Cannon Exhibit Highlights LSHOF
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
(Editor’s Note: Bobby Ardoin, then 11-years-old, was seated in the southeast end zone second level the night and watched Cannon make his famous punt return on Oct. 31, 1959)
For those who remember Billy Cannon or others who were never exposed to his name, a newly-arrived exhibit at the Louisiana Sports Fall of Fame depicts a Louisiana football legend whose life included fame, disgrace and ultimately redemption.
The “Billy Cannon: “They Called Him Legend” audio and visual presentation that arrived at the Hall of Fame Museum in Natchitoches on May 28, doesn’t try to hide the athletic ability, awards and legal problems for Cannon, who died in his sleep in 2018 when he was 80.
Hall of Fame officials accepted the exhibit which was previously on display for 14 months at the Capitol Park Museum, which is part of the Louisiana Museum system.
Family members of Cannon, who attended the official unveiling of the exhibit last month, said they wanted to display the life of Cannon in an unfiltered way.
On Thursday persons were examining artifacts following the presentation and press conference for members of the Hall of Fame induction class who will be honored Saturday night.
Cannon, inducted into the LSHOF in 1976, was a 1959 Heisman trophy winner at LSU and his famous 89-yard punt return for a touchdown helped defeat Ole Miss 7-3 in a Halloween game played that season.
Ole Miss later launched a late fourth quarter touchdown drive that ended on the LSU 1-yard line when Cannon and Warren Rabb, who were each playing safety, stopped a Rebels ball carrier.
Cannon later played for the Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs, before quitting the NFL to enter dental school and qualify as an orthodontist.
After his arrest for printing $6 million in counterfeit money, Cannon was sentenced to a federal prison for several months.
Cannon became head of the Angola State Penitentiary dental program for 23 years before he died unexpectedly.
Prison inmates used their own commissary money to pay for a wood coffin that Angola prisoners made for Cannon.
Spectators at Tiger Stadium stood and applauded for several minutes when Cannon was introduced between the first and second quarters of a 2003 Homecoming game, as the LSU players lifted their helmets in tribute.
