LSU Track & Field
Esther Jones studied the list of names on her program – Pete Maravich, Rod Milburn, Kim Mulkey, Chris Jackson…
“I can see I’m in great company,” Jones, an LSU All-American sprinter, said on April 19, 1991, as she accepted the USF&G Sugar Bowl’s James J. Corbett Award, presented annually to Louisiana’s outstanding athlete.
Coincidentally, Maravich was inducted into the Sugar Bowls’ New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame the same night – he was the first former Corbett Award winner so honored.
Jones was a vital component in LSU’s string of four consecutive national women’s track championships, but the native of Milwaukee was unaware of the significance of the Corbett Award.
Jones anchored the LSU 400-meter relay team that set the collegiate record of 42.5 seconds at the 1989 outdoor meet.
Tigers coach Pat Henry said that while Jones’ contributions on the track have been spectacular, she is as much as positive influence off the track, as a student who would graduate that spring and a role model for younger athletes.
“She’s a great person, not just a great athlete,” Henry said.
SOURCE: New Orleans Times-Picayune, April 19, 1991
