As New Orleans observes the 11th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on August 29th, here's a story that ran last year, celebrating Delgado Baseball's 10 years of recovery and renaissance...


The Delgado Decade
The Recovery, Rebirth, and Renaissance of Delgado Baseball
 
Ten years. 3652 days. It's been a decade since Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath took New Orleans and the Gulf Coast by storm.  As we reflect on this milestone anniversary, here's a look back at how far the program has come…

The storm we all feared…
The fall 2005 semester began just like normal. Players, coaches, and staff assembled on Saturday morning for athletic physicals and team meetings…the official start of a new athletic year. Players had no idea what lay ahead for that athletic year.

By Sunday afternoon, the city was under mandatory evacuation orders as a powerful, then-category four storm barreled its way through the Gulf of Mexico aimed for the Crescent City. Players and coaches scattered with their families. The world watched and waited as Katrina made landfall.

Once the storm had passed, Delgado campus police stationed at the historic City Park Campus called Coach Scheuermann with the report. Kirsch-Rooney and the entire facility had faced the brunt of some massive wind damage. The outfield fence was collapsed, parts of the grandstand roof were missing, and several light standards were down or severely damaged. A few hours later, the same officer called with the news that hit the hardest…the facility and neighborhood was taking on water. As soon as television coverage began, the impact was immediate. Kirsch-Rooney Stadium and its surrounding neighborhood was sitting under four to eight feet of salt water from a nearby levee breach. The heartache was instant, the future unknown.

It wasn't until several weeks after the storm that the true damage was assessed. When the Scheuermann family first crossed the gates, the impact of the situation was overwhelming. During an interview with WGNO, an emotional Coach Scheuermann remembered his first thought… "Wow".

The Re-Entry Plan
In October, after consultation with Delgado Community College's administration, the decision was made to honor all existing scholarships. Because of the late date, the 2005-2006 Men's and Women's Basketball seasons were suspended for a year. In order for baseball to mount a season, the program would be responsible for their own fundraising and means of operation.

The program's "re-entry plan" was laid out during an organizational meeting held on October 6 at Archbishop Rummel High School in suburban Metairie. It was the first gathering of the Delgado Baseball family since the storm. Emotions were high, especially after a presentation that featured photos of the storm-ravaged facility. Coaches, Administrators, and staff discussed the situation, explained that it wouldn't be easy, and told those assembled that no one would hold a grudge towards anyone who walked away. No one budged. From that night on, the Dolphins were reborn.

Kyle Beerbohm, who was a sophomore on that team remembers that "oh boy" moment when the players first crossed the gates. To him, it was a surreal moment. Kyle and his family were from the West Bank and suffered little physical damage from the storm. He had seen the news and heard the stories, but Kirsch-Rooney was his first "boots on the ground" moment in post-storm real life. The grass was dead and caked with mud that crunched with each step. A four-foot garfish skeleton was in the collapsed batting cages. The scoreboard and its steel support beams were in nearby Holt Cemetery. Mold covered the locker room walls. A large portion of the outfield fence was on the pitchers' mound, jerseys were drying down the baseline fences. It was like a bomb had been dropped on the place. To Kyle and his teammates, "that was the moment it really hit us."

Planting the seeds for a season…
The first step was a field. Delgado Baseball's mothership, Kirsch-Rooney Stadium, was sitting in near-ruin. Without a lot of TLC, the facility was on the short list to become a FEMA trailer park like many of its counterpart stadiums and playgrounds across the area. Once receiving the go-ahead from the Delgado administration, it was time to shine the diamond and get the facility back in baseball-shape.

