NATCHITOCHES – The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame will induct a trio of sports journalism icons next summer.
Pioneering New Orleans sportscaster Ro Brown, former Northwestern State sports publicist and longtime Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame chairman Doug Ireland, and Baton Rouge sportswriter Sheldon Mickles have been selected for the 2021 Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.
The trio’s selection was announced Wednesday by LSWA president Raymond Partsch III.
“The most phenomenal aspect of this trio of DSA honorees is not the hundreds of awards they have been bestowed with over the decades of service or their reputation as respected journalists,” Partsch said. “For me, it is the years of unselfish dedication to sports and sports media here in the state of Louisiana that stands out.
“From Sheldon’s work behind the scenes with the LSWA and its annual writing contest, to Ro’s mentorship of aspiring reporters-broadcasters of all ages and backgrounds, and finally Doug dedicating nearly his entire adult life championing the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame,” Partsch added. “We have been blessed to have had them be a part of our state’s storied sports history and there is no better way to honor them than having them inducted into the Hall of Fame.”
Brown was the first on-air African-American sports anchor-reporter in New Orleans, in 1978 at WDSU-TV, and became a staple of the Crescent City’s sports scene. An award-winning journalist who also became the first education reporter in the New Orleans market in his final three years (1999-2002) at WDSU, Brown has continued covering and promoting sports during the last two decades.
Ireland has been the chairman of the Hall of Fame, a volunteer role, since April 1990, just over a year after he left the Alexandria Town Talk sports staff to become sports information director at Northwestern. He spearheaded efforts leading to construction and opening of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum in Natchitoches in 2013. Ireland wrapped up over 30 years as the Demons’ innovative SID last summer.
Mickles is in his 43rd year of sports coverage in Baton Rouge, currently as a beat writer on LSU basketball for The Advocate. First for the Baton Rouge State-Times, a now defunct afternoon paper in Baton Rouge, and then the morning Advocate, Mickles covered the New Orleans Saints for 30 seasons. While winning many state, regional and national writing awards, Mickles has been a key leader for the LSWA, including a term as president, and has been chair of the nomination subcommittee for the Hall of Fame for years.
The DSA honor, to be made official next summer in Natchitoches, means they will be among an elite 12-person Class of 2021 being inducted in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. The trio was selected from a 26-person pool of outstanding nominees for the state’s top sports journalism honor.
The Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism recipients are chosen by the 40-member Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame selection committee based on nominees’ professional accomplishments in local, state, regional and even national arenas, with leadership in the LSWA a contributing factor and three decades of work in the profession as a requirement.