The Leesville Angels were a minor league baseball franchise based in Leesville, Louisiana. In 1950, the Angels played a partial season as members of the Class C level Gulf Coast League after the Lufkin Angles franchise relocated to Leesville during the season. The Angels qualified for the Gulf Coast League playoffs. The Leesville Angels hosted minor league home games at the Leesville City Park.

History

Minor league baseball began in Leesville, Louisiana in 1950. The Lufkin Angels, based in

Lufkin, Texas Lufkin is the largest city in Angelina County, Texas and the county seat. The city is situated in Deep East Texas and about 60 miles west of the Texas-Louisiana border. Its estimated population is 35,021 as of July 1, 2019. Lufkin was founded ...

began play as members of the six–team Class C level Gulf Coast League. The

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 ...

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Lake Charles Lakers 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 ...

and

Port Arthur Seahawks The Port Arthur Sea Hawks were a Gulf Coast League (1950–1953), Evangeline League (1940–1942, 1954) and Big State League (1955–1956) baseball team based in Port Arthur, Texas, United States. In 1953, they were affiliated with the Dallas Eagles ...

teams joined the Angels in beginning league play on April 2, 1950. During the season, on July 15, 1950, the Lufkin Angels, with a record of 43–51 moved to Leesville. Citing poor attendance at Lufkin home games as the reason for moving, the Lufkin Angels had also explored moving the team to

Orange, Texas Orange is a city and the county seat of Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,324. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is from Houst ...

, before ultimately deciding instead on the move to Leesville. After the move to Leesville, the team compiled a record of 32–19 while based in Leesville. The Angels ended the Gulf Coast League regular season in fourth place, which qualified the Angels for the four-team playoffs. With a 75–70 overall record in 1950, playing under manager Carl Carter, the Angels finished 14.5 games behind the first place Crowley Millers in the final regular season standings.In the first round of the playoffs, Crowley defeated Leesville 4 games to 2, ending the Angels' season. Angels pitcher

Vallie Eaves Vallie Ennis Eaves (September 6, 1911 – April 19, 1960) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1935 to 1942 for the Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Cubs. Eaves die ...

had a 26–10 record in 1950, throwing 297 innings for Lufkin/Leesville at age 38. The Leesville franchise did not return to the Gulf Coast League in 1951, as the league expanded to eight teams and was elevated to a Class B level league. Five new teams joined the returning Galveston, Lake Charles and Port Arthur franchises. Leesville, Louisiana has not hosted another minor league team.

The ballpark

Leesville hosted minor league home games at the Leesville City Park. The ballpark was located on the Shreveport Highway in Leesville. Today, Leesville Municipal Park is still in use as a public park. It is located at 350 Country Club Road in Leesville.

Year–by–year record

Notable alumni

(1950)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Leesville - Baseball Reference
Baseball teams established in 1950 Baseball teams disestablished in 1950 1950 establishments in Louisiana Defunct baseball teams in Louisiana Defunct Florida Complex League teams Leesville, Louisiana