Houma Indians

The Houma Indians was the primary moniker of the

History

Evangeline League, 1940

The 1940 Houma Buccaneers became the first minor league baseball team based in Houma, Louisiana, before the team relocated during the season.

Minor league baseball returned to Houma in 1946. After stopping play due to World War II following the 1942 season, the Evangeline League reformed for the 1946 season. Originally a league franchise was awarded to Opelousas, Louisiana, but the potential franchise there was ultimately unable to meet financial needs and the franchise folded. A month before the 1946 season, a group in Houma, led by Gibson Autin met financial needs by organizing a corporation, selling stock to the public, and securing the American Legion Field. Houma was granted a franchise and Tom Smith was appointed as the business manager. The 1946 team used the actual uniforms intended for Opelousas. The team moniker of "Indians", was in reference to the Houma tribe, for which the city of Houma is named.^[4]

The Houma Indians rejoined the Class D level Evangeline League in 1946 and won the league championship.

After the 1946 Championship season, allegations surfaced that Houma and Abbeville players had conspired with gamblers over the outcomes of three playoff games. At the October 23, 1946 league meeting, it was alleged that the Houma players conspired with gamblers for Houma to lose the fourth game of the first round of the recent playoffs, lose the first game of the second round, and win the fourth game of the second round. After 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.[9]^{[10][11][12][8][13][3]} 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.^{[5][4][14][15]}

Evangeline League, 1947–1952

Continuing play in 1947, the Houma Indians placed fifth in the Evangeline league final standings. Houma ended the regular season with a 63–76 record in the 1947 regular season, finishing 19.5 games behind the first place Alexandria Aces, missing the Evangeline League playoffs, playing under player/managers Copeland Goss and

The 1948 Houma Indians the captured Evangeline League pennant and overall championship after the entire playoffs were cancelled due to weather, making Huma the default champion. Houma ended the regular season with a 81–55 record under manager George Washburn, finishing 2.5 games ahead of the second place Hammond Berries. The Houma 1948 playoff series against the Baton Rouge Red Sticks was tied 1 game to 1 and the Hammond Berries and Thibodaux Giants were tied 2 games to 2, when the entire 1948 playoffs were cancelled due to bad weather. Houma season home attendance was 96,744, an average of 1,423.[19]^{[10][20][8][3]} Houma's Roy “Tex” Sanner had a noteworthy season as a hitter and a pitcher. Sanner won the Evangeline League’s “triple crown” with 34 home runs, 126 RBI, and a batting average of .386. As a pitcher, Sanner had a 21–2 record, 2.58 ERA with 251 strikeouts.^[3][21]

The Houma Indians and manager George Washburn won their second consecutive pennant in 1949. After capturing the Evangeline League pennant with a 81–58 record, the Indians were defeated by the Alexandria Aces 4 games to 1 in the first round of the playoffs. Continuing play at American Legion Park, 1949 season attendance was 73,853, an average of 1,063.^[22][3]

The Houma Indians finished with a 53–84 in record 1950 and had the first of three consecutive seventh place finishes. The Evangeline League was upgraded to a

The Houma Indians of the Evangeline League ended the 1951 season with a record of 60–78, again placing seventh in the regular season standings. Sid Gautreaux served as manager, as Houma finished 16,0 games behind the Thibodaux Giants. Attendance at American Legion Park declined to 32,716, an average of 474.^{[23][26][27][3]}

In their final season, the 1952 Houma Indians finished with a 59–79 record, placing seventh in the eight–team Evangeline League for the third consecutive season.

Houma was without a minor league team until 2003. The Houma Hawks played as members of the Independent Southeastern League in 2003.^[30]

Today, Houma Indians baseball artifacts are on display within the Ellender Memorial Library on the campus of Nicholls State University.^[13]

The ballpark

The Houma Buccaneers and Houma Indians reportedly played minor league home games at American Legion Park in 1940 and from 1946 to 1952. The ballpark had a capacity of 3,000 in 1940, 3,800 in 1950 and expanded to 4,500 in 1952. American Legion Park had a wooden grandstand and was destroyed by fire in 1956. American Legion Park was located at Lafayette & Crescent Boulevard in Houma, Louisiana.^[31][32][33]

Timeline

Notable alumni

• Houma Buccaneers players
• Houma Indians players

References

External links

• Houma Indians team photo
• Baseball Reference