James M. Collins
New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame
Contributor, 1957-1977
Inducted: 1977
Collins was a leader of the Veterans of Foreign Wars John Dilbert Post 351 and a hard-working community contributor, who spearheaded an effort to bring recognition to the outstanding young athletes in the New Orleans area. He is credited with creating the New Orleans Sports Awards and forming the awards committee in 1957.
The committee recognized New Orleans Amateur Athletes of the Month starting in 1957 – a practice which continues to this day. In 1970, he was a critical part of bringing the Sugar Bowl on board in an effort to revitalize the committee. That effort led to the creation of the New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame which honored 10 local legends in its inaugural class in 1971.
In 1978, the Hall of Fame established a permanent home in the Superdome as the 1977 class was officially inducted - and Collins was a surprise inductee based on his efforts to establish the committee, the awards, and a permanent home. "This is the biggest thrill of my life," he said. "I had no idea it would all come to this when we started."
He served as chairman of the awards committee for 20 years. In 2014, the committee voted to rename its Special Recognition Awards in recognition of Collins. While there are many different categories of awards presented by the New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, some years the committee finds that there are people deserving of recognition who do not necessarily fit into one specific category – people like Collins who would not have fit into any of the group’s awards categories. For that reason, the Committee presents the Jimmy Collins Awards to outstanding individuals.
Born in St. Louis, Collins moved to New Orleans as a child. He attended S.J. Peters High School where he played football. He was associated with Woodward Wight Co. for many years but later started his own advertising agency. He doed on October 4, 1978, after a long illness at the age of 64.
