Remembering The Evangeline League: Dave Stenhouse

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 Claude Horn

Today, Dave Stenhouse

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

A native of Westerly, Rhode Island, Stenhouse went 16-4 for Lafayette in 1956, while leading the league with a 1.92 ERA.

Six years later, at the age of 28, Stenhouse got a shot in Major League Baseball, getting called up by the Washington Senators.

Taking complete advantage of the opportunity, Stenhouse was fabulous in his rookie season, making the All-Star team, while compiling an 11-12 record with a 3.65 ERA.

During the next two seasons Stenhouse suffered through injury woes and was less effective, going a combined 5-16, before ending his MLB career after the 1964 season.

In three MLB seasons, Stenhouse was 16-28 with a 4.14 ERA.

Following his playing days Stenhouse became a college baseball coach, coaching at Rhode Island and Brown.