Coach 'Rags' Scheuermann Dies His Methods Got Best From Young Players Submitted By N.O.V.A. Times Picayune 04-8-1997 ************************************************* Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ Louis "Rags" Scheuermann, who coached New Orleans baseball teams to hundreds of victories and numerous championships in four decades as a fixture on the New Orleans sports scene, died of an apparent heart attack Monday. Scheuermann would have celebrated his 74th birthday Sunday. He is survived by his widow, Maureen, two sons and two daughters. An ultra-successful college baseball coach for 40 years, though he never attended college, Scheuermann was the first person inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame primarily as a baseball coach. "How do you like that?" Scheuermann reflected upon his 1990 induction. "In the last inning of my life, I hit a home run!" Scheuermann went from coaching kids programs to Loyola University and Delgado Community College, and in the summer oversaw the New Orleans entry of the All- American Amateur Baseball Association and coached it in the national tournament, guiding the New Orleans Boosters to nine national championships. Described as a "New Orleans Original," Scheuermann got his nickname as a teen-ager at Nicholls High because he couldn't afford spikes and played baseball in his socks. He said he used himself as an example for his players. "I'm in a better position to teach a young man the importance of a college education than I would be if I had gone to college," he said. "I can use myself as a role model." He coached well enough to send nine players to the major leagues and was enough of a role model that 27, including his son, Joe, the current Delgado coach, followed him into coaching on the high school or college levels. Three of his players became mayors - Moon Landrieu of New Orleans, Pat Screen of Baton Rouge and Tommy Wilcox of Harahan. "I never would have made it to the major leagues if it weren't for Rags," said Kevin Mmahat, who was with the New York Yankees organization from 1989 to 1993. "He opened the gates of baseball for me, and he opened his home to me. Rags was a great man who will be missed." "He was a great coach and a super person," said Tommy Mathews, who played for Scheuermann in the All-American summer league and at Delgado before getting a grant-in-aid to play baseball at Tulane. "He could really teach the game, but he also had that ability to get more out of a kid because they really loved him. Rags was always there for me, whether baseball or anything else." Ricky Purcell, who played at Tulane, said Scheuermann "was one of the coaches who had an influence on my life. I wasn't a gifted player, but Rags taught me the game, taught me that hard work can overcome physical deficiencies and that what you have inside is as important as physical ability." Scheuermann coached at Loyola University for 20 years and compiled a 340-92 record, winning 79 percent of his games. During one three-year stretch at Loyola, the Wolfpack was 17-2, 19-1 and 18-3. When Loyola dropped athletics in the early '70s, Scheuermann went to Delgado, where he forged a 527-199 record and coached eight district champions, taking the Dolphins to the 1984 Junior College World Series. Dozens of his Delgado players went on to play at NCAA Division I schools. "Eighteen went to Tulane," he once recalled, "and seven were elected team captain. It's always nice to pick up a paper and see where one of your players is doing well." A professional baseball player for several seasons as an infielder with teams in Durham, N.C., and Elizabeth, Tenn., Scheuermann worked out with the Boston Red Sox before a shoulder injury ended his career. New Orleans Item sports editor Hap Glaudi persuaded Scheuermann to give coaching a shot - starting with the New Orleans Recreation Department and the Babe Ruth kids program. In 1951, he also began coaching the All-American team, finishing second nationally in his first try. Wilfred "Skeeter" Theard, who coached at Redemptorist High and who for 30 years was one of Scheuermann's aides with the All-American team, said Scheuermann had a unique ability to communicate with young people, especially college-age kids. "That combined with his thorough knowledge of baseball made a lot of kids a lot better (player) than they might have been." When he retired from coaching after the 1990 season, Scheuermann continued as director of intramural sports at Delgado, a position he maintained to his death. He also continued to organize the All-American program in New Orleans and oversee the operation of Kirsch-Rooney Park. Visitation will be from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. today at L.A. Muhleisen Funeral Home at 2607 Williams Blvd. in Kenner, and from 9 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Wednesday at St. Francis Assisi Catholic Church at 631 State St. in New Orleans before the funeral mass.