Page 90 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2018

SPORTS & OUTDOORS who dat
A SPECIAL PLACE:
New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame Museum displays everything from a timeline of events, Dempsey’s ball and shoe from longest filed goal in NFL history, to the Super Bowl victory party. It commemorates every moment and is a must see for any Saints fan.
story and photos by A.J. Giardina
New Orleans Saints fans should make significant highlights in those early
SAINTS
HALL OF FAME
an all-out effort to visit the Saints Hall of Fame Museum located at Gate B inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. It opens two hours before each Saints home game. Busts and portraits of
the Hall of Famers on display include Rickey Jackson, Willie Roaf, Morten Andersen, Sam Mills, Pat Swiling, Archie Manning and Deuce McAllister.
There’s a special timeline display that starts with the awarding of the NFL franchise on All Saints Day, Nov. 1, 1966. It features owner John Mecom and runs through the Tom Benson era.
Despite not cracking the playoffs until the 1987 season under the leadership and guidance of general manager Jim Finks and head coach Jim Mora, there were some amazing
years, beginning with the first regular season game.
As a teenager growing up in New Orleans in 1967, I remember listening to WWL Radio and play-by-play announcer Al Wester describe the Saints opening kickoff on Sept. 17. Some 80,879 fans at Tulane Stadium exploded with excitement and disbelief as John Gilliam raced 94 yards for a touchdown. The ball is on display in the museum.
Where were you when Tom Dempsey kicked a last-second game winning field goal on Nov. 8, 1970 at Tulane Stadium? I was at a Metairie playground playing tackle football with friends. A car radio was blasting the game play by play. We stopped
Museum
playing to listen to Dempsey deliver the longest field goal in NFL history at the time — 63 yards — to beat Detroit 19-17. You can view the ball and Dempsey’s shoe.
Ken Trahan is the general manager
of the Saints Hall of Fame. In 1987,
he was approached by Kenner Mayor Aaron Broussard, who had a vision of a Saints Hall of Fame. Trahan accepted the challenge and said recently, “I
have been involved in running the museum since day one, and I would like to think I contributed to the legacy of the franchise.”
The museum opened in 1988 in
the city of Kenner and moved to the Superdome in 2007. And yes, the Saints Super Bowl season is featured in two rooms.
90 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • October 2018 FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net