NATCHITOCHES — The Natchitoches Event Center was filled to capacity Saturday night for the 57th annual Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Family, friends and just simple sports fans were on hand to support the 11-member Class of 2016, which evened the total number of inductees to 400.

While former University of Louisiana-Monroe (formerly Northeast Louisiana) pitcher Ben Sheets brought half the towns of Monroe and St. Amant (including his current youth league team), a much smaller contingent came to celebrate inductee “Gentleman” Dave Malarcher of Convent.

Brothers Alvin, Charles and Reese Malarcher are the great nephews of the late, great baseball player who made his name in the old Negro Leagues in the early 1900s. Unlike the raucous bunch there to celebrate Sheets, they sat quietly at a single table, along with great nephew Herman Berry and his wife, Karen, great niece Helen Malarcher Jones, and great-great nephew Darren Malarcher.

Though they were few in number, however, they were bursting with pride.

“We all know he was a great baseball player, we’ve all heard the stories,” said Alvin, who accepted on behalf of his relative. “As a family, however, we are more proud of his education and the things he achieved on that front.”

Malarcher, who died in 1982 at the age of 81, was one of 11 children born in Convent to a father who was a farm worker and a mother who was a former slave. It was she who encouraged her son’s quest for knowledge and an education.

He graduated from New Orleans University (which would become Dillard University). He also played baseball with the local semi-pro leagues in and around New Orleans. About the time he graduated, the Indianapolis ABC’s came through on an exhibition tour.

Their owner, C.I. Taylor, spotted Malarcher, who was a clutch hitter and a stellar third baseman, and signed him to a $50 contract.

After a stint in the Army, Malarcher returned to baseball, playing for the legendary Rube Foster, who founded and managed the Chicago American Giants and helped organize the Negro National League. Under his tutelage, Malarcher became a master player and manager in his own right. He led the league in scoring in 1927 and in stolen bases for three seasons, from 1923-26.

He also earned a reputation.

“He never smoked, he never drank alcohol, he never argued with an umpire and he was never ejected from a game,” Alvin told Saturday night’s assembly.

That’s how he earned his nickname.

Although he made his name far from home and died in Chicago, Ill., Malarcher now rests among the cane fields, buried in the St. James Methodist Cemetery in Convent.

His tomb bears no mention of his achievements, other than the fact that he served in the Army during World War I.

His family aims to change that. They are planning a marker that will acknowledge his induction into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

They also would like to see a recreation facility named for him somewhere in St. James Parish.

“It’s sad,” said Charles. “Here he accomplished all these things, he’s from right there in Convent and no one has even heard of him. He should be recognized there, too.”