Twelve figures from Grambling State University's athletic lore -- including four-time NFL Pro Bowler Albert Lewis, NBA first-round selection Aaron James, and former baseball coach and athletic administrator Wilbert Ellis -- will be part of the fourth-annual Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame induction class July 14th in Grambling. The Induction of the twelve new members will be 6 p.m. on Saturday, July 14th at the Frederick C. Hobdy Assembly Center on the campus of Grambling State University

"The Legends Hall of Fame provides the recognition and notoriety that should have come to those individuals who made great contributions to the university a long time ago," said Pro Football Hall of Famer Willie Davis, an inaugural Grambling Legends inductee. "There's nothing in life more gratifying than being recognized and honored for those things they did on the field."

The Legends Class of 2012 includes: Clyde Parquet, baseball; Jake Reed, football; Albert Lewis, football; Alphonse Dotson, football; Trumaine Johnson, football; Wilbert Ellis, contributor; Howard Willis, basketball; Bertram Lovell, track and field; LaChandra Leday Fenceroy, women's basketball; Preston Powell, football; Aaron James, basketball; and Essex Johnson, football.

The Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame was founded by former Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams, former NFL Pro Bowl MVP James "Shack" Harris and a host of former Grambling greats who say they want to help ensure their alma mater's most storied athletic accomplishments are remembered into posterity.
ALPHONSE DOTSON: Dotson was Grambling's first All-America first team, earning the honor from the Consensus All American-Newspaper Enterprise Association. He was a first-team All-SWAC tackle in 1964, and honorable mention in 1963, before becoming a second-round pick by the Green Bay Packers. He also played for the Chiefs, Dolphins and Raiders in a career that spanned 1965-70.

LACHANDRA LEDAY FENCEROY: Leday Fenceroy, who played for previous Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame inductee Patricia Cage-Bibbs from 1984-88, topped Division I for women's scoring with a 30.4 average as a senior at GSU. She was also recognized by the Sports Information Directors as an All-American in 1985-86, the year before Leday Fenceroy helped Grambling to its first-ever women's Southwestern Athletic Conference basketball championship.

WILBERT ELLIS: A prime force behind the opening of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum on campus, Ellis served for 43 seasons as an assistant and then head baseball coach at Grambling before retiring in 2003. He also served a lengthy stint as an athletic administrator at GSU. In 2006, Ellis was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame -- an honor recognizing 737 victories at Grambling. Ellis had also served for 17 seasons as an assistant to inaugural Grambling Legends inductee Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones.

AARON JAMES: Twice named All-America, James was a three-time all-SWAC selection and earned freshman of the year honors from the league in 1971. He would lead the NCAA in scoring during the 1973-74 season with an astounding 32.1 points per game. In all, James scored 2,251 career points for the Tigers before becoming a first-round draft pick for his hometown team, the NBA's New Orleans Jazz in 1974.

ESSEX JOHNSON: Johnson, a wingback at Grambling, played eight pro seasons as a running back for the Bengals and Buccaneers. Drafted in the sixth round by Cincinnati in 1968, after Grambling claimed one of its four consecutive SWAC football championships in the late 1960s, Johnson left in 1975 as the Bengals' career rushing leader. He played another season for the expansion Tampa Bay in 1976, finishing as the club's third-leading rusher.

TRUMAINE JOHNSON: Johnson was the 1980 and '82 SWAC offensive player of the year, when he had 1,000 yards while averaging 14 yards a catch. Johnson was also first-team All-SWAC in 1981. Grambling won the conference championship in 1980, as Johnson grabbed a school record 16 touchdown receptions. He also earned first-team all SWAC honors in 1981. Drafted in the sixth round by San Diego, Johnson would play four years of pro football with 
the Chargers and Bills.

ALBERT LEWIS: Before embarking on a legendary 225-game pro football career, Lewis was first-team All-SWAC at cornerback for Grambling in 1981-82, leading the team in interceptions in '81 with seven. A member of the 50th anniversary All-Time Senior Bowl Team, Lewis recorded a staggering 42 interceptions while playing for the NFL's Chiefs and Raiders. He was selected to the Pro Bowl over four consecutive seasons beginning in 1987.

BERTRAM LOVELL: A Grambling graduate, Coach Lovell just led the Grambling State men's track team to its sixth title in the last seven years, claiming both the 2011 Southwestern Athletic Conference outdoor and indoor championships. He came into the season having already collected a staggering 29 titles at Grambling, and now has been named SWAC track coach of the year nearly 30 times, an amazing feat.

CLYDE PARQUET: Parquet ranked first in the country with a 0.66 ERA in 1961, as Grambling began a series of four runs to the national NAIA baseball tournament through 1967. The right hander fanned 98 batters in 55 innings in '61, while hurling three no hitters. Parquet averaged 16 strikeouts per game that year as Grambling, under the leadership of inaugural Grambling Legends inductee R.W.E. Jones, won the SWAC title. Parquet was then signed by the Detroit Tigers.

PRESTON POWELL: Powell, a 1961 draft pick by the Cleveland Browns, helped Grambling to its first-ever SWAC football championship in 1960 as a fullback under inaugural Grambling Legends inductee Eddie G. Robinson. Powell led the Tigers in scoring in 1958 and in total rushing yards in 1959 - when he averaged 6 yards a carry. Powell was also a first-team All-SWAC honoree in 1960.

JAKE REED: Reed was a first-team All-SWAC honoree in 1990, and second team in 1989, leading all Grambling receivers as a senior with 954 yards and a 20-yard average per catch. He was invited to the Senior Bowl in 1990, one of just 17 from Grambling to receive that honor, then played 12 seasons in the NFL with the Vikings and Saints -- helping New Orleans to its first-ever playoff win. He had four 1,000-yard pro seasons.

HOWARD WILLIS: Willis was the 76th overall pick by the New York Knicks in the 1960 NBA Draft, after helping Grambling to a pair of SWAC titles beginning in 1958 under inaugural Grambling Legends inductee Fredrick C. Hobdy. He was named all-conference in '58, after averaging 11 points and 15 rebounds per game. Willis went on to become a high school coach and administrator in Louisiana from 1963-70, and is now a respected longtime professor at Grambling.