Baseball: Robichaux twins remember 1980

Kevin Foote • kfoote@theadvertiser.com • July 24, 2009

Brushes with greatness are usually very memorable.

For UL baseball coach Tony Robichaux and members of the Crowley Millers’ 1980 state runner-up baseball team, they didn’t even realize it was happening at the time.

Twenty-nine years before the likes of Austin Robichaux, Matt Savoie and Ryan Leonards take the Miller on the field in the opening round of the American Legion State Championship at 7:30 tonight, a trio of Robichauxs, future Rayne High football coach Keith Menard and Mark Habetz who was later upstaged by his sister combined to propel the Crowley Millers into the American Legion state finals.

In those days, there was no eight-team state tournament. In 1980, Crowley was one of two teams standing.

The other team was the Odeco Drillers, a Jesuit of New Orleans-based team with a future six-time All-Star first baseman on the roster named Will Clark.

"The funny thing about it is that we didn’t even know it at the time,” Tony Robichaux said. "Coming from a small town back then, you didn’t get a lot of news from around the state.

"I didn’t know actually know about it until about six or seven years later when a friend of mine told me one day, ‘You remember when we played in the Legion state finals? Will Clark was on that team.’ ”

At that point, Robichaux raced to his scrapbook to find out how he did against Clark. After all, he had pitched the first game and only lost 2-1.

"I thought I’d be able to say that I got Will Clark out, but that sucker went 4-for-4 against me,” Robichaux said.

Despite losing that best-of-three series to Jesuit with the second game being a blowout loss in Crowley, the road to that state final round was a memorable one.

While Tony Robichaux was the pitcher and shortstop on the team, current Millers’ coach Tim Robichaux was the catcher, and younger brother Troy was also on the roster.

"I have some really good memories from that year,” Tim Robichaux said. "We had a real good coach in Oscar Johnson. He taught us the game. That’s what I try to do for the kids now, have fun and teach them how the game is supposed to be played.”

While Tony may have been the ace pitcher on the team, twin brother Tim wasn’t about to give him all the credit.

"Tony might have been the pitcher, but remember, I was the one calling all his pitches,” Tim joked said.

With those kind of memories in the back of his mind, few will enjoy tonight’s matchup with Plaquemine Post 167 more than Tony Robichaux.

He’ll be watching his son, Austin, play for his brother, Tim, for his hometown team in the state Legion tournament.

"I think it’s great,” Tony said. "Tim’s done a great job of rebuilding that program. I think, it’s a good thing. It’s different now than when we played. Legion ball is what you did during the summer back then. Now, kids have select ball and all kind of other options.

"Not every kid can pay $1,500 to play select baseball and not every family can afford the time of traveling every weekend with a select baseball team. So I think Legion is good. Legion just has to continue to be flexible with the pulse of what’s going on in baseball today.”