Daily field work commenced, first as the players and staff rebuilt the outfield fence from the posts up. From there, the field surface was brought back to life as fire hoses literally doused the grass from neighborhood fire hydrants. Slowly but surely, "Rags" Scheuermann Field came back to life. Practices commenced and the program took a giant step towards its season, now less than two months away. It wasn't unusual to see a line of players and coaches next to the Red Cross lunch wagon, which visited the neighborhood daily. Players took periodic breaks from field work to help their neighbors, rescuing possessions from their flooded homes, carting supplies and building materials, or offering a shoulder to cry on. With every member of the 2006 roster hailing from a Louisiana hometown, everyone could relate, everyone had a vested interest in the community's woes. Some players' family homes were untouched by the storm, others were rescued off of their roof tops when flood waters inundated their houses. No matter what circumstances they encountered at home, players and their families made the daily journey through the rubble piles, past the moldy refrigerators and construction trucks, and through the silence to Kirsch-Rooney.

With a home field secured, eyes turned to fundraising. The program took a giant step towards their goal when one afternoon, a cab pulled into the outfield lot while the team was rebuilding the fence. Mr. Richard Colton, an acquaintance of Coach Scheuermann, asked Coach how much it would cost to get things running. After a brief chat, Mr. Colton nodded and left for the day. The next day, the cab driver returned with a check from Mr. Colton for $50,000….enough to underwrite the 2006 baseball season.

Mr. Colton's donation, along with assistance from Baseball America, Whitney Bank, the New Orleans Zephyrs, Mr. Gil Meche, Major League Baseball executive Benny Looper, and other donors secured not only financial support for the program, but also equipment. The program literally started from scratch that season as every baseball, bat, jersey, and piece of equipment was lost in the flood.

(Re)Opening Day…the Return to Rooney
With the loss of field lights, some creative scheduling came in to play. In order to accommodate the annual "Rags" Scheuermann Tournament that traditionally opened each new Delgado season, the first games of the 2006 season were played at Bayou Segnette Field on the westbank of the river. The first pitch of the 2006 season on Thursday, February 9 was the culmination of four months of non-stop labor and love on behalf of the players and their families.

It was three days later, however, when the Dolphins celebrated their official homecoming with a 14-7 win over Lincoln Land in the first game played at Kirsch-Rooney in the post-Katrina era. "The Second Line", Delgado's victory anthem, never sounded sweeter than it did when it blared from the speakers following the win. Then-Delgado Chancellor Alex Johnson called Kirsch-Rooney Stadium "a beacon of hope during a period of despair." The beacon was shining and baseball was back in the confines. Delgado Baseball could proudly say that it was the first local athletic program with a damaged facility to return their facility to full operation post-storm. The rebirth was underway at the Home of New Orleans Baseball. While portions of the roof were still missing and a temporary scoreboard tracked the innings, there were few complaints from fans. The tears had turned into cheers.

According to Dr. Arnel Cosey, Delgado's Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and Executive Dean of the City Park Campus (that houses Kirsch-Rooney), baseball's rebirth sparked the college's spirits during a dismal period. "It served as a welcomed distraction for many, it sparked our spirits. The games brought visitors back to campus, and in turn, provided their own support for the College's recovery."

The Dolphins went onto capture a 34-14 record that season, while making a trip to the Super Regionals in Laredo, Texas. A year later, that special group of freshmen led the program to a South Central District Championship and a berth in the Junior College World Series.

Reviving a local Icon
Like many New Orleans landmarks, Kirsch-Rooney Stadium has emerged from Katrina and its aftermath better than ever. While it was crippled by the storm, the "Rooney Renaissance" over the past decade has been pretty amazing, thanks to Delgado Community College and the stadium's staff of caretakers. From the first steps taken by the 2006 Delgado players and parents, the torch has passed to each team since to maintain and continuously improve our proud home. Major renovation projects like a new scoreboard and message center (2007), new bleachers and grandstand seating (2008), a new backstop (2009), grandstand renovations, and daily field maintenance have made the facility into one of the best in the area as it enters its 59^th season of continuous operation.

Following several years of negotiations and planning with FEMA officials, a new state-of-the-art field lighting system was dedicated in 2010, allowing night baseball to return to New Orleans for the first time since August 2005. Members of the Kirsch, Rooney, and Scheuermann families were on-hand for a special countdown and switch ceremony, along with representatives from every high school program that calls the stadium home. The lights allowed for a much expanded schedule, and the stadium now hosts more than 340 games a season.

