That's the old ballgame Shreveport, chapter 3 (the major players)

    Chapter 3
   The major players

    Players from Shreveport-Bossier and Northwest Louisiana who reached the major leagues (note: Ralph Garr and George Stone are listed in the chapter Shreveport Braves, 1968-70; Lee Smith is in the Baseball Hall of Fame chapter):

    ENNIS "REBEL" OAKES -- Born in late 1893 in the Arizona community near Lisbon (east Claiborne Parish), the fast, aggressive, lefty hitting centerfielder was (1) the first pro athlete from what became Louisiana Tech University -- it was Louisiana Industrial Institute when he attended in the early 1900s -- and (2) the first major-league manager from Louisiana, with Pittsburgh (Federal League, in its only two years of existence, 1914-15). He was a football and baseball star in college, signed to play pro baseball starting in 1904 and in his sixth season (1909) made the majors with Cincinnati (National League). Traded to St. Louis (NL), he spent four seasons before jumping to the new Federal League as player-manager of the Pittsburgh Stogies (renamed Rebels soon after he joined; he had picked up the "Rebel" nickname while playing in California in 1906, and it was what he was called from then on). In seven MLB seasons, he averaged 140 games and 144 hits a season. His totals: 986 games, 1,011 hits (112 doubles, 42 triples, 15 home runs), 397 RBI, .279 average; his best season, 1914, he had 178 hits and batted .312. As a manager, his Rebels had records of 61-78 and 86-67 (third place), with seven ties. When the Federal folded, he was shut out of a return to the majors, and was a player-manager in the minors for two-plus seasons while also dealing in the oil business. Became successful in oil/gas exploration, then had great losses. Died Feb. 8, 1948, in Shreveport, at age 64.

    SEABRON JESSE "RED" BOOLES -- A left-handed pitcher, a hard thrower for his time and his size (5-10, 150), came out of Bernice, La., to pitch for Shreveport in 1909 and for a time in 1910, and -- at age 29 -- for four games in the majors (Cleveland Naps, American League) in August 1909. The Shreveport Pirates sold him to Cleveland for $2,500 and with the Naps, he made one start and had an 0-1 record and 1.99 ERA in 22⅔ innings. His first pro season, apparently, was with Alexandria, La. (Gulf Coast League) for a 26-7 record in 1907, and he was signed by Shreveport. He was 16-16 in 39 games for the Pirates in 1908 and 8-8 in 19 games and 144 innings in 1909. In May 1910, he pitched for a time in El Paso, but that was his last recorded pro action. Died March 16, 1955, in Monroe, La., at ate 74 and is buried in Bernice.

     WILLIAM D. "POL" PERRITT -- A lanky right-handed pitcher (6-foot-2, 168 pounds), he came out of Arcadia, La., to be a frontline pitcher in the National League in the 1910s, particularly for six full seasons (1915-20) for manager John McGraw and the New York Giants. After semipro baseball for teams in Homer and Minden in 1910-11, he became a pro with Vicksburg and Greenwood (Cotton States League) in 1912 and that year broke into the majors (at age 21) with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was with the Cardinals through 1914, then signed with the new Federal League but changed his mind and wound up with the Giants. From 1914 to '18, he made 168 starts (with 92 complete games) and had records of 18-11 in 1916, 17-7 (with a 1.88 ERA) for the NL champion Giants in '17 and 18-13 in '18. On Sept. 9, 1916, he pitched complete games in a doubleheader against the defending NL champion Philadelphia Phillies, giving up only one run in matching four-hitters. He relieved in three 1917 World Series games against the champion Chicago White Sox, working 8⅓ innings and giving up two runs (2.16 ERA). In 1916, while with the Giants, oil was found of his property in the Arcadia area, and he eventually also dealt in oil wells in Texas. He had a reputation as a quarrelsome character who held out at the start of the 1919 season and retired for much of the 1920 season, only to return. His MLB career wound up with Detroit in 1921. His totals: 92-78 record, 2.89 ERA, 256 games (177 starts), eight saves. After baseball, he was a fulltime oil business operator. He died Oct. 15, 1947 (age 56) in a Shreveport sanatorium after a long illness and was buried in Arcadia.

    AL BAIRD -- A middle infielder, born in 1895, he is believed to be the first player from Shreveport and Centenary College to play in the major leagues. In records that are scarce, he is listed as playing in 48 games for the 1917 and 1919 New York Giants, batting .252. A Navy veteran of World War I, he was in the oil and gas business after baseball and chairman of the Shreveport-area civil service commission. He died in Shreveport on Nov. 27, 1976, at age 81.

