Sheets named to Louisiana Sports HOF
Some more maroon and gold is set to be enshrined in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
Former ULM pitcher and four-time Major League All-Star Ben Sheets was announced as part of the hall's 2016 induction class on Wednesday.
Sheets came to ULM from St. Amant High School. Playing for Smoke Laval from 1997-99, Sheets once struck out 20 batters in one game against Louisiana Tech and recorded the third-most wins in program history with 26. Sheet's .684 winning percentage is tied for fifth all-time.
ULM won the regular season Southland Conference title and made an NCAA Regional appearance in 1999.
Sheets turned pro after his 14-0 junior season in 1999 at then-Northeast Louisiana University and was drafted no. 10 overall by the Milwaukee Brewers. He spent 11 years in the big leagues with the Brewers, Oakland A's and Atlanta Braves.
In addition to his pro career, Sheets was part of Team USA's gold medal performance in the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Joining Sheets in the class of 2016 are former NBAer P.J. Brown, Michigan and NFL standout running back Anthony Thomas — both Brown and Thomas are from Winnfield — former Tulane baseball coach Rick Jones, wildly successful high school football coach Jim Hightower, two-time All-American basketball player Janice Joseph Richard, Negro League baseball player "Gentleman" Dave Malarcher and Arthur "Red" Swanson, the most successful football coach in the history of Southeastern Louisiana University.
Richard, Malarcher and Swanson are being inducted posthumously.
The enshrinement ceremony is set for Saturday, June 25, 2016 in conjunction with the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration on June 23-25.