The Houma Hawks were a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

team based in

Houma, Louisiana Houma ( ) is the largest city in, and the parish seat of, Terrebonne Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is also the largest principal city of the Houma– Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. The city's government ...

. In 2003 they were expansion members of the Southeastern League of Professional Baseball. They played their home games in Houma, Louisiana at

Southland Field Southland Field is a public-use airport located five nautical miles (9 km) south of the central business district of Sulphur, a city in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is owned by the West Calcasieu Airport Managing Board and ...

. This was the second stint of a professional baseball team in Houma. From 1946 through 1952, the Houma Indians of 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, ...

played as the communities first professional baseball team.

History

The team was officially announced to the public on October 24, 2002 at the

Terrebonne Parish Terrebonne Parish ( ; French: ''Paroisse de Terrebonne'') is a parish located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 census, the population was 111,860, and 110,461 in 2019. In 2020, its population declined to 109,58 ...

Courthouse Annex. The team was the brainchild of Gus Brown, Jr., the teams CEO and his son Gus Brown III, the teams’ general manager. For the inaugural season, the

United Parcel Service United Parcel Service (UPS, stylized as ups) is an American multinational corporation, multinational package delivery, shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company ...

was the teams’ primary sponsor. Locally, games were broadcast on KTIB 640-AM in Houma. In May 2003 the name of the mascot was released following an internet poll to determine the name. "Parrain" the Hawk received 52 percent of the votes, while "Homer" the Hawk was in second place. On May 16, spring training commenced at

Vandebilt Catholic High School Vandebilt Catholic High School is a private diocesan co-educational institution for grades 8-12 located in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana and in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. It is located in the unincorporated area of Bayou Cane, ...

. The team would open exhibition play on May 24 with a pair of losses to

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is the largest historically black college or university (HBCU) in Louisiana, a ...

before notching their first win against Gauthier and Amedee, an

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

team by a score of 9-6 on May 26. The 72-game regular season would commence on May 30. The team would open the 2003 season at home against the

Pensacola Pelicans The Pensacola Pelicans were a minor league baseball team based in Pensacola, Florida. In various incarnations, they played in three different independent baseball leagues (leagues unaffiliated with Major League Baseball) from 2002 to 2010. They ...

, and defeat the defending league champs by a score of 11-5 behind pitching ace Steven Locklar. Infielder

Ray Crawford Ray Crawford (October 26, 1915 – February 1, 1996) was an American fighter ace, test pilot, race-car driver and businessman. Biography Born in Roswell, New Mexico, Crawford served as a U.S. Army Air Corps fighter pilot and flew the P-3 ...

was 4-4 in the game with a pair of RBIs. Todd Brown also drove home a pair of runs in the home opener. However, ownership failed to submit the proper workers' compensation paperwork to the state in order to use Southland Field. As a result, the Hawks would play home games at

Morgan City High School Morgan City High School is a public secondary school located in Morgan City, Louisiana, United States. It is operated by the St. Mary Parish School Board. The school colors are green and white. The school opened in 1911 and celebrated its cente ...

stadium in Morgan City and at

East St. John High School East St. John High School is a high school in Reserve, Louisiana, Reserve, an unincorporated area in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, United States. The school is a part of St. John the Baptist Parish Public Schools. As of 2013–2014, the ...

stadium in

Reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

in June. By July, the team has even gone as far as to have eight home games at Pete Goldsby Park in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of 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-sma ...

. By the end of the season, the team would simply play their "home" games at the visitors’ ballpark. The team would disband after the 2003 season, and in January 2004, the former ownership would file suit against the Terrebonne Parish Recreation District 2-3, claiming a breach of contract after the team only was able to play three games at Southland Field after completing renovations.

2003 partial roster

* Calvin Lee, pitcher * Raul Rivera, pitcher * Steve Locklar, pitcher * Steven Bourgeois, pitcher * Shane Landry, pitcher * Dustin Wagoner, pitcher * Ted Sutton, pitcher * Josh Kaplan, pitcher * Tharun Anderson, catcher * Ray Crawford, infield * Jaime Malvé, catcher * Todd Brown, infielder * Tony James, infielder * Eric Brown, outfielder * Larry Bethea, 1st base * Shawn Woodland, catcher *Nelson Villalobos Jr, Pitcher *Eric Martanovic, Pitcher *James Hamon, Pitcher *Travis Boyll, Pitcher * Wil Guidebeck, Utility

References

* Staff reports. (October 25, 2002) "It's official: Houma becomes Hawks' nest." ''The Houma Courier''. * Nathan, Juan Anthony. (May 2, 2003) "Hawks announce 13 signees, introduce mascot." ''The Houma Courier''. * Nathan, Juan Anthony. (May 25, 2003) "Hawks ready to play ball in Houma." ''The Houma Courier''. * McElory, Kelly. (May 27, 2003) "Hawks close exhibition play with win." ''The Houma Courier''. * Nathan, Juan Anthony. (June 29, 2003) "Houma Hawks, where are you?." ''The Houma Courier''. * Keys, Perryn. (January 11, 2004) "Claiming breach of contract, Hawks sue Recreation District 2-3." ''The Houma Courier''. {{Southeastern baseball league

Hawks Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfamily a ...

Defunct minor league baseball teams Professional baseball teams in Louisiana Baseball teams established in 2003 Baseball teams disestablished in 2003 2003 establishments in Louisiana Defunct independent baseball league teams 2003 disestablishments in Louisiana Southeastern League teams Defunct baseball teams in Louisiana Morgan City, Louisiana