    JOHN PAUL JONES -- A right-handed pitcher from Arcadia who was dominant in the area's amateur leagues until at age 25 he signed with the Shreveport Gassers for the 1917 season. Nicknamed "Admiral" -- his real first name reportedly was Bob -- he was a star for the Gassers, leading the Texas League in win percentage (15-7, .672) record and ERA (1.82), in 24 games and 178 innings. With the U.S. involved in World War I, he joined the Navy and returned to baseball in 1919, with Toronto (International League) and first reached the majors with the New York Giants for two games, seven innings. In 1920, he went 20-13 for Indianapolis (American Association) over 286 innings, and also posted his only big-league decision (a win) in three games (one start) for Boston (National League). He sat out two seasons, then pitched three more in the minors. He is listed as a manager in 1937 for Marshall (East Texas League). Died June 5, 1980, in Ruston at age 87.

  

    JOHN "AUGIE" PRUDHOMME -- A rangy right-handed pitcher, he was in the majors for one season, 1929 with the Detroit Tigers. In 34 games (six starts) and 94 innings, his record was 1-6 with a 6.22 ERA. Born in 1902 in Frierson (just south of Shreveport), he attended St. John's High School and signed a pro contract in 1926, and he had much success in the minors -- 95 victories, including 13 in a row, and two no-hitters. For Toronto (International League), he was 19-15 in 1928, leading to his shot with the Tigers. He retired after the 1933 season, forced out by an injury from an automobile accident. He pitched semipro ball in Shreveport for a few years and became a longtime resident, dying at age 89 on Oct. 4, 1992.

    HARRY "STINKY" DAVIS -- A left-handed first baseman from Shreveport, a football-baseball player at Byrd High School (1925 graduate) and Centenary College, he played pro baseball for a remarkable 26 seasons and 3,243 games. That included three years in the major leagues (Detroit Tigers, 1932-33; St. Louis Browns, 1937). Recommended to the Tigers by his Shreveport friend and then-Tigers minor-league pitcher John Prudhomme, he signed a pro contract in 1925. By 1932, he was the Tigers'  starter at first base, batting .269 with 32 doubles, 13 triples, four home runs and 74 RBI. He became a reserve in 1933 when future Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg took over the position. His MLB totals: 327 games, 320 hits (65 doubles, 18 triples, seven home runs), 123 RBI, .264 average. He played through 1950 (age 42) and his 23 minor-league seasons included seven in Toronto and four in Rochester, and a .292 average, and then he managed in the minors, including a stint at Marshall, Texas (Big State League). He died in Shreveport at age 88 on March 3, 1997.
Harry Davis (back right) was playing for Rochester (International League) when Babe Ruth, a few years after retiring as a player, posed for a photo.


WILLIAM GILTHORPE "GILLY" CAMPBELL -- A catcher, he was in the first graduating class at Byrd High School (1927), he was a reserve for three full major-league seasons (1933 Cubs, 1935-36 Reds) and parts of two other seasons (1937 Reds, 1938 Dodgers). Solid and aggressive defensively, he hit .263 in 295 games, with five home runs and 93 RBI. A native of Kansas City, Kansas, his family moved to Minden in 1917 and then to Shreveport. His 19-year pro career began in Monroe, La. (Cotton States League) in 1927 (he was "Rookie of the Year") and in 1928, he was in the Texas League with the Shreveport Sports (no stats listed) and Beaumont. Before and after his MLB time, he played in the Pacific Coast League for seven seasons. He was a Chicago White Sox scout in 1949-50, and settling in Los Angeles, was involved in the motion-picture industry, including a role in The Pride of the Yankees (the Lou Gehrig story). Died in LA on Feb. 21, 1973, at age 69 (long illness).

    ODELL HALE -- A major leaguer in 10 seasons (nine full seasons in a row,1933-41), primarily as the Cleveland Indians' third baseman, he grew up in Hosston, La., in the northern part of Caddo Parish. He was a .289 hitter in the American League, including four .300-plus seasons, and totaled 51 home runs and 573 RBI. He had a variety of nicknames -- including "Bad News" -- but preferred to be called "Sammy." A catcher in high school, early in his pro career, he hit seven home runs in six days for the Class C Alexandria, La., Reds (Cotton States League). After his pro career, he settled in El Dorado, Ark., and managed and played for a semipro team sponsored by his employer, Lion Oil. He died in El Dorado at age 73 on June 9, 1980.

