The Evangeline League began in
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
as a six–team
Class D level
minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...
with teams based in
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, later adding
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
and
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
based franchises. In 1935, the league was expanded to eight teams and ceased operations in 1942, with six teams, during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It resumed activities in 1946, getting promoted to
Class C in 1949, and lasted through 1957. The
Alexandria Aces
The Alexandria Aces were a baseball team based in Alexandria, Louisiana. The last version of the Aces played in the United League Baseball in 2013. The Aces have played their home games at historic Bringhurst Field, which was built in 1933 for the ...
were the only team that played in all 21 regular seasons.
Due to its association with spicy
Cajun cuisine
Cajun cuisine (french: cuisine cadienne , es, cocina acadiense) is a style of cooking developed by the Cajun–Acadians who were deported from Acadia to Louisiana during the 18th century and who incorporated West African, French and Spanish co ...
, the league was commonly referred to as the "Pepper Sauce League" or the "Tabasco Circuit". Newspapers often abbreviated the league's name as "Vangy" or "Vangey" in headlines.
History
1946 gambling scandal
The Evangeline League was affected by a gambling scandal that surfaced after the 1946 Championship series. After the completion of the playoffs, which were won by the
Houma Indians
The Houma Indians was the primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams based in Houma, Louisiana between 1940 and 1952. Houma teams played as exclusively as members of the Evangeline League. The Houma Indians won the 1946 and 1948 Evangeli ...
, allegations emerged that Houma Indians and
Abbeville Athletics players had conspired with gamblers to achieve desired outcomes of three playoff games. At the October 23, 1946 league meeting, it was alleged that Houma players conspired with gamblers for Houma to lose the fourth game of the first round of the playoffs, lose the first game of the second round and win the fourth game of the second round. After learning of the allegations, Judge W. G. Bramham, president of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, summoned the unnamed accused players to attend a hearing on January 10–11, 1947. After interviews and further investigation, five players were put on the ineligible list, meaning they could not play in minor league baseball. Houma players William "Bill" Thomas, Leonard Pecou, Alvin Kaiser and Paul Fugit and Don Vettorel of Abbeville were placed on the ineligible list by Branham for their actions. Later, Thomas and Pecou appealed and were ultimately restored to eligibility by George Trautman, Bramham's successor after two years. On August 22, 1949, both players were reinstated and allowed to immediately to return to the Houma roster. After his reinstatement, Thomas would continue his career to set the minor league career records for total games, victories, losses, hits and runs. Baseball reference shows his career record as 305–264 over 24 seasons and other sources have his minor league win total at 383.
1956–1957 boycotts
The
Evangeline League
The Evangeline League began in 1934 in baseball, 1934 as a six–team Class D (baseball), Class D level minor league baseball, minor league with teams based in Louisiana, United States, later adding Mississippi and Texas based franchises. In 1935, ...
permanently folded following the 1957 season and had never become an integrated league, despite the efforts of major league affiliates (the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
) to assign players to the
Lafayette Oilers and integrate team rosters. Lafayette was an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. In 1956, some boycotts of attending games began after the Lafayette Oilers refused to accept the players to their team. Subsequently, Lafayette Parrish, home of the
Baton Rouge Rebels
Baton may refer to:
Stick-like objects
*Baton, a type of club
* Baton (law enforcement)
*Baston (weapon), a type of baton used in Arnis and Filipino Martial Arts
*Baton charge, a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people
*Baton (conducti ...
, passed legislation making it illegal for black players to play in its ballparks. The Evangeline League itself also officially banned non–white players from appearing on their rosters. These blocks forced the major league teams to reassign the players to other leagues. Due to boycotts, the 1956 playoff finals, featuring Lafayette, were cancelled as a result. Both the Lafayette Oilers and the Baton Rouge Rebels folded before the end of the 1957 season, on June 20 1957.
Playoff history
Starting in its second year, the Evangeline League used a
Shaughnessy two-round playoff system in which the teams with the teams with the first- and fourth-best records and the second- and third-best records would compete in a semifinal round with the winners competing for the league pennant. In 1948, the league canceled its playoffs due to bad weather, which had reduced attendance significantly, and again in 1956 due to "decreased interest and attendance."
In both 1942 and 1957, the league folded before a playoff series could be held.
In terms of repeat league champions, the
Hammond Berries won the pennant three times, as did the
Lafayette White Sox/Oilers; the
Alexandria Aces
The Alexandria Aces were a baseball team based in Alexandria, Louisiana. The last version of the Aces played in the United League Baseball in 2013. The Aces have played their home games at historic Bringhurst Field, which was built in 1933 for the ...
and
New Iberia Cardinals/Pelicans won twice; and the
Baton Rouge Red Sticks
Baton may refer to:
Stick-like objects
*Baton, a type of club
* Baton (law enforcement)
*Baston (weapon), a type of baton used in Arnis and Filipino Martial Arts
*Baton charge, a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people
*Baton (conducti ...
,
Crowley Millers
The Crowley Millers were a Minor League Baseball team based in Crowley, Louisiana, that played in the Gulf Coast League in 1950 and the Evangeline League from 1951 to 1957. They were affiliated with the Kansas City Athletics in 1956 and 1957. Th ...
,
Houma Indians
The Houma Indians was the primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams based in Houma, Louisiana between 1940 and 1952. Houma teams played as exclusively as members of the Evangeline League. The Houma Indians won the 1946 and 1948 Evangeli ...
,
Jeanerette Blues
The Jeanerette Blues were a minor league baseball team that operated from 1934 to 1939. They were originally known as the Lake Charles Explorers and were based in Lake Charles, Louisiana, but moved to Jeanerette when a fire destroyed their stadiu ...
,
Lake Charles Skippers
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...
,
Opelousas Indians
The Opelousas Indians was the primary name of the minor league baseball teams based in Opelousas, Louisiana. Between 1907 and 1941, Opelousas teams played as members of the Class D level 1907 Gulf Coast League, 1932 Cotton States League, playing ...
, and
Thibodaux Giants
The Thibodaux Giants were a minor league baseball team based in Thibodaux, Louisiana, United States that played in the Evangeline League from 1946 to 1953. They were affiliated with the Atlanta Crackers in 1953.
Over the course of their existence, ...
each won once.
List of teams (in alphabetical order)
Etymology
*The league's name was derived from ''
Evangeline
''Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie'' is an epic poem by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, written in English and published in 1847. The poem follows an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel, set during t ...
'', an
Acadian
The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...
girl made famous through a poem of
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...
.
References
External links
Evangeline Baseball League statistics
{{Professional Baseball
Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States
Defunct professional sports leagues in the United States
Baseball leagues in Louisiana
Baseball leagues in Mississippi
Baseball leagues in Texas
Sports leagues established in 1934
Sports leagues disestablished in 1957
1934 establishments in the United States
1957 disestablishments in the United States