday, July 29 – Co-Sponsor of Junior Training Camp (youth activity)
- Saturday, July 29 — Table Sponsor at Round Table Luncheon
The 12-member 2023 class includes Manning, who played college ball at Ole Miss, had 16 seasons with the New York Giants, and was the MVP of Super Bowl XLII and XLVI; Mainieri, who retired after winning 1,505 games in 39 seasons as a college baseball coach concluding with 641 wins at LSU, highlighted by the 2009 College World Series championship; and prolific LSU wide receiver Wendell Davis, a two-time All-American who was drafted in the first round in 1987 by the Chicago Bears.
Other inductees are Shreveport native Alana Beard, the 2000 Miss Basketball in Louisiana, Duke University standout, and member of the L.A. Sparks’ 2016 WNBA championship team; New Orleans native Ron Washington, who managed the Texas Rangers to a pair of World Series appearances and last year helped the Atlanta Braves win the world’s championship; two-time LSU track and field USA Olympian and world champion Walter Davis; Slidell native Matt Forte, a Tulane great and Chicago Bears two-time Pro Bowl running back; All-American LSU pitcher Paul Byrd, a 14-year MLB veteran and 1999 All-Star; national champion and world class weightlifter Walter Imahara, who competed at UL-Lafayette; and retired Baton Rouge-Parkview Baptist baseball coach M.L. Woodruff, whose teams claimed 11 state championships.
Bruce Brown and Lori Lyons are the 2023 Sports Journalism Inductees.