    ATLEY DONALD -- He was North Louisiana's top link to the New York Yankees -- a dependable, winning pitcher for them from 1939 to 1945, one of their top talent scouts for 29 years. Friend and teammate of Joe DiMaggio, a member of three World Series championship teams (1939, 1941, 1943) and one more that played in the Series (1942), he was a right-hander who never had a losing record as a regular rotation member. Signed by the Yankees in 1934 after pitching at Louisiana Tech -- close to where he lived (Downsville as a young man and on his farm in Choudrant as an adult), he first pitched for New York in two 1938 starts (one loss). His best year, record-wise, was 19-2 for the 1937 Triple-A Newark Bears, considered one of the minors' greatest teams (109-43 record, Little World Series champs). In 1939, he set a rookie record for consecutive wins to start a season -- 12 -- and finished 13-3. His MLB totals: 65-33 record, 153 games (115 starts), 54 complete games, six shutouts, a 3.52 ERA for 932⅓ innings. Eye problems and an elbow injury forced the end of his playing career at age 34, and he soon turned to scouting Louisiana and many other Southern territories for the Yankees. The most notable players he signed were Ron Guidry, Clint "Scraps" Courtney, Jake Gibbs and Ron Blomberg. He died in West Monroe, La., at age 82, on Oct. 19, 1992.

    DAVE SHORT -- A left-handed hitting outfielder and a Louisiana Tech University graduate, he was with Shreveport Sports for bits of 1946 and 1947 seasons, made big leagues briefly in only his third pro season -- 1940, with Chicago White Sox -- and again in 1941. In seven games, he went 1-for-11. Both those seasons he started for Oklahoma City (Texas League), batting .291 in 1940. After military service during World War II, he returned to TL with Shreveport in '46 (49 games, .212) and only three games in '47. His career ended after the 1948 season, and he became a longtime Shreveport resident. He was found murdered in Shreveport at age 66 in November 1983.

    RALPH "BRUZ" HAMNER -- The right-handed pitcher -- born in Gibsland, La., raised in Bradley, Ark., a one-time Centenary College student -- was a durable, dependable winner for the Shreveport Sports (1941-42, '47, '49 and '53). He pitched for both Chicago teams in the major leagues -- (White Sox 1946, 25 games, 2-7 record; Cubs 1947-49, 27 games in 1948). His MLB totals: 8-20 record, 4.58 ERA, 61 games (28 starts), one save. His Shreveport totals were more impressive: 60-49 record, 2.66 ERA, 160 games, 897 innings. The highlight was the 1942 Texas League championship season when he was 19-9 in the regular season with a 2.03 ERA and league-high 148 strikeouts in 239 innings over 39 games). His other top Sports record was 17-11, 2.04 ERA, 252 innings in 1947. After three-plus seasons (1950-53) with the Cubs' Triple-A team in Los Angeles, he came back to Shreveport one more time in 1953 to finish his pro career. He died in Little Rock, Ark., at age 84, on May 22, 2001.

    EARL HARRIST -- Always known as "Boodley," he lived in Lincoln Parish, La., most of his life and was a right-handed knuckleball pitcher in the majors -- 12-28 record for parts or all of five seasons (1945, 1947-48, 1952-53). He was a pro pitcher from 1938 to '58, missing four years for military service. But his baseball legacy might be that he was the "birddog" (volunteer) scout who led the new Houston Colt 45s to sign a New Orleans high school/American Legion star, Rusty Staub, in 1961. Staub's long, productive big-league career began two years later. Born in Dubach and a longtime Simsboro resident, he pitched Dubach High to the Class B state championship in 1937, with a no-hitter against Jefferson High in the state semifinals and a 2-1 victory against Greenwood in the title game. His pro career began the next year and he reached the majors in 1945 with the Cincinnati Reds -- the team that originally signed him. With five MLB organizations (the White Sox twice), he had a 12-28 record (his most wins in one season was four), with 10 saves. He was in 134 games, starting 24. But he was often a big winner in the minor leagues -- 20-14 with El Dorado (Cotton States) in 1939, 15-10 with Syracuse (International) in 1946, 18-8 with Oakland (Pacific Coast) in 1950 and 16-10 with Sacramento (PCL) in 1956. His minor-league record was 148-135, and his career ended with one game with the Texas League's Victoria Rosebuds -- the team that replaced the Shreveport Sports -- in 1958. Harrist became a fulltime baseball scout and was with the Cleveland Indians in the late 1960s. He died in Simsboro at age 79 on Sept. 7, 1998, and is buried in Dubach.

