Remembering The Evangeline League: Joe Turk

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 Tom Spears.

Today, Joe Turk

Turk was a right-handed hitting outfielder, who played five seasons in the Evangeline League, from 1949-1953.

After spending his first two seasons of professional baseball in North Carolina, Turk joined the Lafayette Bulls, where he played for three seasons, before moving to the Abbeville Athletics in 1952, and finally back with the Bulls in 1953, where he ended his career.

1950 proved to be the best season of Turk's career, as he compiled a .317 batting average, to go along with 16 home runs, both career highs.

A consistent run-producer, Turk followed his 16 homers in 1950 with 14 in 1951, and then 14 more in 1952.

In five years in the Evangeline League, Turk hit a .291 or better four times, while belting 58 home runs.

In seven total professional seasons, Turk accumulated 66 career homers.

Following his playing days, Turk made Lafayette his home, opening up the very popular Joe Turk's Pool Hall and Mobil Station, located on Cameron St., home of some of the best-tasting hot dogs that ever came through Lafayette.

Turk passed away in 2009, at the age of 86, in New Orleans, La.