CAW, CAT! He’s a Hall of Famer
You know him as a morning show sports talk host.
You know him as the voice of Louisiana Women's Sports.
You know him as...well, he knows himself as "The Stinkin' Genius."
Now, he's a Hall of Famer.
ESPN1420's Steve Peloquin got the surprise of his life recently when he was named to the Louisiana USSSA (United States Slo-Pitch Softball Association) Hall of Fame.
Steve's induction will formally be in July, 2018.
So, in the words of Kevin Foote, "How can this be?"
Most don't know that Steve's connection with softball dates back 31 years, when he began playing.
And, believe it or not, he was pretty good.
Steve played on two state championship teams (1988, Class D; 1990 Class C). The Class D Team (The Pro Shop) was ranked eighth in the country and won 18 consecutive tournaments that season. Steve, who was considered one of the top five pitchers in the entire state, was named to six all-tournament teams.
But that was just the beginning.
He also won two state titles and a regional title in the mixed (co-ed) division, while serving as player-manager of both teams.
He left after the 1991 season, but returned as an umpire in 1997. He was assigned to work three state tournaments and two regional tournaments as his four years as an umpire, which was pretty unheard of for someone with as little umpiring experience as he had.
He has also hosted the Louisiana USSSA Banquet for the last decade.
In order to qualify for the HOF, one must accumulate at least ten years as a player, manager, umpire or tournament director.
While Steve did not have ten years in any individual category, he qualified under the "Special" category, which is cumulative. All told, Steve had six years as a player, five as a manager, four as an umpire and countless years as a promoter of the sport.
Well, we already knew he was special.
After the induction, Steve will be one of only 123 that are in the Hall.
Much of what Steve learned as a player, manager and umpire has certainly helped him as a play by play broadcaster of the sport.
But there is one other thing about his softball career for which Steve can be thankful.
The late Butch Alleman (HOF, 2000) said once after hitting a homer, "I don't think there's anybody back there."
That phrase stuck with Steve and one day after a Cajuns' HR, he said it...and he's been saying it ever since.
Steve isn't one to toot his own horn, so we thought we'd do the tooting for him.
Maybe he is a genius, after all. But we now know that in softball, he certainly wasn't "stinkin'."
Hear Steve Monday-Thursday on "The Starting Lineup" with Cody Junot from 7-9 am.