    JOE ADCOCK -- North Louisiana's most prominent major-league player in the 1950s and 1960s, primarily as the slugging first baseman of the Milwaukee Braves for a decade. The big man from Coushatta played in MLB for 17 seasons, hitting 336 home runs (among 1,832 hits) with 1,122 RBI and a .277 average. His giant feats included the first home run into the center-field bleachers (some 500 feet away) at New York's Polo Grounds in 1953 and a year later at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field, four home runs and a double off the top of the wall in one game. In 1956, he hit 36 home runs and had 103 RBI, then he helped the Braves to two National League championships and the 1957 World Series title, and a near-miss in 1959. In nine World Series games, he hit .250 (7-for-28, all singles, two RBI). He played in the two 1960 All-Star Games, going 3-for-5. He also was a slick fielder; his .994 fielding percentage was one of the best ever for a first baseman. A basketball player at LSU in the late 1940s before he even played baseball, Joe Bill signed with the Cincinnati Redlegs and broke into the majors with them in 1950. Stuck behind big Ted Kluszewski, he played in the outfield much of his three seasons with Cincy, then asked for a trade. After Milwaukee (1953-62), he played four more seasons, the last three with the Angels. He retired at age 38, and the next year, 1967, was manager of the Cleveland Indians. That team played a spring exhibition game in Shreveport's SPAR Stadium, but after a mediocre season, he was fired and left baseball for good. He then owned and operated a horse breeding/racing farm in Coushatta, often entering his thoroughbreds in races at Louisiana Downs in Bossier City.  He died at age 71 on May 3, 1999, from complications of Alzheimer's disease.

  CLINT COURTNEY -- The hard-battling, tough little guy -- "Scrap Iron" -- was from Hall Summit, La., 40 miles southeast of Shreveport. A catcher, he originally signed with the New York Yankees and was in the Texas League with their Beaumont farm team in 1950, then was in one game for the 1951 Yankees. He spent a decade in the majors (1952-61) for four other American League franchises, and twice was a .300 hitter, batting .268 overall. He was known (1) as the first bespectacled catcher in MLB; (2) for a fierce style and frequent fighter; and (3) with ex-catcher and noted manager/general manager Paul Richards' input, the first catcher to use an oversized mitt to catch knuckleballs (thrown by Hoyt Wilhelm with Baltimore in 1960). In 1969 and '70, he was with the Shreveport Braves, first as a coach and then as the manager, replacing Lou Fitzgerald after 12 games of the 1970 season. He was manager of the Triple-A Richmond Braves when he died of a heart attack -- while playing ping-pong with one of his players -- on a team road trip in Rochester, N.Y., on June 16, 1975, at age 48.

    RILEY STEWART -- He was better known in Shreveport-Bossier City as a longtime educator/administrator in high schools and a football official. But that was after a career in the 1940s as a pitcher in the Negro baseball leagues. A right-hander, his available statistics on Baseball Reference are three seasons with the Chicago American Giants with a record of 2-2, 5.40 ERA and 40 innings. He was a Bossier Parish native who attended Benton Training School, and his degree was from New York University. He was the first head football coach at Princeton High School (near Haughton) in the early 1950s.

    JIM WILLIS -- From Doyline, near Shreveport, and Northwestern State College, the right-handed curveball artist -- often called a "stringbean" (6-foot-3, 175 pounds) -- made it to the majors with the Chicago Cubs in 1953 and '54. He pitched in 27 games (four starts, two complete games) for 66⅓ innings, with a 2-2 record and 3.39 ERA. He turned pro in 1949, signed by the Shreveport  Sports' organization after pitching for NSC. He pitched for teams in Louisiana (Alexandria and Monroe), but most notably -- before and after his time with the Cubs -- he was with the Sports in five seasons (1950-52, 1954 and 1957). He was a rotation regular for them in 1951 and 1952, with records of 15-10 and 16-11, and his Sports totals were a 40-38 record, 4.10 ERA, 140 games, 85 starts, 683 innings. He was part of two Shreveport teams that won Texas League championships (1952 playoffs, 1954 regular season). 

  TOM HERRIN -- Born in Shreveport, a Bossier High School graduate and one-year Louisiana Tech student, he was a right-handed pitcher who had a short 1954 stint with the Boston Red Sox. In 14 games (one start), he worked 28⅓ innings, with a 1-2 record and 7.31 ERA. He wore glasses -- rare for a pitcher in that time -- and wildness on the mound marked his seven-year career in the Red Sox organization. He signed a pro contract early in 1949 after two seasons of baseball at Bossier High School and one at Louisiana Tech, where he had a 7-3 record as a freshman. He had a 54-49 record in 178 minor-league games, starting 93. He left the game a year after his major-league stint. He died in Homer, La., at age 70 on Nov. 29, 1999.

    SETH MOREHEAD -- In the 1950s, the left-hander was the pitching star from Shreveport. He had five seasons in the major leagues, and while he did not deliver on his early promise, he had these distinctions: With the Philadelphia Phillies in 1957, he pitched (and won) the last game played by the Brooklyn Dodgers and he was the last pitcher to face Hall of Fame catcher Roy Campanella. Philadelphia signed him as a "bonus baby" in 1952 after his stellar kid career -- at Byrd High School and in American Legion baseball in which he led the 1951 Seven-Up Bottlers to the only state championship won by a Shreveport team. That team also won its regional tournament to advance to the national tournament. After five minor-league seasons, he made the Phillies in 1957 and pitched in 34 games, then made 11 starts the next year. But his career path declined and he quit after the 1963 season. His MLB totals: 5-19 record, 4.81 ERA, five saves, 132 games (24 starts), 318⅓ innings. He died in Shreveport at age 71 on Jan. 17, 2006.

