It's been over 75 years since Cad Stevens competed for the Orange and Blue, but for those who saw him excel in three sports, the memories are unblemished.
Stevens came to LC from the rural Poland community and became one of the finest athletes anywhere. He started in the first football game he saw and later was described in the Alexandria Daily Town Talk thusly: No greater end in Louisiana, offensively and defensively."
Stevens was selected to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association All-Star team and was among its leading scorers each season. Im a game against Marshall in 1928, he snagged three passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns, including a 70-yarder that was reported as "the longest pass ever seen here."
In basketball, he led the freshman team in scoring, was the second-leading scorer on the varsity as a sophomore, and topped the team in scoring his last two seasons. He set an SIAA single game record of 38 points that stood well over two decades. That record becomes more remarkable because of the center jump after each score and the low point totals of the era. It was also an LC record for several decades.
To earn a track letter at the time, it was required to win first place at a meet. Stevens, dubbed "the Poland flash," competed in the 440 yard dash as a sophomore, high jump as a junior, and high jump and 100- and 220-yard dashes as a senior.
He was a celebrated high school, college, and professional basketball referee for many years, and he had a long and successful career as an educator in Rapides Parish.
