Hometown Heroes: Celebrating Shreveport’s Incredible Athletes

Once upon a time, Shreveport was known as the "Cradle of the Stars". That started due in large part to the success of so many musical artists that gained international fame thanks to their appearance on the Louisiana Hayride. There's a even tour dedicated to everything related to Shreveport's rich musical history that teaches folks about Elvis, Hank Williams, Leadbelly, James Burton and others.

But, as cool as that is, musical talent isn't the only thing Shreveport has produced. In fact, in more recent years, Shreveport has produced more top tier athletes than musicians.

From Pro Bowlers to Olympic Gold Medalists to NBA champions, Shreveport has been a breeding ground for world class athletes.

Shreveport's Success on a Global Sports Stage

Pick a sport, any sport, and I'd bet there's a world class athlete that calls Shreveport home. Golf? We got Hal Sutton, David Toms and Sam Burns.

Basketball? Robert Parish, Antwan Jamison and Stromile Swift.

Baseball? Seth Lugo, Vernon Wells and Albert Belle are all from Shreveport.

Olympics? Evelyn Ashford won gold medals at the 84, 88 and 92 Olympics.

And we haven't even touched on the NFL, where the list includes Terry Bradshaw and Tre White.

If you want to play pro sports, growing up in Shreveport seems to help. Maybe there's just something in the water.

Get our free mobile app

Who Made the List of 'Most Famous Athletes from Shreveport'?

Below is a list of some of the most famous athletes from Shreveport. I tried to only pick athletes with a proven track record or were award winning at the highest levels. If we expanded the list a bit, there's TONS of names we could add from Jerry Tillery to Trent Taylor to Arnez Battle to Morenike Atunrase to Stromille Swift.

Another athlete that didn't make the list below (mostly because I couldn't find a legal picture to use) is Barbara Payne.

Name doesn't sound familiar? Well, she's a Shreveport native and the only girl born in Louisiana to join the 'All-American Girls Professional Baseball League'. If you're thinking "Why do I know that league name?", it's because that's the basis of the movie 'A League of Their Own'. Among the teams that Barbara played for, she was a Rockford Peach for a while. She also was a pro golfer for a bit.

READ MORE: Spring Training Once Brought Babe Ruth to Shreveport, LA

So, obviously, everyone has their own definition of 'famous'. But, I just wanted to take some time to highlight some of the more notable names from our area and to celebrate their accomplishments.