Eighteen-year-old pitcher Lenny Yochim was only a year out of Holy Cross High School in 1947 when he made his professional debut in a game he would never forget. Pitching for the New Orleans Pelicans in a spring exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox at Pelican Stadium, Yochim struck out the legendary Ted Williams. Ten years later, Williams remembered the at-bat, too.

The New Orleans Pelicans had signed Yochim to a minor-league contract in September 1946. He went to spring training in 1947 with the Pelicans, expecting to be sent to the Pelicans’ Class D affiliate New Iberia for the regular season.

The Red Sox were coming off their best season in 28 years, when they won the American League pennant in 1946. The 1947 Pelicans were affiliated with the Red Sox, who made the trip to New Orleans for two exhibition games on March 29 and 30. The Red Sox took Saturday’s game, 3-2, behind the pitching and hitting of Boo Ferriss.

On a chilly Sunday afternoon following a morning rain, the New Orleans crowd of 9,000-plus was treated to lineups from both teams featuring homegrown talent. The Pels’ starting lineup included New Orleans natives pitcher Jesse Danna, left-fielder Ed Lavigne, and second baseman Billy Adams, while the Red Sox had first baseman Al Flair and starting pitcher Mel Parnell.

Danna, a former Jesuit High School pitcher, was tapped by Pelicans manager Fred Walters as his starting pitcher for the Pels. In four previous seasons with the Pelicans, Danna had already compiled 65 wins. His opponent on the hill was former S.J. Peters High School pitcher Mel Parnell, who was trying to make his first big league roster with the Red Sox.

Boston got the jump on Danna by scoring five runs in the first three innings. Parnell held the Pels scoreless in his five-inning outing in which he gave up only three hits and also contributed to the Red Sox offense with a single and a double.

Prior to the game Yochim had begged Walters to let him get into the game before being sent down to New Iberia the next day.

With the Red Sox still leading 5-0, Yochim got the call from Walters to pitch in the seventh inning, and the first batter he faced was Ted Williams. Yochim told the story of his first encounter against the American League’s 1946 MVP.

“As I was doing my warmup pitches, I hear the announcer say, ‘No. 9 Williams at the bat.’ Well, my arm got the jumps, my knees started shaking and I say to myself, ‘Yochim, that’s Ted Williams--$250,000 worth of ball player, and if you don’t relax and get that ball in there you might bean him and even the skipper would kill you. That’s all I was thinking about—not hitting Williams. Him hitting me didn’t enter my head.” It turned out Williams hit a grounder to first base, and Yochim was still so nervous that he forgot to cover the base. Fortunately, the first baseman outraced Williams to the bag.

Having settled down by the ninth inning, Yochim faced Williams again and managed to strike out the slugger who would go on to win the American League Triple Crown that season.

Ten years later, when Williams and the Red Sox were back in New Orleans for an exhibition game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Yochim, then out of professional baseball, went into the Boston Red Sox clubhouse to meet Williams. Lenny greeted him with, “Hi, Ted, say do you remember…” Williams finished Yochim’s sentence, “Do I remember you striking me out that last time I was here? You know a lot of guys have done that, but I remember Lenny.” Williams added, “I must have given you a wonderful start in baseball.”

Yochim won 20 games for New Iberia in his first pro season. He eventually played seven seasons with the Pelicans, with two partial seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates interspersed in 1951 and 1954. He retired from playing after the 1956 season with 98-55 (minor-league) and 1-2 (major-league) win-loss records. Yochim went on to a successful career in various scouting positions with the Pittsburgh Pirates.