Joe Brockhoff
New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame
Baseball Coach, 1969-93
East Jefferson HS/Tulane University
Inducted: 2008
Joe Brockhoff, one of the men who helped develop Tulane University into a nationally-recognized baseball power, was among the Class of 2008 of the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame.
His distinguished career at Tulane spanned 19 seasons from 1975 to 1993. His record of 641-350-2 set the standard for the most victories by a Tulane coach until he was passed by fellow New Orleans Sports Hall of Famer Rock Jones. He also directed the Green Wave to seven trips to the NCAA Regionals and had eight teams top the 70 percent win mark, including 32-10 in 1977, 49-15 in 1986 and 44-16 in 1987.
Brockhoff’s teams won Metro Conference Tournament titles in 1979, 1982 and 1992. He was named the conference’s Coach of the Year in 1991, and his players earned All-Metro honors a total of 30 times.
“He made me a student of the game,” said former Tulane pitcher Kenny Francingues, the MVP of the 1979 Metro Conference Tournament. “He was always a little bit ahead of the game. We became lifelong friends.”
“I was raw when I got to Tulane,” said former Tulane catcher Eric Lane, the 1982 Metro MVP. “He changed my whole career in catching. Without him, I would have never started in college, much less play professionally. His techniques were everything.”
He had seven athletes reach the major leagues and a total of 32 were drafted by big league teams. Seven of his players earned All-America accolades, four were named Freshman All-Americans and two received Academic All-American recognitions.
“The relationship I had with Coach was very special,” said former Tulane pitcher Kevin Mmahat, who reached the majors with the New York Yankees in 1988. “He used my personality to keep the guys loose in the locker room. I appreciated him more off the field than between the white lines.
“After I got my cup of coffee in the big leagues and came home, he always reached out and invited me to come work out with the guys.”
Prior to moving to Tulane, Brockhoff coached East Jefferson High School’s baseball team to two state championships and four district titles in six years. His career record was 76-16 with the Warriors.
Brockhoff was named Louisiana’s Class 4A Coach of the Year in 1970 and 1972 and New Orleans’ Coach of the Year in 1974.
Brockhoff was a standout prep catcher at East Jefferson. After two years (1957-58) at Perkinston Junior College in Mississippi, he was signed by the New York Yankees and spent two years in their farm system.
He earned bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Southern Mississippi before returning home to join the coaching ranks. He is also a member of the Louisiana Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the Tulane Athletics Hall fo Fame, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast Communiyt College Hall of Fame. His No. 25 is one of four retired baseball jerseys at Tulane.
He passed away on June 2, 2025, at the age of 88.
