Lincoln grad, CFL receiver inducted into local sports hall of fame

Former Lincoln High School graduate and CFL WR Don Narcisse stands with his official photo and his old jersey as he is inducted into the Museum of the Gulf Coast in Port Arthur on Saturday. Fran Ruchalski/The Enterprise less Former Lincoln High School graduate and CFL WR Don Narcisse stands with his official photo and his old jersey as he is inducted into the Museum of the Gulf Coast in Port Arthur on Saturday. Fran Ruchalski/The ... more Photo: Fran Ruchalski/The Enterprise Photo: Fran Ruchalski/The Enterprise Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Lincoln grad, CFL receiver inducted into local sports hall of fame 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Don Narcisse, a Port Arthur Lincoln High School graduate who starred for more than a decade as a wide receiver in the Canadian Football League, was inducted into the Museum of the Gulf Coast Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday.

“To be doing this in front of your peers — the people who see your grind, your trials and tribulations — it’s just overwhelming,” Narcisse said.

Narcisse had a love for sports from a young age, but his asthma and a heart murmur always worried his mother. So instead of playing sports, she wanted him to join the band to play the trumpet.

The Woodrow Wilson Junior High marching band director called Narcisse’s home asking him to try out, but the message never got back to his mother.

“I didn’t tell her they called,” Narcisse said.

Instead, Narcisse decided to try out for the football team and made it.

More Information Mark Henry, Silsbee native, induction ceremony takes place Dec. 14 at 3 p.m.

Little did the future Canadian Football League hall-of-famer know that the decision to pursue athletics instead of music would eventually lead to such a successful professional career. In his 13 years with the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1987-99, Narcisse was a Grey Cup winner, a four-time All-Canadian receiver and a four-time selection to the All-Western team.

Narcisse also holds a plethora of individual records in the CFL. He’s fourth all-time in regular-season receptions (919) and had seven consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 yard receiving. Maybe most impressive, he went 216 straight games making at least one catch.

Long before his illustrious professional career, Narcisse played only a single season of varsity football at Port Arthur Lincoln.

Standing 5 feet, 9 inches tall, he wasn’t the prototypical wide receiver as terms of size, but he had superb catching ability that got the attention of Texas Southern University.

Originally, the Texas Southern coaching staff went to see Port Arthur Lincoln quarterback Ken Vaughn, while Narcisse was simply sent out to catch passes for the workout session. Lincoln’s tight end coach convinced those recruiters to watch Narcisse, too.

“He told the recruiter, ‘You might want to take a look at this receiver we have catching that ball,’” Narcisse recalled.

Texas Southern offered Narcisse a football scholarship, which he accepted as his one and only opportunity to play college football. By his senior year, Narcisse led the NCAA Division I-AA in receiving yards with 1,074 and was a first-team All-American.

After his collegiate career ended, Narcisse tried out for the then-St. Louis Cardinals and was cut on the final day. He found out about a Saskatchewan Roughriders’ tryout in Louisiana and was one of the four players who were signed out of 400 who tried out.

The requirements to be inducted into the Museum of the Gulf Coast’s Sports Hall of Fame are rigorous.

Joseph Guillory, a classmate of Narcisse’s at Port Arthur Lincoln, was the one recommended him as a potential candidate to museum director Tom Neal. Being three years younger than Narcisse, Guillory always saw him as a role model.

“I was underclassman, but I was always looked up to those upper-class guys and he was one of them,” Guillory said. “He always had a work ethic about him. He outworked everybody and that’s what made him so great. He overcame so many obstacles in his lifetime.”

jorge.ramos@beaumontenterprise.com