Pete Dosher “doubled up” on his love for Lincoln Parish’s two collegiate athletic programs during a long and distinguished journalism career.
He served as a contributor to the success of sports at both Louisiana Tech University and Grambling State University during an award-winning career that stretched over 50-plus years.
The Jena native was the first-ever sports information director at Tech, then later was an assistant sports information director at Grambling. Combined, Dosher helped keep the two universities located only five miles from each other constantly on the state, regional and national map. Because of those contributions as a writer, statistician and promoter and for his many years of service in the educational and professional field, the former Jena High and Tech basketball player will be recognized posthumously as one of two recipients of the coveted Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association this summer.
Noted New Orleans sports historian Arthur Schott will be the other individual honored with the award during the 2007 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame induction dinner and ceremonies that will be held in Natchitoches on June 23.
“Recognizing Pete Dosher and Arthur Schott with the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism shows the LSWA’s profound appreciation for each of them serving the state’s sports media for more than half a century,” said LSWA President Kent Lowe. “They each have been described as selfless, and each has played a major role in telling the story of sports in Louisiana through their hard work, research, promotion and tireless effort. It was, in both cases, a labor of love.”
The DSA award is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a member of the sports media in Louisiana. A 30-member Hall of Fame selection committee chooses such recipients based on their professional accomplishes at the local, state, regional and national levels.
A total of 42 prominent figures in the field have been previously honored since the inception of the award in 1982.
Dosher, who passed away in 2003, graduated from Jena High where he was an All-State hoopster and then received degrees from the Tech Department of Journalism and the LSU Graduate School of Journalism.
Highly respected for his blue collar work ethics and adherence to learning the craft by “going out and just doing it,” Dosher was the first-ever student sports information director at Tech. After a two-year stint in the U.S. Army, he returned to serve as the permanent SID and also as an assistant professor in journalism.
He worked on the staffs of newspapers in Baton Rouge, Lake Charles and Fort Smith, Ark., was the managing editor of The Catahoula News in Jonesville and honed his writing and promotional skills even more at Tech while working during an era in which the athletic department was guided by Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame inductee Joe Aillet, a gifted writer in his own right.
Dosher helped promote such future professional stars as Terry Bradshaw, David Lee, Robert Brunet, Jackie Moreland and George Stone while at Tech and helped hype Tech’s 1964 football squad as the No. 1 ranked college division program in the country for Sports Illustrated.
He also served as an advisor for The Tech Talk campus newspaper and Lagniappe yearbook, plus taught journalism courses.
After a nine-year stay at Tech, Dosher took his experience and skills down the road to Grambling State, where he joined the sports information department headed up by the late Collie J. Nicholson, a past recipient of the DSA.
At the same time he served as an associate SID, he also was an
assistant professor in journalism and helped place Grambling students during the late 1960s and 1970s in editorial positions as such prestigious newspapers as The Miami Herald, Dallas Morning News, Wall Street Journal, Philadelphia Inquirer and the Houston Chroncile.
After his retirement from Grambling, he continued to contribute to the sports information department, most notably during the march to an all-time college football record 408 career wins by Eddie Robinson.
He played a major role in keeping both the Grambling and Southwestern Athletic Conference statistical manuals up to date.
He maintained detailed, meticulous records for both the Tigers’ and Lady Tigers’ teams as well as supplying the SWAC with weekly record and statistical updates.
For ticket information and a schedule of events during the Hall of Fame Induction Celebration June 21-23, visit www.lasportshall.com on the internet. Banquet tickets are just $25 per person.Contact Buddy Davis at buddy@rustonleader.com