Another call from another hall

 

It came in the middle of an ordinary afternoon. 

The Call he had been hoping for, waiting for, yes, even praying for.

On September 1, 2026, Coach Marty Luquet got The Call from his friend, Tim, letting him know that he finally had been elected to the Louisiana Baseball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame. The Coach put The Call on speaker so I could hear the official notification.

From my spot on the sofa, I quickly realized what was happening and jumped up to record it. Through my own tears, I got his and the smiles as he thanked his longtime buddy and expressed his appreciation. It was a special moment for both of us together.

 "It's about damn time," I told him. Then, "Welcome to the club!"

Afterwards, he called his children, his best buddy and his longtime assistant coach. He was smiling and crying a little each time. I just sat and watched, taking it all in.

To be fair, we knew this day would come -- sooner or later. We both hoped it would be sooner. Being a voting member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and a longtime elector for the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, I know first-hand how hard it can be for even the best of the best to get the votes needed to make the final cut. Also to be fair, one of the reasons he did not get in sooner is because he won't stop coaching. 

Coach Luquet certainly has the credentials -- 509 wins over five different schools, 13 consecutive playoff appearances at Destrehan with six state tournament appearances (including the first in school history) and two runner-up finishes, nine consecutive playoff appearances at O. Perry Walker and seven district championships, two American Legion state championships and a World Series appearance, and six Coach of the Year trophies from either the LBCA or the local media.

Photo by Brett Duke for The Times-Picayune

His greatest on-the-field achievement is hard to pin down, though.

 In 1986, his O. Perry Walker American Legion (Post 218) team won the Region 5 championship and reached the Final Eight with a record of 23-2. It was the first New Orleans public school to win a championship in 71 years. No one has done it since.

In 2001 he coached the St. James Wildcats to a 3-2 victory at home against district rival E.D. White. St. James had never beaten them. This year, the Cardinals were undefeated and would go on to win a state championship with a record of 33-1. The Wildcats were that ONE. 

His 2004 Destrehan team was nationally ranked and finished 33-1 after losing in the quarterfinals to a pretty darned good team led by pitcher Ben Soignier.

He led the Gauthier Amedee American Legion team to two state championships, taking the 2018 team to the World Series in Shelby, N.C. There was no World Series in 2020 due to Covid.

And he got his 500th career win during his short stint at Riverside Academy.

But he will tell you that his off-the-field achievements are more important than all those victories. 

He has helped raise three extraordinary children who have grown into fine, successful adults -- Daniel, the Assistant Director of Recreation in St. Charles Parish; Courtney, the Director of On-Campus Recruiting and Player Engagement at Tulane University; and Lora Leigh, a Youth Librarian in Citrus County, Florida. 

He would rather be remembered as the teacher who worked in Special Education and the leader who, more than anything, wants to help his players grow into strong men, husbands, and fathers. He is proud to be the coach they remember, the coach they respected and loved. He gets invited to their graduations, signing days, and weddings. They send him heartfelt messages years after they last wore their cleats. Grocery store run-ins turn into overdue reunions. And, we always say, Marty doesn't walk in the park; he talks in the park.

And he's not done yet!

After his last school gave him a rather undignified heave-ho following a playoff loss after a season in which he struggled with a painful back injury, he and I both officially retired. But this summer he coached the new St. Charles Parish Little League team and next spring, he will coach the Harry Hurst Middle School Roadrunners to glory. See? He won't stop coaching!

He also works tirelessly as an Uber driver -- a job he really enjoys more than he cares to admit. He also is a fervent believer in Jesus Christ and will spread The Word to anyone who will listen. He calls it Mojo's Mobile Ministry. He still is touching lives.

And now you know why I call myself his trophy wife. It's because he has a lot of them! Because, behind it all, we've always been each other's biggest cheerleaders. As a sports writer, I could root for him, I just couldn't cheer for him. He is my PR guy and I am his PR gal. It's kind of a running joke among the sports people around here.

So next January, he will get his blue coat from the LBCA as a Hall of Fame coach. And we will hang it in our Trophy Room, right next to the one I received in 2023 from the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame as a sports writer. (If you tune into our podcast, you can see it!)

We've always thought of ourselves as a unique little sports couple (hence, the name of our not-very-popular podcast). I'm the sports writer. He's the coach. We've had some crazy adventures over our 30-plus years together. I think it would make for a pretty good TV sitcom. 

Now we'll both have the wardrobe.

 

Check out That Sports Couple Podcast