Marching On…
Ten years after that trying first post-Katrina season, Delgado Baseball hasn't missed a beat. The Dolphins have captured nine out of the past ten conference titles, made nine NJCAA Super Regional appearances, earned three South Central District Championships and subsequent trips to the Junior College World Series (including back-to-back visits in 2014 and 2015). Through May 2015, Delgadow as ranked in twenty-eight consecutive Top 25 National polls (including being ranked the #1 team in the country in 2013). More than sixty players have advanced to four-year programs, nine to Minor League Baseball.

In the classroom, the program can boast one of the highest academic success rates in Junior College Baseball, with twenty student-athletes earning Associate's degrees in the past two years alone and the 2015 squad being named an All-Academic Team for earning a 3.0 cumulative GPA. Twelve student-athletes have earned individual academic achievement awards for their outstanding GPAs over the past five years.

On the field, eleven Dolphins have earned All-America distinctions and two alums have earned a Rawlings/ABCA Gold Glove Award for being among the best defensive players in the country. In the ten years since the storm, Coach Joe Scheuermann's teams have achieved his 500^th, 600^th, 700^th, and 800^th career victories at Delgado, with #900 quickly approaching. Scheuermann's leadership on and off of the field in the post-Katrina era has established a high level of respect among the local sports community. While recent state budget issues have also deeply impacted the program, the rebirth has continued to progress.

The Community's Home Team
If Katrina taught us one thing, it's the value of community. The program is proud to call the area home as nearly 95% of the past ten rosters hails from a Louisiana hometown. The 2015 Dolphins represented 29 local high schools and 26 local zip codes. Delgado Baseball is a microcosm of the community it serves and Katrina showed not only what this program means to our region, but that this region means to the program.

Matt Adams, a member of the 2006 Dolphins recently shared his thoughts on the recovery and what it meant to him personally. "I would definitely say that it wasn't until after my time at Delgado that I realized I was part of something special. We were in the heart of a city about to rebuild, and all we were worried about was rebuilding what all us players loved the most - baseball. From the weeks we spent cleaning up (Kirsch-) Rooney, we formed a strong bond that (I would like to think) helped catapult a great program into an even greater one. That year was tough - especially since I don't think any of us would realize what we were in the middle of. Regardless of if we continued our college athletic careers afterwards or not - we were forever changed. I know that season helped form me into the man I am today, and I would venture to say it did the same for every other player on that team. I am forever grateful to have been, and continue to be, a Dolphin!"

Kyle Beerbohm, equally, credits the storm with Delgado Baseball's increasing popularity over the past decade. "Delgado is the community's team and we showed it that year and ever since. From venturing into the neighborhood to help our neighbors in need to giving people something to root for, that's what this program is really all about." He adds that it's a cool feeling to know he was part of the first team to reach the field post-K, which led to multiple regional and World Series appearances. "Delgado has become a destination program. It's a program that people want to be a part of. Katrina helped New Orleans realize what we knew all along."

Dr. Cosey adds, "the resiliency of our players and coaches on and off of the field, led by Coach Scheuermann, led to the successes and championships that followed. That success was embraced and supported by the faculty, staff, and students of the College."  

For the Dolphins, recovery gave way to renaissance. In the ten years since Hurricane Katrina, the program is flourishing in ways "Rags" and the Scheuermann family could only have imagined. To take a spin on the familiar movie quote, Delgado rebuilt it and the people came back.

Coach Joe Scheuermann credits the players, parents, and fans that have been a part of it with each passing year. "It's the people that make it happen. Family is the reason we're here, it's why we survived."

Not only did Delgado Baseball survive. It thrived.
 

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Click here to a Hurricane Katrina Photo Gallery

Click here for video footage of Kirsch-Rooney post-Katrina

Click here for WGNO Coverage of Delgado & the Katrina10 Anniversary