Play ball, Chataignier

In his book Just Taking Orders, Clyde Vidrine references six-man football played at Chataignier High School back in the 1950s and 60s. Lee Ray Johnson confirmed this historical aspect as he and fellow Chataignier student J. D. Soileau met at the law office of Judge John Saunders to share their memories of sports at the school.
Johnson described how the game of football was played in those days. “It was simple,” he said. “You had three linemen. You had your quarterback and two people in the backfield.”
“We were fairly good for a small school,” Johnson said. “We had a good coach, and we had some hard working country boys.”
“One day we traveled forever on a bus and went toward Grand Isle,” he added. “We got on the football field and started looking at those guys practicing. They had black hair on the heads, and they had hair on their chests. There was no age requirement in those days. If you were 20-years-old and a senior, you could still play. They made peanut butter with us.”
Johnson, the 1954 graduate of Chataignier, played half back. His blocker at right end was Ronald “Chick” Veillon. “He wasn’t blocking one day,” Johnson said about Veillon. “I told him he had to block, but he said that they hit too hard. He didn’t like the contact.”
Veillon was known more for his ability on the basketball court. “Chick had the height,” said Johnson. “He was a value to us because of his height in basketball. He was a good six feet and 160 pounds. He was pretty good under that basket because he was so tall. He’d just jump and catch the ball way up in the air.”
Some of the other boys playing sports at that time for Chataignier were Gene Pitre, Richard Ardoin, Earl Rozas, Wilbert Berzas, and Glen Miller.
On the girls’ side, Chataignier basketball was known for Theresa Rozas. J. D. Soileau described her as an outstanding athlete.
Chataignier during that time was also known for its baseball teams and the fact that the field did not have a fence around the outfield. “
Johnson recalled an incident while he was playing centerfield in Mamou. “We were ahead of them in the eighth inning with the bases loaded,” he said. “The ball was hit, and it went and went and went. I started running back to catch it, and everybody thought I dropped the ball. I had the ball in my glove, so we won the game.”
J. D. Soileau was a student for eight years in Chataignier before transferring to Ville Platte High. He recalled what baseball games were like as a student in Chataignier. “The baseball field in Chataignier was back in the field,” he said. “We would get out of class, and we could go watch. I remember all the students were sitting around, and we’d watch those baseball games.”
Also at Saunders’ law office was Bobby Soileau, who played and coached for Sacred Heart. “I think Chick was a good pitcher because he struck me out more than one time,” he said. “Sometimes I would get a walk against him. If I got a walk, I’d make sure to steal second and third.”
“Most of the time we’d win, but it was always a good game,” Soileau said about the times his Trojans played Chataignier in baseball. “No one would score more than five or six runs in a game that we played. They were some good people, and we had fun playing against them. After the game was over, it was like we were brothers.”
Besides playing football and baseball, Johnson ran track during his days as a student at Chataignier. “I had a record in 1952 at a Mamou rally in the 100-yard dash,” he said. “I ran a 10.3. That day I was fast.”
He recalled running against Dickey Young from Mamou. “We ran the 50, the 100, the 220, the 440, the relays, and the hurdles,” Johnson said. “Dickey Young was very good. We got in the 50, and it was close. He’d say he would take off when he’d hear the gun go off in the 100, and he would see it in his eyes that there was nobody who could catch him. He said all of a sudden when he got 60 to 70 yards he could see my big legs starting to come ahead of him. He was hard to beat.”
J. D. Soileau described what it meant to him to be a student at Chataignier during that time. “The school was community and family oriented,” he said. “We just knew everybody.”
Johnson called it a privilege to play for Chataignier. “Words couldn’t say how wonderful it was,” he said. “Being poor country boys, when you got selected for a team that you could excel in and be recognized in meant a lot. Plus we got a new uniform and new tennis shoes. That was a big recognition for us.”
“That’s why we had such a huge participation because the students wanted to belong,” he added. “It was a treat to take the bus for the games. We were in high cotton, and it was a privilege.”