RICHARD HUGHES -- The bespectacled right-hander had one great major-league season -- 1967 when he was the top winner (16-6 record, 2.67 ERA) for the National League/World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals. It was 11 years after he pitched Shreveport's Byrd High School to the Class AAA state championship, and it followed almost nine seasons in the minor leagues (including four stints in the Texas League, with Tulsa and Arkansas). He made his Cardinals debut in 1966 (six games, two starts), then emerged in 1967 -- 37 games, 27 starts, 222 innings, 12 complete games, three shutouts, three saves -- and was their "ace" while Bob Gibson was out with a broken leg. He was second in NL "Rookie of the Year" voting to Tom Seaver, and started Games 2 and 6 of the World Series vs. Boston, with one loss. In the spring of 1968, he injured his right shoulder (it was a torn rotator cuff) and still pitched 60 innings for another NL title team, then worked one-third inning in the World Series. But that injury led to the end of his career. He briefly was a minor-league pitching coach, then a baseball scout before retiring to his south-central Arkansas ranch and farming for a couple of decades.

    JOHN JETER -- A fleet outfielder who grew up in East Point, La. -- near Coushatta, some 40 miles from Shreveport -- he was in the major leagues for six years (three full seasons). He played at Charlotte Mitchell High School (Bossier City) and Grambling College, then signed with Pittsburgh in 1964 and reached the majors with the Pirates in 1969, playing in 25 games. He  was with them in 1970, mostly as a reserve, and was in the National League Championship Series (three games, 0-for-2). He moved on to San Diego in 1971-72, then the Chicago White Sox in 1973 and Cleveland in '74. His MLB totals: 336 games, 213 hits (27 doubles, 10 triples, 18 home runs), 69 RBI, .244 average. His son, Shawn, also played outfield in the majors two decades later.

    CECIL UPSHAW -- One of the National League's top relief pitchers in 1969 (27 saves) and 1971 (11-6 record, 17 saves) for the Atlanta Braves, he was the best basketball-baseball player from Bossier City in the late 1950s/early 1960s. He was tall (6-6) and thin (205 pounds) and led Bossier High to the 1960 Class AAA state basketball championship, then was a productive scorer for Centenary College. Baseball was his best sport, even as a kid in Bossier after he moved there from Spearsville, La. He signed with the Milwaukee Braves in 1964, made 30 minor-league starts, then became a fulltime reliever. He pitched in one game for the Atlanta Braves in 1966, then stuck in the majors the next year for seven seasons. After helping the Braves win the National League West Division title in 1969, he missed the 1970 season when a freak accident almost tore off his right ring finger. It was saved, and after a year of rehab , his career resumed. After 1971, his effectiveness declined and he was traded four times in his last three seasons. His MLB totals: 34-36 record, 3.13 ERA, 348 games (all in relief), 563 innings, 87 saves. He died Feb. 7, 1995, in Lawrenceville, Ga., at age 52.

MATT ALEXANDER -- Primarily a third baseman, good enough at Shreveport's Bethune High School (senior 1965) to be recruited to play at Grambling College and good enough there to be a second-round draft pick by the Chicago Cubs in 1968, he was mostly a utility player (infield and outfield) in all or parts of nine major-league seasons. He was best known as a pinch-runner, thus the nickname "Matt The Scat." He played in the Texas League for 30 games (.303 batting average) with San Antonio in 1969 and a full season with Midland (.270) in 1972. He appeared for the Chicago Cubs in 1973-74, then Oakland in 1975-77 and Pittsburgh in 1978-81, playing in two postseason games for the Pirates in '79. In 374 MLB games, he had 168 at-bats, batted .214, scored 111 runs and stole 103 bases. He played three years in Mexico in the early 1980s.

     JAMES RODNEY RICHARD -- J.R., the towering (6-foot-8), blazing right-hander from Vienna, La., was one of baseball's most fearsome pitchers before a stroke on July 30, 1980, suddenly ended his MLB career at age 30. From 1976 to '79, he led the National League twice in strikeouts, once in ERA, won at least 18 games each season, and started an All-Star Game. His 313 strikeouts in 1979 was an Astros' record. After an almost untouchable high school career at Lincoln (Ruston), Houston made him the second pick in the 1969 draft. His wildness and youth kept him in the minors for much of his first six pro seasons, although he struck out 15 in his first MLB start in 1971. His Astros' career totals: 238 games (223 starts), 107-71 record, 3.15 ERA, 76 complete games, 19 shutouts, 1,606 innings. He tried to come back after recuperating from the stroke, pitched in the minor leagues and spent time with the Astros, but never pitched in another MLB game, and was released in 1984.

