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Bias Case Settled In Park League; Team Now Will Be Allowed To Compete

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The Boston Park Baseball League opens its 58th season Tuesday after resolving allegations that the organization is guilty of racial bias.

After pressure was applied by Mayor Flynn’s administration, the senior amateur league voted to accept the primarily minority Padres. A condition of acceptance was that Padre manager Ed Neal apologize for making his charges of bias.

Neal had accused the league of denying his Padres a spot in the 1987 alignment because of bias. He noted that it had been traditional for the winner of the junior league — in this case, the Padres — to move up to the senior league, with the senior league’s last-place team being demoted to the junior league.

However, Park League president John Landry said Neal was present at the announcement of the league’s decision in March 1986 and did not dispute it. Read more

Battling Mosquitoes, Hyde Park Sweeps Park League Clincher

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The mosquitoes proved to be the toughest adversaries for Hyde Park Sports in its sweep to the Park League championship last night.

The insects were unrelenting, but the Triple D’s had no such power, losing the final game, 10-4, at Fallon Field in Roslindale.

“I’ve been in the Park League for nine years,” said Hyde Park manager Terry O’Malley, “and I’ve never seen anything like this.”

What O’Malley had just witnessed was the completion of a four-game sweep. Read more

Loading Up: Umpire Joe Driscoll

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Former Boston Park League Umpire in Chief from 1999 through 2006, umpired in the league for more than 30 years, and was featured on the cover of Referee Magazine in July of 1985. Read more

Towne Club Wins Championship By Forfeit

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Towne Club became the Park League baseball champion last night after Conley refused to take the field, thereby forfeiting Game 4 of the teams’ best-of-seven series.

Game 3 on Thursday night also was decided by forfeit, Towne Club getting the win when Conley used an ineligible player – designated hitter Jeff Clinton, who batted once in the game. Conley went on to a 6-4 victory, which was later reversed when Towne Club manager Skip Landry took issue with Clinton’s appearance in the game. Park League playoff rules prohibit the use of a player who has not played in at least 11 regular-season games.

The Conley team refused to take the field for last night’s game after being informed that use of Clinton would result in another forfeit. Read more

Mark McGwire & Oddibe McDowell of Team USA

USA Olympic Team Home Runs Hammer Park League

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Fenway Park served as a compatible facility last night for the US Olympic baseball team’s free-swingers. The Park League All-Stars served as nine statues. Practice fodder. A light practice, at that.

The touring Olympians raised their record to 16-2-1 with a 17-2 mismatch before a crowd of 5000, and mercy was accorded after six innings because of a curfew.

“Do you ever get bored playing teams with noticeably less talent than yours?” Olympic designated hitter Will Clark was asked.

“The only thing I get tired of is getting up early,” Clark said. “Everyone is dragging.” Read more

A Whall-To-Wall Encounter; From Park League To Fenway Park, Big Green To Green Monster

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The Jolly Green Giant will meet the Green Monster today. It’s not a Godzilla movie, just a 6-foot-6, .576 hitter from Dartmouth debuting in Fenway Park.

“I’ve always had a dream of playing in Fenway,” said Tim Whall, 23, of Roslindale. “Dreams of sliding in the dirt, of touching the Monster.”

Whall is a part-time lifeguard, a one-time high school math teacher, a full-time job-seeker and a spare-time first baseman in the Park League.

He picked the right time to hit .576, because his Park League All- Stars will play the US Olympic team tonight at 5. Read more

New Era Begins For Park League; Mortimer Directs The Show

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Back in the late 1950s, he was a spindly kid playing first base for Boston English High and for various Park League clubs at night. Today, after many years in both sandlot and organized ball, Walt Mortimer is the new executive director of the Park League.

“Some of the happiest days of my life were spent playing in this league,” Mortimer said. “Along with a lot of other interested alumni,’ I’m trying to help in any way I can to keep it going.”

Mortimer acknowledged that the league has had some rough sledding in recent years, particularly since the onset of Prop. 2 1/2 . “But with a lot of dedicated people pitching in, we have kept going, and I feel that this year I can say the outlook is better than it has been for some time.”

Mortimer said that the league will have nine solid entries, the same number as last year, with the season’s opener pitting defending champion Mass. Envelope against the Dick Conley Club on Monday, May 21, at 7 p.m., at Caseytown Field in Dorchester. Read more

Mass Envelope Rebounds, 10-6

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Mass Envelope did just about everything it could last night to lose the opening game of the Park League championship baseball series.

It walked 12 Conley batters. It committed four errors. It threw infield ground balls into left field.

Mass Envelope, the defending Park League champion, should have lost. It didn’t. Read more

Park League Gets A Commissioner: Hal Kallenberg

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For Hal Kallenberg of West Roxbury, there will be more responsibilities this summer than last, but otherwise his lifestyle will be about the same – he’ll be attending a Park League baseball game, or two, just about every night.

The difference is that Kallenberg – ex-player, ex-umpire, ardent fan – has been named “commissioner” of the Park League.

It’s the first time that the league, at age 54 the oldest sandlot league in the country, has established such an office. It is part of a continuing effort by current and former Park League participants to keep the league operative. Read more

Baby’s Window Shatters As Mass. Envelope Wins It

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There were two outs last night in the seventh inning of the seventh game of this long Park League championship series. The league sponsor pushed his way into the crowd behind home plate to pick up the trophies from the scorekeeper for the quick postgame presentation.

A woman pushed her way through the crowd to the scorer’s table.

“I live in that green apartment building over there,” she said. She was very upset. “Someone hit a ball through my window. There’s a baby in the room, glass everywhere . . .”

“Report it to City Hall,” the scorekeeper told him, and that was that. This was a baseball game! Read more