We have all attended class reunions or athletic team reunions, where the memories shared among classmates or teammates were somewhat exaggerated with the passage of time. That was not the case for the 1975 Babe Ruth World Series champions from Jefferson Parish East Bank Recreation Department that gathered on Friday night to celebrate their 50th anniversary. That’s because all the stories and recollections of the former teammates were true. No exaggerations were necessary.
Former legendary Times-Picayune sportswriter Ron Brocato called the championship squad “the finest assortment of baseball players ever combined to form an East Bank All-Star team.” The collection of talented 14-15-year-olds from various East Jefferson playgrounds came together in quick fashion to win every level of tournament competition, ending with the World Series title in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
The team, led by head coach Jim Robarts and assistants Keith Stanton and Don Murphy, lost only one game during their championship run. They defeated local NORD-Lakeshore for the Louisiana state title, East Texas in the Regionals finals, and Huntsville, Alabama in the World Series.
Robarts, became better known as a high school head basketball coach for 39 years and a member of the LHSAA Basketball Hall of Fame. Yet shortstop O.J. Valeton, who went on to play collegiately, says his former coach taught him a lot about baseball. Several of the players recalled Robarts being noted for holding his favorite training drill called “chase the rabbit,” where players were required to run the bases and a player wasn’t allowed to stop running until he passed a teammate.
Stanton remembers, “That team had impressive talent. They came together really well. There were never any arguments among the players about who was in the lineup.” Guy Hubert echoed Stanton, “We got along together. There wasn’t just one player carrying the team. It was a total team effort.”
Most of the players had practically grown up together on the baseball diamond. They had previously known each other at earlier ages as teammates or opponents. Steve Golden believed that situation allowed the team to jell right away and the camaraderie carried them throughout the tournaments.
The JPRD East Bank team had advanced to the Babe Ruth regionals in 1974 but lost out. There weren’t any carryovers onto the 1975 roster. All the team members were 15 years old, except the “youngster,” 14-year-old outfielder Reggie Reginelli. One of the keys to the 1975 team’s success was the strong pitching of starters Hubert, Billy Kampen, and Chris Stropolo, all of whom had pitched as freshman at the high school or American Legion levels.
There was agreement among several of the players that the most satisfying wins came against NORD-Lakeshore in the state tourney. First baseman Donnie Rice recalled the Lakeshore all-stars had a history of Babe Ruth championships under legendary coach Firmin Simms. Rice said it was a huge accomplishment to defeat the talented Lakeshore team twice in the tournament held at Airline Park in Metairie. Hubert was named the tournament MVP.
In the Regionals in Paragould, Arkansas, JPRD scored 61 runs in their five wins in six games. After losing to East Texas in an early round, JPRD ended up defeating them twice to win the tournament. Stropolo threw a two-hitter in the final game. Rice led all players in the tournament with 16 hits.
In the World Series semi-final, Golden relieved Kampen in the second inning and contained Jefferson City, Missouri, to seal a 9-4 win and a berth in the championship round. Amazingly, Golden had recently recovered from a ruptured appendix suffered in June. Hubert capped the series by tossing a one-hitter against Huntsville in the finals.
But the talent of this team didn’t stop at the Babe Ruth level. The entire roster went on to play high school and American Legion ball. Eight of the players competed in baseball at the collegiate level. Hubert and Stropolo briefly played professionally. Reginelli, Rice, and Nolan Franz became football teammates at Tulane. (Franz looks as though he could still suit up.) Billy North became a high school football coach for 30 years, including 23 as head coach.
The players attending the reunion paid tribute to their deceased members of the team: coaches Robarts and Murphy and players Billy Kampen, Lenny Frazier, and Tip Murphy. Family and friends of Robarts and Kampen were in attendance.
Here is a rundown of the complete roster, with their later sports careers.
Danny Brown – Crescent City High School
Miguel Callejas – East Jefferson High School, UNO baseball
Louis “Tookie” Delaune – East Jefferson High School
Nolan Franz – East Jefferson High School, Tulane football, USFL Breakers, Green Bay Packers
Lenny Frazier – Bonnabel High School, ULL baseball
Steve Golden – Rummel High School, Southeastern Louisiana baseball
Guy Hubert – East Jefferson High School, Delgado CC baseball, Detroit Tigers minor leagues
Billy Kampen – Rummel High School, Tulane baseball, drafted by Seattle Mariners
Tip Murphy – Rummel High School
Billy North – Brother Martin High School, 30 years as high school football coach, including 23 as head coach at John Ehret High School
Reggie Reginelli – Newman High School, Tulane baseball and football
Donnie Rice – Rummel High School, Tulane football
Tom Rizzo – East Jefferson High School
Chris Stropolo – John Curtis High School, Cincinnati Reds minor leagues
O.J. Valeton – Rummel High School, Northeast Louisiana baseball