BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Contributing Writer
It was eight summers ago – in 2015 – and Opelousas-area American Legion baseball had the appearance of a program approaching life support.
At the time there apparently was not enough interest among eligible players locally in playing American Legion, something which seriously concerned Ken Thibodeaux.
Somewhat discouraged, Thibodeaux shut down Legion ball that summer, but added publicly that he would no longer tolerate any more summers without local Legion participation.
In an almost one-person effort, Thibodeaux, who died at his residence Saturday, was determined then to resuscitate Legion baseball, as he began actively seeking financial and sponsor support from Post 45 and local businesses.
Thibodeaux made sure the following year that a first pitch was thrown from the mound at Westminster Christian, signaling the Legion baseball rebirth which has continued and expanded over the last seven summers.
During that first year, the Legion reclamation project Thibodeaux engineered, included reconstituting a Post-45 St. Landry Bank Indians team which featured a young coach, who was still taking undergraduate college classes.
Matt Standiford, who was attending Louisiana College, was the candidate Thiobdeaux chose to recruit players and coach the Indians that first season.
Thiobdeaux, Standiford said, took care of the rest.
“(Thibodeaux) set it all up for me. He said it was going to be my job to go get players and coach the team. What impressed me then is that everything he wanted to do was going to be done professionally. He wanted things done right, according to (Legion) standards, which meant having players who adhered to the Legion codes of conduct, having the uniforms looking right,” Standiford remembered.
The season that followed provided the Indians with 13 players, but the program was obviously back on track.
“Ken wanted to make sure that players who are eligible had a chance to play over the summers, without having to pay a lot of money to do that,” said Standiford.
Standiford described Thibodeaux as, “the most selfless man I have ever met. Looking back at where the program was (in 2015) and where it is now, (Thibodeaux) played a huge part and I am grateful for his belief in me and the next generations of players.”
The interest that Thibodeaux exhibited in reviving Legion baseball, also extended beyond the parish, Standiford noted.
Thibodeaux worked with other Legion posts in fielding teams in Jennings, Abbeville, Oakdale to join the Indians and Crowley in creating District 7.
The Indians season that ended last week included players from Ville Platte, Opelousas, Eunice, Port Barre and Lafayette.
In 2018 the Indians began qualifying for state tournaments. Since then the Indians have missed participating in only one state tournament.
Current Inidans’ coach Jack Brown said that despite health issues, Thibodeaux actively remained connected to the Legion program Thibodeaux revived.
“He texted me often about the team and followed every game. In the state tournament, he was able to watch the games on the Internet. (Thibodeaux) was always very positive, thinking about what could be done rather than what couldn’t be done. He was always behind the scenes, handling the money, the gate and umpires. Then last year he handed the umpires over to me,” Brown said.
Although Thibodeaux was unable to attend games the last two seasons, Brown said there was never a doubt who was in control of Legion baseball locally.
“You knew he was always in charge of things. I was the coach,” Brown said.
