Brian Wilson, the world champion closer for the San Francisco Giants, was selected as the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Outstanding Professional Athlete for Louisiana for 2010-11. The Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, selects annual award winners in a variety of categories; it also selects Amateur Athletes of the Month and each year’s Hall of Fame class.
Wilson, a former LSU standout, became the most recognizable face (beard) of the world champion San Francisco Giants in 2010. Wilson led the Major Leagues in saves with 48, including the NL West pennant-clinching save on the final day of the season. He added a pair of saves in the NLDS against Atlanta, then registered three saves and a win in the NLCS against heavily-favored Philadelphia. In the World Series against Texas, Wilson threw the final pitch as the Giants earned their first title since moving to San Francisco – a photo of Wilson celebrating landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Entering the 2011 All-Star break, Wilson had a 6-1 record with 24 saves and was selected to the National League All-Star Team.
The Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee began in 1957 when James Collins spearheaded a group of sports journalists to form a sports awards committee to immortalize local sports history. For 13 years, the committee honored local athletes each month. In 1970, the Sugar Bowl stepped in to sponsor and revitalize the committee, leading to the creation of the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, honoring 10 legends from the Crescent City in its first induction class. While adding the responsibility of selecting Hall of Famers, the committee has continued to recognize the top amateur athlete in the Greater New Orleans area each month – the honors enter their 64th year in 2020. To be eligible, an athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region.
The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 102 Hall of Fame players, 52 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 89-year history. The 90th Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will double as a College Football Playoff Semifinal, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2024. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting nearly $2.4 billion into the local economy in the last decade.
-www.AllstateSugarBowl.org-
