SLS 23RS-140 ORIGINAL
2023 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 16
BY SENATOR BERNARD
COMMENDATIONS. Commends Coach M.L. Woodruff on being inducted into the 2023
class of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend Coach M.L. Woodruff on being inducted into the 2023 class of the Louisiana
3 Sports Hall of Fame.
4 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches, Louisiana, each year
5 collaborates with the Louisiana Sports Writers Association in selecting a limited number of
6 sports figures who embody the character, skill, and talent worthy of being named to the Hall
7 of Fame; and
8 WHEREAS, the 2023 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Class includes Coach
9 M.L. Woodruff; and
10 WHEREAS, Coach M.L. Woodruff started his baseball coaching career in 1981 as
11 the baseball coach at Doyle High School in Livingston Parish; and
12 WHEREAS, after one season of coaching baseball, Coach Woodruff became the
13 head baseball coach, head basketball coach, and assistant football coach at Parkview Baptist
14 School in Baton Rouge, where he spent the remainder of his 30-year teaching and coaching
15 career until his retirement in 2010; and
16 WHEREAS, aside from two years while he served as the full-time athletic director
17 at Parkview Baptist School, Coach Woodruff was the Parkview Baptist Eagles' head baseball
18 coach for 27 seasons; and
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SLS 23RS-140 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, Coach Woodruff led the Parkview Baptist baseball program to become
2 one of the best in the state in all classes, winning 21 district titles and making 23 playoff
3 appearances; and
4 WHEREAS, the Eagles won 11 state championships over a 23-year span: 1986,
5 1987, 1989, 1997, 2002 to 2006, 2008, and 2009; and
6 WHEREAS, the Eagles' baseball teams achieved a perfect record of 22-0 in all
7 semifinal and final games played under Coach Woodruff; and
8 WHEREAS, Coach Woodruff has a career record of 603-163-2 for a winning
9 percentage of 0.785 while coaching baseball in three different decades at Parkview Baptist
10 School; and
11 WHEREAS, Coach Woodruff was named the Louisiana Sports Writers Association
12 (LSWA) Coach of the Year in 1986, 1987, and 1989; and
13 WHEREAS, the American Baseball Congress Association named Coach Woodruff
14 the 2007 National Coach of the Year; and
15 WHEREAS, Coach M.L. Woodruff was inducted into both the Louisiana High
16 School Sports Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame
17 in 2016; and
18 WHEREAS, in his retirement Coach Woodruff continues to use his talents and has
19 taken on the position of Minister of Sports Outreach for Istrouma Baptist Church where he
20 has grown the church's gospel-centered sports program to one of the most dynamic and
21 comprehensive in the city of Baton Rouge.
22 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
23 does hereby commend Coach M.L. Woodruff on being inducted into the 2023 class of the
24 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
25 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
26 Coach M.L. Woodruff.
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SLS 23RS-140 ORIGINAL
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Kathy Liberty.
DIGEST
SR 16 Original 2023 Regular Session Bernard
Commends Coach M.L. Woodruff on being inducted into the 2023 class of the Louisiana
Sports Hall of Fame.
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