    LYNN MCGLOTHEN -- The right-hander from Simsboro, La., a star at Grambling High School, pitched in the majors over a decade (1972-82), beginning with the Red Sox and ending with the Yankees. Drafted in the third round by Boston in 1968, he was in the Red Sox rotation by 1972. Traded to St. Louis, he had his best season in 1974 -- a 16-12 record and All-Star Game selection. He had 15 and 13 wins the next two seasons, but injuries slowed his career and he moved on to four other teams. His MLB totals: 86-93 record, 3.98 ERA, 318 games (201 starts), 939 strikeouts in 1,497⅔ innings. He died at age 34 in a suspicious mobile home fire in Dubach, La., on Aug. 14, 1984.
   

    VIDA BLUE -- In 1971, four years after his senior year at DeSoto High School in Mansfield, La., he was baseball's biggest star -- an overpowering left-handed pitcher who was the American League's Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award winner. His 24-8 record, 1.82 ERA, 24 complete games, eight shutouts and 312 innings helped the Oakland Athletics to the first of five consecutive AL West titles. In the next three seasons, he was part of their World Series championship teams. A sensational pitcher and quarterback at DeSoto, he chose pro baseball -- as the A's second-round pick in June 1967 -- over a college football scholarship, and two years later he pitched in 12 big-league games. In a brief 1970 September call-up, he pitched a one-hitter and then a no-hitter. He went on to a brilliant 17-year career with the A's, San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals that six All-Star selections, contract battles and drugs-related suspensions. He had 59 wins for the A's in 1973-75 (20- and 22-win seasons), and his totals were a 209-161 record, 502 games (473 starts), 143 complete games, 37 shutouts, a 3.27 ERA, 3,343⅓ innings, 17 postseason games (1-5 record, two saves).

    JESSE HUDSON -- With Vida Blue, he formed a formidable lefty-lefty pitching combination for DeSoto High School in Mansfield, La., and he was Blue's top receiver in football. Drafted by the New York Mets in the 14th round in 1967, he had this distinction: He was the youngest player on the "Miracle Mets" team. But he pitched only once in their 1969 World Series championship season -- for two innings in one September game. It was his only MLB outing. He was in the Mets' system for four years, as a reliever helping Memphis win the Texas League championship in 1969 (3-2 record, 1.38 ERA, three saves). His minor-league totals: 30-23 record, 11 saves, 90 games (54 starts). After the 1970 season in Triple-A, he was out of the game.

 
    WAYNE CAGE — A left-hander, at bat and in the field, tall (6-4) and bulky as he grew, he was a sensational high school pitcher and hitter at the start of the school integration era (1970-71). He moved from Lincoln High — where he was a teammate of pitcher James Rodney Richard (two years older) — to Ruston High and was a   two-time top-class All-State pitcher (16-2 record). Drafted in the third round by the Cleveland Indians in 1971, he spent eight years in their minor-league system as a first baseman and designated hitter after two early stints as a pitcher. He finally reached the majors with the Indians, but didn’t stay long, batting .245 in 36 games in 1978 and .232 in 29 games in ’79, with five homers among 37 hits. In the minors, which included two Texas League seasons at San Antonio, he was a .290 hitter and totaled 104 home runs. Traded to Seattle before the 1980  season, he instead played two years in Japan and hit 31 homers each season — and two in Mexico.

          

      JOSH BOOTY — One of the most heralded football-baseball players in Shreveport-Bossier high school history, he was the fifth pick overall in the 1994 MLB Draft by the Florida Marlins and chose a then-record $1.6 million contract over a football scholarship to play quarterback at LSU. He had been a record-setting passer (11,700 yards, 126 touchdowns)  for Evangel Christian Academy’s powerhouse program and a four-time      All-State shortstop. He moved to third base for five years in the Marlins’ system and he reached the majors for 13 total games in the 1996, ’97 and ’98 seasons (he was an Opening Day starter in ’98). He went 7-for-26 (.269) with one double and four RBI. In the minor leagues, he had two 20-homer seasons, with a .198 average over 491 games and a high strikeout total. He quit baseball after 1998 to go  to LSU, where he was the QB starter for most of the 1999 and 2000  seasons (including Nick Saban’s first year as LSU head coach). He then was a sixth-round NFL Draft pick by Seattle, and then had three years as a backup QB with the Cleveland Browns, but never played in a regular-season game. Comeback tries in baseball (as a knuckleball pitcher) and football did not work out.  

