The Evangeline League began in 1934 as a six–team Class D level minor league with teams based in Louisiana, United States, later adding Mississippi and Texas based franchises. In 1935, the league was expanded to eight teams and ceased operations in 1942, with six teams, during World War II. It resumed activities in 1946, getting promoted to Class C in 1949, and lasted through 1957. The Alexandria Aces were the only team that played in all 21 regular seasons. Due to its association with spicy Cajun cuisine, the league was commonly referred to as the "Pepper Sauce League" or the "Tabasco Circuit". Newspapers often abbreviated the league's name as "Vangy" or "Vangey" in headlines. History 1946 gambling scandal The Evangeline League was affected by a gambling scandal that surfaced after the 1946 Championship series. After the completion of the playoffs, which were won by the Houma Indians, allegations emerged that Houma Indians and Abbeville Athletics players had conspired with gamblers to achieve desired outcomes of three playoff games. At the October 23, 1946 league meeting, it was alleged that Houma players conspired with gamblers for Houma to lose the fourth game of the first round of the playoffs, lose the first game of the second round and win the fourth game of the second round. After learning of the allegations, Judge W. G. Bramham, president of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, summoned the unnamed accused players to attend a hearing on January 10–11, 1947. After interviews and further investigation, five players were put on the ineligible list, meaning they could not play in minor league baseball. Houma players William "Bill" Thomas, Leonard Pecou, Alvin Kaiser and Paul Fugit and Don Vettorel of Abbeville were placed on the ineligible list by Branham for their actions. Later, Thomas and Pecou appealed and were ultimately restored to eligibility by George Trautman, Bramham's successor after two years. On August 22, 1949, both players were reinstated and allowed to immediately to return to the Houma roster. After his reinstatement, Thomas would continue his career to set the minor league career records for total games, victories, losses, hits and runs. Baseball reference shows his career record as 305–264 over 24 seasons and other sources have his minor league win total at 383. 1956–1957 boycotts The Evangeline League permanently folded following the 1957 season and had never become an integrated league, despite the efforts of