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2026 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 43
BY SENATORS SEABAUGH, BOUDREAUX, HENRY, JACKSON-ANDREWS,
JENKINS, LUNEAU, MORRIS, PRESSLY, PRICE AND STINE
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
To commend and congratulate John James Marshall upon receiving the 2026 Distinguished
Service Award in Sports Journalism and on being inducted into the 2026 class of the
Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches, Louisiana, each year
collaborates with the Louisiana Sports Writers Association in selecting a limited number of
sports figures who embody the character, skill, and talent worthy of being named to the hall
of fame; and
WHEREAS, the Distinguished Service Award is the most prestigious honor offered
to sports media in the state and recipients are carefully chosen after an extensive deliberation
by a forty-member expert panel based on their professional accomplishments in local, state,
regional, and national arenas; and
WHEREAS, John James Marshall is the recipient of the 2026 Distinguished Service
Award in Sports Journalism and a member of the 2026 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
Induction Class; and
WHEREAS, John James Marshall, a native of Shreveport, has dedicated more than
five decades to sports journalism and broadcasting, becoming one of the most respected and
versatile voices in Louisiana sports media; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Marshall began his career in local media in 1974 at the age of
fifteen when he started covering American Legion baseball games for the Shreveport Times,
demonstrating an early passion for storytelling and sports reporting that would define his
professional life; and
WHEREAS, after graduating from Louisiana Tech University in 1981, where he
served as sports editor of The Tech Talk, Mr. Marshall began his professional career with the
Shreveport Journal and rose to become executive sports editor in 1988; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Marshall and his brother, Ben Marshall, have achieved recognition
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in broadcasting, twice winning the LSWA's Best Radio Show award for their program
SportsTalk with Bonzai Ben and JJ on 50,000-watt KWKH-AM and holds the distinction of
being the longest-running sports talk radio show in Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, following the closing of the Shreveport Journal in 1991, Mr. Marshall
joined the Shreveport Times and continued his work in sports journalism before ultimately
choosing to pursue his growing radio career; and
WHEREAS, despite not entering the LSWA writing contest for twenty-seven years,
Mr. Marshall has earned multiple awards in recent years for his writing with the
Shreveport-Bossier Journal; and
WHEREAS, over the course of his distinguished career, Mr. Marshall has been
recognized repeatedly for excellence in journalism, earning four Louisiana Sports Writers
Association (LSWA) Prep Writer of the Year awards, two LSWA Columnist of the Year
honors, and the LSWA Story of the Year award in 2023; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Marshall's career has included numerous accomplishments across
several forms of media, including winning a national Associated Press Sports Editors Best
Feature Sports Story award in 1987 and earning two Council for Advancement and Support
of Education awards for documentary video production and storytelling; and
WHEREAS, he has served as a play-by-play announcer in both radio and television
for professional football with the Canadian Football League's Shreveport Pirates and for
NCAA Division I basketball with Centenary College, and contributing to the fan experience
as a public address announcer for the Shreveport Captains for eight years and as a part-time
public address announcer for the Houston Astros; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Marshall has served as media director and instructor at Loyola
College Prep, his alma mater, for twenty-nine years, and his connection to Loyola College
Prep extends beyond journalism and education, as he was a standout student-athlete, serving
as quarterback for the school's 1976 Class 3A state championship football team and earning
All-City honors as a third baseman in baseball; and
WHEREAS, in recognition of his many contributions to journalism, broadcasting,
athletics, and education, Mr. Marshall was inducted into the Loyola College Prep Hall of
Honor in 2014 and the baseball press box at the school bears his name; and
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WHEREAS, Mr. Marshall's service to Louisiana sports journalism has included
leadership roles within the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, where he became the
youngest individual ever elected president at the age of thirty-one and where he continues
to serve on the organization's Hall of Fame committee; and
WHEREAS, in 2026, Mr. Marshall's outstanding career and dedication to sports
media were fittingly recognized with his induction into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
as the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
commend and congratulate John James Marshall upon receiving the 2026 Distinguished
Service Award in Sports Journalism and on being inducted into the 2026 class of the
Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to John
James Marshall.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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