 

    TOBY BORLAND -- A lanky 6-foot-6, 186 pounds, the right-hander from Quitman, La. -- near Jonesboro -- pitched 16 years in pro ball, with a 10-year span (1994-2004) in which he was in and out of the majors. His only full season was his best --  1996, with the Philadelphia Phillies, the team that drafted him (27th round, 1987) after a Class B All-State year for Quitman High. In '96, he worked in 69 games for 90⅔ innings, with a 7-3 record and 4.07 ERA. His MLB totals (for five teams, the Phillies in two spans): 11-9 record, eight saves, 4.17 ERA, 207 games (all in relief).

    TODD WALKER -- A consistent left-handed hitter from Bossier City, primarily a second baseman, he spent parts or all of 12 seasons (1996-2007) in the majors. He was a hitting star at Airline High School and LSU, the College World Series "Outstanding Player" as the 1993 Tigers won the national championship, then signed with Minnesota as a first-round draft pick (eighth overall). He made his Twins debut late in the 1996 season, and was their starting second baseman by 1998 when he hit .316. After a couple of National League stops, he had a career-high 85 RBI for the Boston Red Sox in 2003, then hit .313 and .370 in playoffs series, with five home runs. He went to the Chicago Cubs as a free agent and hit .305 in 2005. His MLB totals: seven teams, .289 average, 107 home runs, 545 RBI.

Left: Todd Walker (left), with the Boston Red Sox, jaws with the Yankees’ Karim Garcia during the 2003 American League Championship Series.

Right: Garcia (left) and Walker (right) are separated by umpire Joe West and Boston’s Nomar Garciaparra (Getty Images photo)       

ALBERT BELLE -- A five-time All-Star from Shreveport, one of the major leagues' top offensive threats in his 10 full seasons (1991-2000), a .295 career batter with 381 home runs, and one of the most controversial players. A star athlete (football quarterback, baseball pitcher-outfielder) when he was known as "Joey" at Huntington High School, an All-SEC outfielder twice at LSU, he was drafted by Cleveland in the second round in 1987. He grew into a powerfully built (6-2, 225) right-handed slugger who made his Indians debut in 1989, then over a decade averaged 38 doubles, 37 home runs and 110 RBI a year. In 1994, his .357 average narrowly missed the American League batting title; the next year he became the first player with 50 doubles and 50 home runs in one season and helped the Indians reach the World Series for the first time in 41 years. Five times he finished in the top ten of AL Most Valuable Player voting, including 3rd, 2nd, 3rd in 1993-95. In 18 postseason games (Indians' 95 and '96), he batted only .230, but did hit six home runs and had 14 RBI. He was baseball's first $10-million-a-year player and twice made huge free-agent contract moves -- for two seasons with the Chicago White Sox and two with Baltimore until a degenerative hip condition forced his retirement at age 34. He was tempestuous, often angry, with run-ins with teammates, opponents, fans, the media and a couple of suspensions -- for use of a corked bat (and accusations that is was an often occurrence) and a brutal, intentional baserunning collision.

    SHAWN JETER -- The son of onetime major-league outfielder John Jeter, he was a quarterback and baseball star at Woodlawn High in Shreveport, drafted in the seventh round by Toronto in 1985. After six years as a left-handed hitting outfielder with Blue Jays' minor-league teams -- three years at Double-A Knoxville -- he was traded to the Chicago White Sox in 1991 and the next season, when he hit .301 in 96 games for Triple-A Vancouver, he had his only MLB stint -- 13 games in which he went 2-for-18 (.111). He played in the minors for nine seasons, batting .262 with 33 home runs and 285 RBI. He was a replacement player for Cleveland during the MLB lockout in spring training in 1995, and played later that year in Mexico and briefly in 1997 in the independent Prairie League.

    MICHAEL AUBREY -- A left-handed thrower and batter, he mostly was a first baseman -- one of the state's top players at Shreveport's Southwood High School in 2000, then Conference USA "Player of the Year" while at Tulane University (2001-03). He hit .368 with 38 home runs and 200 RBI for Tulane and also was 11-2 as a pitcher his first two years. Drafted in the first round (11th overall pick) by Cleveland in 2003, he made his MLB debut with the Indians for 15 games in 2008. Traded to Baltimore, he was with the Orioles for 31 games in 2009. His MLB totals: .259 batting average, six homers, 17 RBI. In nine minor-league seasons through 2011 -- the last four years at the Triple-A level -- he batted .282, and was remarkably consistent near that average in most of his seasons.

    SCOTT BAKER -- A rangy right-hander (6-4, 215) who was a reliable pitcher for the Minnesota Twins for seven years (163 starts, only four relief outings), with records of 11-4, 15-9 and 12-9 in 2008-10. He starred at Captain Shreve High School and Oklahoma State, and went pro after Minnesota drafted him in the second round in 2003. He debuted with the Twins for a short time in 2005 and made their rotation by 2007 (and pitched eight perfect innings vs. Kansas City before giving up a hit). He worked had a career-high 200 innings in 2009. He relieved in one playoff game in 2010 against the Yankees. His career was never the same after elbow surgery in 2012. His MLB totals: 66-53 record, 4.26 ERA, 193 games (172 starts).

