By T. Scott Boatright
Seven of the greatest athletes to ever walk the campus at Grambling State University are set to be honored as the Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame inducts its 17th Class at 6 p.m. July 12 inside the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
The Grambling Legends Class of 2025 includes Cynthia Green representing track and field; Martin Lemelle, Sr. representing basketball; Cedric Shaw representing baseball; Jerry Gordon, Calvin Spears, and Bennie Thompson representing football; and Randy Hymes representing both football and basketball.
An introductory press conference is set for 4:30 p.m. July 11 leading up to the induction ceremonies the following evening.
Cynthia Green
Green, who came to Grambling from Jamaica to run for Coach Ed Stephens Lady Tigers Track and Field team.
She won the 1985 500-meter run at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships in a time of 1:10.46 before going one to represent her native country in the 400m run at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Green was also part of a 1,600m relay team that put Grambling in contention to capture a 1984 national championship.
But a teammate’s pulled hamstring during the first leg of that race left Grambling with a fifth-place finish, 10 points behind national champion Florida State.
Martin Lemelle, Sr.
The father of Grambling State University’s current president, Martin Lemelle, came to GSU from the small town of Sunset, Louisiana.
Lemelle Sr. was a 6-1 point guard who played in 81 games for Hobdy’s Tigers basketball team, totaling 1,048 total points while averaging 12.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game during a G-Man career that stretched from 1977-80.
He was an eighth-round selection by the Philadelphia 76ers during the 1980 NBA Draft.
Lemelle, Sr. later returned to the GSU hoops program, serving as an assistant coach during Hobdy’s last seasons at the helm of Grambling’s men’s basketball team.
Cedric Shaw
A southpaw pitcher, Shaw was recruited to Grambling out of Brusly (Louisiana) High School and went 14-9 on the mound with a 4.03 earned run average, completing 13 games and giving up 97 runs, only 67 of which were earned, and striking out 139 batters through 145.1 innings pitched.
Shaw was a 12th round selection of Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers and began his pro career in the Rookie League playing for the Butte (Montana) Copper Kings. He went 5-2 there, with a 3.99 ERA over 12 starts, before moving up to single-A Charlotte in 1989 and part of 1990.
In 1989 Shaw went 10-6 with a 2.72 ERA.
He began the 1990 campaign at AA Tulsa, earning his team’s opening day start on the mound.
Shaw went 4-5 for Tulsa that season with a 6.86 ERA over 12 starts before finishing that season back in Charlotte, where he went 5-3 with a 1.59 ERA.
He returned to Tulsa for the 1991 season, going 9-8, with a 4.06 ERA. That April, Shaw threw seven innings of no-hit ball with his relievers finishing the job for a combined no-hitter.
Shaw made AAA Oklahoma City for half of 1992 and then all of 1993, going 2-6 for the 89ers in 1993, with a 7.91 ERA.
He made his final five starts for AA Harrisburg in 1995.
Jerry Gordon
Coming to Grambling out of J.O. Johnson High School in Huntsville, Alabama, the wide receiver averaged 15 yards per catch during a GSU senior season in 1981 during which he hauled in 711 yards worth of receptions and earned first-team Southwestern Athletic Conference honors.
That followed second-team recognition in 1980 as the then-junior helped Grambling win a conference title.
Gordon spent the 1984 and ’85 seasons playing for the United States Football League’s San Antonio Gunslingers, hauling in 89 passes for 1,341 yards and 11 receiving touchdowns those two seasons while adding 14 carries for 96 yards on the ground.
He moved to the Canadian Football League (CFL) to close out his pro career in 1987, playing for the Calgary Stampeders and making three catches for 44 yards.
Calvin Spears
It didn’t take long for the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native and Istrouma High School product to make an impact on the Grambling football program, as the defensive back earned All-SWAC honors four straight times.
Spears went undrafted by the NFL but wasn’t about to give up his dream, signing a free agent contract with the Cleveland Browns, but he was released before the 2002 regular season began.
Undaunted, Spears then shifted gears to the CFL, playing in 2002 for the Montreal Alouettes.
Then Spears again shifted gears, heading overseas to spend the spring of 2003 playing for the NFL Europe’s Frankfort Galaxy before joining the New York Giants, again becoming a preseason NFL release.
But Spears remained determined and went on to have a solid career playing Arena Football.
Spears signed on as a member of the inaugural New Orleans VooDoo team in 2004 and played in 12 games that season before staying with the team in 200, playing in 15 games.
Then came the storm named Katrina that ravaged New Orleans.
The VooDoo suspended operations in 2006, because like the adjacent Superdome, the New Orleans Arena (now known as the Smoothie King Center), also suffered extensive damage during the hurricane.
But again Spears remained determined and again persevered despite more challenges ahead
So, Spears signed a one-year deal with the Kansas Brigade that 2006 season before returning to New Orleans when the VooDoo resumed operation in 2007.
But a torn Achilles tendon cut that season short for Spears, who returned to the VooDoo for his last pro season in 2008.
Bennie Thomspon
The product of New Orleans’ John McDonough High School in New Orleans played four seasons for Grambling from 1981-84, earning team MVP honors as a senior after picking off seven passes and making 133 tackles.
He also earned First-Team All-SWAC honors and honorable mention All-American recognition during his 1984 senior season.
Undrafted by the NFL, Thompson signed with the Kansas City Chiefs before being released and going on to make his mark in the CFL as a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, helping that team win a Grey Cup Championship with that team in 1988.
Thompson returned to the NFL in 1989, playing three seasons for the New Orleans Saints and making the Pro Bowl in 1991 as a Special Teams defender.
He then moved on to Kansas City, recording a career best four interceptions during the 1992 Chiefs season before playing the 1993-94 seasons in Cleveland, where he tied for the Browns’ lead in special teams tackles with 21 in ’94.
Thompson then moved on to Baltimore where he spent his final four seasons as a Raven, again being selected to the Pro Bowl in 1998 as a special teamer.
Randy Hymes
The Hitchcock (Texas) High School alum used his impressive athleticism to make an immediate impact for Grambling State athletics, standing out not only on the basketball court but especially on the gridiron, passing for more than 4,400 yards and 33 touchdowns (seventh all time at Grambling) and leading the G-Men to a SWAC and National Black football championships in both 2000 and 2001, being named the conference Player of the Year as a senior.
He also earned the Eddie Robinson Award and National Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2001.
Other 2001 highlights for Hymes included taking a blind quarterback bootleg to the end zone on the game’s final play from scrimmage that led to a 30-29 walkoff win at Portland State following Brian Morgan’s extra point kick before being named Bayou Classic MVP in a 30-20 win over Southern.
Hymes balanced his pigskin stats with a solid hoops career as a Tiger, averaging 7.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per contest in 47 games played.
He then converted that high flying hoops ability to the pro gridiron, shifting to wide receiver where he spent three seasons (2002, 2004-05) with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, catching 43 passes for 578 yards and four touchdowns.
Hymes also spent time with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars (2006) and Minnesota Vikings (2007) before moving on to a standout career on the Arena Football circuit, starting with the Cleveland Gladiators in 2008.
Before it was all said and done, Hymes showcased his receiving skills with the Abilene Ruff Riders (2009), Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings (2010), Spokane Shock (2011) and Pittsburgh Power (2012).
