Meet a World Series Champ Who Played Minor Leagues in Shreveport

This year's Geek'd Con in Shreveport will feature a new element to the show, the Shreveport Sports Card Expo. This will be a chance for sports fans to shop from sports card and sports memorabilia dealers, while getting to meet sports stars for pictures and autographs.

Both events will take place at the Shreveport Convention Center on August 16th through 18th in 2024. Tickets for the event are available now, and can be purchased here.

The athletes that will be appearing at the show include MLB legend Rafael Palmeiro, who is one of only seven players in MLB history to be a member of both the 500 home run club and the 3,000 hit club. Heisman Trophy winner Billy Sims will also be appearing, along with Pro Football Hall of Fame member and Dallas Cowboys legend Bob Lilly. A pair of LSU National Champions will also appear, with Jacob Hester and Todd Walker both set to appear.

But one of the athletes on the lineup has a very interesting tie to Shreveport. World Series champion Darrell Evans.

Darrell Evans played his first MLB game for the Atlanta Braves in 1969. During his Atlanta career, he would become an All Star in 1973. From Atlanta he went to the San Francisco Giants, where he would play in over 1,000 games for the franchise. He would eventually become a member of the Giants Wall of Fame.

After leaving San Francisco, Evans joined the Detroit Tigers. While in Detroit, Evans won the 1984 World Series, and led the American League in Home Runs with 40 in 1985. When Evans crossed the 40 home run mark in 1985, he became the first player in MLB history to hit 40 home runs in a single season in both the American and National League.

But back in 1969, Evans not only played for the big Braves club in Atlanta, he played for the Shreveport Braves too.

The Atlanta Braves had their Double A affiliate in Shreveport, and Evans made a stop there just before he was called up to the big leagues.

Now, Evans' Shreveport career wasn't a long one. He played 24 games for Shreveport, getting 79 at bats, hitting for a .279 average with 2 home runs and 14 RBIs.

Evans ended his MLB career with 414 home runs and over 1,300 RBIs. He was 2-time All Star who finished in the Top 20 of MVP voting 4 times.

Dealer tables for the Sports Expo, and Vendor booths for Geek'd Con, are both available now at ShreveportGeeks.com.