Baseball 1902

[Turbine]

Lafayette Gazette
March 1, 1902
	Baseball Team Organized
	Now that the football season is over the boys at the Industrial Institute are about to organize a baseball team: in fact, the necessary equipment in the shape of masks, stomach protectors, bats and balls, have already been ordered, and it will not be long ere the people of Lafayette and vicinity will have the pleasure of witnessing a match game between these boys and a team from some neighboring town. It is needless to say that everyone wishes them success in this new field sport the same success that has characterized their every effort in the past to establish the supremacy of the Industrial teams, and hold on high the colors which have not yet known defeat. A match game as well as various other out-door sports, will take place some time in March, to see which a small entrance fee, say 25 cents, will be charged. The sports will be such as to attract a large number of people and a gala day is expected. Let everyone turn out.

[Turbine]

Lafayette Gazette
March 8, 1902
	Outdoor Sports for Spring Season
	The base ball enthusiasm is running high - already a couple of teams are about to be organized to do battle with each other, and to play with teams from other schools. There is also talk of organizing an athletic association.

[Turbine]

Lafayette Advertiser
April 26, 1902
	Base-Ball Championship The Most Interesting Game of the Season Heavy Bets Are Being Made.
	A champion base ball game will be played on the new Surrey Track and Amusement Park Sunday, May 18th between teams composed of members of the Sontag Military Band and members of the Century Club. Full particulars of the game will be given in our next issue.

This upcoming baseball game was associated with the University of Louisiana (SLII) in that the Sontag Military Band was led by Florent Sontag, SLII's Band Director.

The picture below was used in the 1902 Advertiser game promotion advertisement.

[Turbine]

Lafayette Advertiser
May 3, 1902
	The Advertiser bets a line hat on the Century Club team in the base ball contest May 18. The championship ball game between the picked nines from the Century Club and the Sontag Military Band will "happen" on May 18.

[Turbine]

Lafayette Advertiser
May 17, 1902
	All members of the Sontag Military Band and the Century Club nines are requested to meet at the Masonic Lodge at 2 o'clock sharp Sunday afternoon, from which place they wil march to the base ball grounds preceded by the band. The Century boys will be dressed in red and the band boys in white. After the Base-Ball game at the Surrey Park, Sunday (tomorrow) between the Century Club nine and the Sontag Military summer Band nine, there will be a promenade concert given at Parkerson's grove. During the concert refreshments will be sold.

[Turbine]

Lafayette Advertiser
May 24, 1902
	Although the weather was threatening, nevertheless a big crowd of friends and admirers assembled at Surrey Park last Sunday to witness the championship game of ball between picked nines from the Century Club and the Sontag Military Band. The colors of the Club and Band were much in evidence. A number of buggies and carriages with the horses were lavishly decorated with ribbons and the colors of the two nines, and gave quite an animated appearance to the scene. The game was called at three o'clock, and from start to finish kept the interest of all at a high pitch. The first inning was against the Club team, and when the Band boys began to roll up tallies in the second and third innings, things began to look black for the Club team. The say the situation and tried to retrieve lost ground by changing batteries, but the Band boys had the game on them., and not withstanding the Club nine made a tremendous effort the couldn't offset their losses in the first part of the game. At the close the score was 16 to 10 in favor of the Band boys. Following the game were several mule races, that afforded lots of amusement to everybody. Later in the evening the Band gave a concert at their stand in Parkerson's Grove.

[Turbine]

No more SLII baseball games were played in 1902. However the preparations and groundwork were well in place for the future, as the young College had a band director who was a huge baseball fan.

There is a small possibility that the uniforms used by the band members were the uniforms the school had ordered in March.

Another scenario has the 1902 Sontag Military band using band owned baseball uniforms. If this occurred, a case can be made that these same uniforms were brought out of storage nine years later for use by the SLII team of 1911. There remains no proof of either scenario, however there is a striking resemblance between the advertisement sketch of 1902 and the photograph of the SLII 1911 team.

In any case, baseball got underway in earnest the very next season.

[Pirogue]

Do you have any information on Surrey Park or Parkerson's Grove?

I grew up in Lafayette, and have never heard of either?

Just curious.

[Turbine]

Originally posted by pirogue
Do you have any information on Surrey Park or Parkerson's Grove?

Surrey Park? I wonder if it became Beaver park . . . Seems a bit far from down town in 1902.

Parkerson's Grove? Quik Quarter is located on North Parkerson. It may have been owned by S. R. Parkerson, who was in the general insurance business under the name of Parkerson & Mouton. ???

[NewsCopy]

mixture of town folk and students

Pitcher         F.H. Mouton

Catcher         Louis Guerre

1st Base        Jos Dauriac

2nd Base        B. Broussard

3rd Base        F.E. Girard

Short Stop      L. Prudhomme

Left Field      Eli Billeaud

Right Field     Dr. G.A. Martin

Center Field    Felix E. Voorhies

Sub Pitcher

[Frenchie35]

_ Surrey Park? I wonder if it became Beaver park . . . Seems a bit far from down town in 1902.

Parkerson's Grove? Quik Quarter is located on North Parkerson. It may have been owned by S. R. Parkerson, who was in the general insurance business under the name of Parkerson & Mouton. ??? _

This I remember as a kid. I was about 8 years old at the time and lived on Lafayette Street Across form were the Library stands today. Before the library Central High School was located there at the time. It was 1942. We use to go to a park on Surrey street. My father would hitch up the buggy, (yes we had a buggy) and my mother sat along side of my father and my sisters an I would sit in the back seat. It was a two seat buggy. And yes it was a good distance from where we lived. It was a full day's outing at the time. I remember there was a club built over a lake with a walkway going to it. The lake was full of cypress tree's as I remember. The walkway had lights strung along it as well as lights around the dance club. This I remember vividly. I have asked many in the past years if they remembred this site. So for no one does. Can any of you rememer this place? It was right off I-10 on Surrey. It could have been were Beaver park is now or farther down Surrey St.

[Frenchie35]

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=...cl=1&encType=1

This is the most likely site of the park. where the village is now located.