Remembering The Evangeline League: Dave Gerard

The Evangeline League was a minor league baseball league that ran in southern and central Louisiana from 1934-1957.

The league, which had it’s name taken from Evangeline, the epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, began as a 6-team class D league in 1934, and then expanded to 8 teams the next season, before shutting down for two seasons following the 1943 season due to World War II.

After resuming play in 1946, the Evangeline League remained a class D league, before being promoted to the class C level in 1949.

The league remained in operation until 1957, when two of the six remaining teams dropped out, suspending play that season with no champion being named.

The Evangeline League, which featured a betting scandal back in 1946, featured teams in cities such as Lafayette, Abbeville, Crowley, Opelousas, Rayne, Jeanerette, and Lake Charles.

Despite the stability of the league, the only franchise they lasted all 21 seasons was the Alexandria Aces, while New Iberia had a franchise every season, with the exception of the final one.

Because of the close proximity of the franchises, a number of heated rivalries developed, with crowds that would certainly quality as raucous, getting into it with umpires, players, managers, and one another.

It was an immensely popular league for over two decades, with some franchises actually outdrawing some Major League Baseball franchises, in terms of attendance.

All summer long we’ll be going back in time and look back at the Evangeline League, which was commonly referred to as the “Pepper Sauce League”, “Hot Sauce League”, or “Tabasco Circuit”.

Yesterday, we remembered Dave Stenhouse

Today, Dave Gerard

Gerard, a right-handed pitcher, played one season in the Evangeline League, spending the 1956 season with the Lafayette Oilers, before going on to pitch one season in Major League Baseball.

A native of New York, New York, Gerard led the league in wins in 1956, going 18-9 for Lafayette, along with a 2.71 ERA.

Gerard, along with Dave Stenhouse, were a potent 1-2 pitching duo that led the Oilers to the best record in the league.

Six years later, at the age of 28, Gerard got a shot in Major League Baseball, getting called up by the Chicago Cubs.

On a team that featured such stars as Lou Brock, Ron Santo, and Billy Williams, Gerard pitched in 39 games, all in relief, going 2-3 with a 4.91 ERA.

Gerard pitched for two more seasons, in the Pacific Coast League and International League, before retiring following the 1964 season.

In ten minor league seasons, Gerard accumulated an overall record of 74-71, along with a 3.98 ERA.

Gerard passed away in Newtown, Pennsylvania in 2001, at the age of 65.