    B.J. RYAN -- A big, bulky left-hander (6-6, 230 pounds) who was dominant against left-handed batters, he had three strong seasons as a closer in the major leagues -- 36 saves for Baltimore in 2005, and for Toronto, 38 in 2006 and 32 in 2008. He pitched for the American League in the 2005 and 2006 All-Star Games, and was the winning pitcher in 2006 with one inning. From Airline (Bossier City) High and the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, he was a 17th-round draft pick (500th overall) in 1998 by Cincinnati, made his MLB debut in one game for the Reds the next year, then went to the Orioles' organization at the trade deadline. He stuck with Baltimore in 2000 and became the closer late in the 2004 season. Elbow ligament replacement surgery interrupted his career in 2007 and more arm problems in 2009 soon led to the end of his career.

    TODD SELF -- A 6-foot-5, 215-pound, left-handed hitting first baseman-outfielder out of Southwood High (1995), he was drafted in 2000 by the Houston Astros out of the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana-Lafayette). After four consecutive minor-league seasons as  a .300-plus hitter, he reached the Astros' MLB roster in May 2005, had 49 plate appearances in 21 games (one home run, four RBI), but stayed less than a month. Waived after the season, in 2006, he was in the minors with the Mets’ and then the Yankees’ organizations, and that season became the first ex-MLB position player to play for a Shreveport independent-league team. In 61 games, he batted a career-high .320 for the Sports, with 16 doubles, seven homers and 46 RBI. That gave him another shot in the Houston organization and he was productive at Class AA Corpus Christi in 2007 (124 games, 24 doubles, 17 homers, 69 RBI, .294 average). Then injuries curtailed his career and he never returned to the big leagues.

    TUG HULETT -- A middle infielder, the son of longtime major-league infielder and Evangel High baseball coach Tim Hulett (also a Texas Rangers' summer minor-league manager), he starred at Evangel and then was a regular at  Auburn (2002-04) before being drafted by the Rangers in 2004, 14th round. He played nine seasons in the minor leagues -- six at Triple-A -- and had short stays in the majors with Seattle in 2008 (30 games, mostly as a designated hitter, .224 average) and Kansas City in 2009 (15 games, .111 average). His MLB totals: 45 games, .194 average (13-for-67), 1 double, one home run, three RBI.

    SEAN WEST -- A large (6-foot-8, 275 pounds) left-handed pitcher who led Captain Shreve High into the state playoffs in 2005, he was a second-round pick by the Florida Marlins that year. He missed the 2007 season after elbow surgery), then in his fourth pro season (2009) broke into the majors in a big way -- 20 starts, 8-6 record and 4.79 ERA in 103⅓ innings. But elbow and shoulder woes cut his effectiveness in 2010; he was 0-2 in two starts (9⅓  innings) and spent most of that season and 2011 with New Orleans (Triple-A Pacific Coast League). As a free agent, he signed with Washington in 2013, but soon retired. He had a 43-40 record as a pro, with 125 starts (only three games in relief) and 622⅔ innings.

    JOSH STINSON -- Drafted by the New York Mets in the 37th round in 2006 out of Northwood High School in Shreveport, he began a circuitous route through the Mets' system to reach the big club in September 2011. His 14 appearances late that season was the most of a four-year MLB stay -- Milwaukee in 2012, Baltimore in 2013-14; total record: 0-2. He last pitched professionally in South Korea in 2015.  
   

    JEREMY MOORE -- A sixth-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Angels in 2005, the outfielder from North Caddo High (Vivian) appeared in eight games (eight at-bats, one hit) for the Angels in September 2011. A free agent after the 2012 season (eight years in the Angels' organization), he signed with the Dodgers and later the Rays, but never reached the majors again.

    SETH LUGO -- He went from Parkway High School in Bossier City and Centenary College to a 34th-round draft pick by the New York Mets in 2011 and, after missing the 2012 season because of spinal fusion surgery, made an unlikely journey to the big leagues. He made the Mets in July 2016 as a 26-year-old rookie and in two seasons had a 12-7 record. His 2017 season began late, after he suffered a partial elbow ligament tear while pitching for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, then he made 18 starts, with a 7-5 record in 101⅓ innings. In 2018, he was in a career-high 54 games, including five starts, with a 3-4 record, 2.66 ERA and three saves in 101⅓ innings. Three-year MLB totals: 15-11 record, 90 games, 31 starts, 266⅔ innings.