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NATCHITOCHES – Five football standouts, led by star NFL running backs Deuce McAllister of the New Orleans Saints and Baton Rouge native Warrick Dunn, are among the eight 2012 inductees who will enter the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

Another remarkable running back, LSU great Terry Robiskie, joins Louisiana Tech pass catching sensation Roger Carr and highly-successful former Southern head coach Pete Richardson in the five-man football component going into the Hall this summer.

Three-time Grambling basketball All-American Aaron James, a New Orleans native, joins LSU baseball stalwart Eddy Furniss and nationally-acclaimed jockey Mark Guidry, a Lafayette native, in the Hall’s 2012 induction class.

Their selection was announced late Saturday. They will be officially enshrined Saturday, June 23, 2012 in Natchitoches to culminate the June 21-23  Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration.

A 30-member Louisiana Sports Writers Association committee selected the 2012 inductees. The panel considered a record 142 nominees from 24 different sport categories on a 25-page ballot, said Hall of Fame chairman Doug Ireland.

The 2012 inductions will be conducted as construction nears completion on the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame museum, operated by the Louisiana State Museum system in a partnership with the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. The striking two-story, 27,500-square foot structure faces Cane River Lake in the National Historic Landmark District of Natchitoches and should be completed this summer with installation of cutting-edge exhibits following over the next few months.

The eight new inductees will raise the total of Hall of Fame members to 292 men and women honored since the first induction class  - baseball’s Mel Ott, world champion boxer Tony Canzoneri and LSU football great Gaynell Tinsley – were enshrined in 1959 after their election a year earlier.

The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame includes nine members of the Basketball Hall of Fame, six of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players, six baseball Hall of Fame inductees, 13 Pro Football Hall of Fame members, seven Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame enshrines, 18 Olympic medalists (10 gold medal winners), 32 College Football Hall of Fame members, three National High School Hall of Fame enshrines, jockeys with a combined 12 Triple Crown victories, six world boxing champions, three College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees (Furniss will be the fourth), three NBA Finals MVPs and two Super Bowl MVPs. A complete membership list and biographical information on all 285 current members is available at the www.lasportshall.com website, with a steady stream of info available at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Facebook page.

The 2012 Induction Celebration will kick off Thursday, June 21 with the La Capitol press conference and reception. It includes three receptions, a Friday morning youth sports clinic sponsored by the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office, and a Friday afternoon Encana Gas celebrity pro-am golf scramble at Oak Wing Golf Course in Alexandria. Tickets for the Chesapeake Energy Induction Dinner and Ceremonies, and golf entries, will go on sale in April through the www.lasportshall.com website, said Hall of Fame Foundation president/chief executive officer Lisa Babin.

Unquestionably one of the most popular players in New Orleans Saints history, McAllister played  in two Pro Bowls and became the franchise’s all-time leading rusher despite an injury-hampered career. McAllister played in just 97 games, but he rushed for 6,096 yards -- smashing the old mark of 4,267 yards by George Rogers -- and is also the team’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns (49) and total TDs (55). In 2006, he helped the Saints, who won the NFC South title under rookie coach Sean Payton, reach the NFC Championship game for the first time.

He was also community-minded as he raised money for and devoted much of his time away from the field to his Catch 22 Foundation to help underprivileged children in the Gulf South region. He set six records at Ole Miss, including marks for rushing yards (3,331) and TDs (40).