Back in the Spring of 1980, Tim Detillier, then the head baseball coach at Lutcher High School, was approached by two local fans while raking the dirt on home plate at Lutchers baseball field. After a few minutes of small talk, Russel Kliebert and Bobby Lear confronted Coach Tim about starting a baseball booster club. Of course, Coach Tim agreed. At first, the club actually met during work parties involving parents and some avid baseball fans.After months of conversation and planning during these work parties, The Lutcher Dugout Club held its first meeting on March 10, 1981. Fifty-seven charter members signed up for their membership that night. After doing so, Russel Kliebert was elected the first president and Bobby Lear was elected the first secretary/treasurer. The innaugural board members included Carol Schexnayder, Eddie Joe Vicknair, "Toot" Ganier, Will Roussel, Kenny Gilbert and Gary Zeringue. 1981 saw the club institute its ground work for what continues until this day. That first year had The Dugout Club institute its first baseball banquet, brought a college game to the Lutcher Park, and set the goals, of which there have been many, to have the baseball program sustain itself in the sports tradition at Lutcher High School.
As time went on, and the area population grew, space was needed for new schools. Lutcher Park, which held so many old memories from yesteryear, had to succomb to progress. In return, the "new" Lutcher Park was constructed and completed on Lutcher High Schools expanding campus. Not only baseball, but the vastly expanding sport of ladies softball both were rewarded with new fields and facilities. 1995 marked the first year that the new parks were opened and used for competition. In doing so, The Dugout Club now moved to its new location in the baseball locker room at the new facility. Not only baseball, but now softball embraced the support of Lutchers second booster club. Though, with its new format, the club held to its old customs of its weekly meetings complete with its cajun suppers which included, rabbit or squirrel sauce piquant, alligator, chicken stew, steaks, and crawfish, just to name a few. But, more importantly, to plan and work towards making these sports programs better with each coming year. Finances became more important. Not only would dues, meetings, and concessions be able to support the programs. New innovations of support, namely tournaments and the all important sponsorship of advertisement signs on the outfield fences, came into play for the club.
As change came about in 1995, so it did in 2003. More expansion, because of increased enrollment at the school, was implemented when the 7th and 8th graders were brought on campus to be included in the educational curriculum at Lutcher High School. Now the baseball and softball programs, which had only included varsity and jr. varsity teams, now included freshmen and jr. high teams. The number of players had now boomed to over 100. What had started out as a varsity and jr. varsity baseball program, now includes varsity, jr. varsity, freshmen, 2 jr. high baseball teams and varsity, jr. varsity, and jr. high softball teams. An expansion program in early 2003 included new fields for both softball and baseball on the jr. high level. More batting cages, another concession stand, and scoreboards now were added.The complex is now known as "Bulldog Park". With that, costs rose, so more finances were in order. 2003 saw the first year that The Dugout Club moved to its new home at The Public Relations Building next door to the school. In similar fashion to its "brother" club, The Lutcher Quarterback Club, the weekly meetings are now held on Monday nights at 7:00pm, which include guest speakers, and more importantly, the sale of lunches at the meetings and at the drive-up window. The clubs traditional meal is now a hamburger steak dinner complete with all of the trimmings. Its membership now tops 100.
As The Dugout Club approaches its silver anniversary year in 2006, its important to know that it's inception in 1981 was one of originality. Since then, numerous booster clubs have come to light for baseball and softball, and some are called "Dugout Clubs", but The Lutcher Dugout Club was the original. It was the vision of a certain few that has come to benefit so many. We would like to thank all of our past and present members and we look forward to having our future members come on board and support the baseball and softball programs at Lutcher High School.