Legion head awaiting green light for baseball

The Louisiana chairman of the summer sport that, for the last 95 years has enabled countless teenagers to continue playing baseball to the age of 19, plans to have baseball in New Orleans this summer. He’s just waiting for the go-ahead to begin Phase 1 of the recovery process from Gov. John Bel Edwards’ office, which he expects to have in a matter of days.
    

“I’ve been told that on May 15 or 16, we are going to be released from house arrest by the governor,” Parfait said. “LSU spring football is scheduled for June 15, and (factions at the university) have told the governor to get on board with that.”
    

If that announcement comes to pass, there will be some form of American Legion baseball played at Kirsch-Rooney Stadium beginning in June.
    

“I’ve have a Zoom conference with some coaches, Parfait said. “They tell me they want to have a structured program, and they want to have a season for their seniors who missed out (on high school baseball) because of the virus.”
    

Parfait said if the governor gives an “all-clear” message within a month that the pandemic is under control, teams could begin to practice with hopes of a summer season.
    

Three states that surround Louisiana – Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi – are beginning to reopen their economies. But that doesn’t relate to American Legion baseball making a return, Parfait pointed out.
    

“Arkansas has 60 Legion teams, but there are only 10 in one region of Texas and six in Mississippi,” he said.
 

Wildly popular in N.O.
    

At its height in 2016, Louisiana was the home to 117 Legion teams. Today, there are just 23, and 16 are located in the New Orleans region.
    

Over time, several cities abandoned the program. Parfait attributed that to the advent of travel baseball programs and to the loss of Legionnaires throughout the state.
    

With a bevy of businesses willing to sponsor Legion teams, New Orleans has been the most loyal city to this summer program. The city crowned its first champion, Beekman (a clothing store on St. Charles Avenue), in 1928, and the program has been a summer staple ever since, showcasing business- and industry-sponsored baseball teams from local public and Catholic schools. 
    

Sponsored by Zatarain’s seasonings, a team from S.J. Peters High became the first American Legion Little World Series champion from New Orleans in 1932. Three teams representing Jesuit have also won the nation’s top Legion baseball tournament – in 1946 under the school’s sponsorship; again in 1960 when coach Kevin Trower and future major leaguer “Rusty” Staub led the Tulane Shirts to a World Series crown; and finally, wearing the colors of Retif Oil, Jesuit’s summer team claimed their third national title in 2012.
    

Kirsch-Rooney Stadium, adjacent to the Delgado Community College campus, has been the home of the Legion’s First District since it opened in 1957. Cared for by Delgado athletic director Joe Scheuermann and his grounds crew, Kirsch-Rooney has hosted dozens of championship events, including the 1974 NCAA Division II World Series, the 1984 American Legion World Series games, two Southwestern Athletic Conference championships, multiple American Legion Southeast Regional playoffs, and the 2002, 2004, 2011, 2014 and 2016 American Legion State Tournaments.
 

Ready and waiting
    

Since the 2020 prep baseball season was cut short by the pandemic on March 18, the stadium has sat dormant like a prom queen in her most luxurious dress waiting for her date to show up. Scheuermann keeps the grass manicured and the field in playing condition via weekly maintenance.
    

So, everything  is ready for someone to shout, “Play ball!” 
    

Parfait is taking the preliminary steps necessary to swing the gates open again, at least to the baseball players, if not local baseball fans. As for the practice of social distancing, he said he envisions having the starting lineup of players seated in the dugouts and the reserve players sitting in the empty stands until they are called into the game.
    

The key is for Gov. Edwards to begin Phase 1 of the recovery by May 15 for the summer baseball season to throw out the first pitch by June 1.
    

“I think (the teams) have loyal sponsors,” Parfait said. “Some have already made a commitment. And in talking to Shane Rigdon (assignment secretary for the local umpires’ association), he told me, ‘We’ll take as many games as we can get.’”
    

But the clock is ticking. 
    

“This has been the longest period that Kirsch-Rooney has seen no action in 40 years,” the Legion director said. “I’m trying to be as flexible as I can so these young men who lost their senior seasons can play some meaningful games.”
    

Ron Brocato can be reached at [email protected].