SOFTBALL : Even Without Michael, the Jacksons Draw Biggest Crowds at Showbiz Softball League

Jim Duran never expected his duties as Balboa Park recreation director to include public relations work for the singing group the Jacksons.

But that’s what it has come to. By Thursday afternoon, the ritual begins. The phone rings in Duran’s office and the caller, usually a teen-age girl, always asks the same thing about Saturday’s game.

“What time do the Jacksons play?”

“Now, I just answer automatically, the Jacksons play at 1:30 or 3:30,” Duran said. “When the Jacksons play, everybody and his brother comes around. The stands are almost full.”

There is one brother who is noticeably missing, however, from the Jacksons’ weekly softball game--Michael. He doesn’t play, but he has been seen occasionally on the sidelines.

“He’s been out a couple of times,” Duran said. “He’s usually in disguise, but I can recognize him. People usually crowd around him.”

Brothers Jermaine and Jackie Jackson represent the family on the Jacksons softball team, one of 35 teams in the Showbiz Softball League, a nine-year league made up of actors, producers, directors, television executives and anyone involved in the entertainment business. More than 700 players compete in the modified-fast-pitch games every Saturday at Balboa Park.

While such well-known celebrities as Tony Danza, Mark Harmon and Kevin Dobson compete regularly, it’s the Jacksons who attract the crowds.

“We get some people for our game, but a lot more people come out for the Jacksons,” said Eric Laneuville, pitcher for the “St. Elsewhere” team. “This league gets more competitive every year. I enjoy the competition a lot and meet new friends in the business out here.”

Laneuville, who plays a hospital attendant on the television show “St. Elsewhere,” has been active since the league started. In his second season, he played on the Jacksons’ title-winning team.

Commissioner Leslie Greif started the league as a way to meet people in the motion picture business. After starting with just six teams, the league grew larger than Greif expected.

“We’ve tried to make this a social league for people in the entertainment business,” Greif said. “Every major company in the business has been in this league at one time or another.”

While the league is geared to be social it’s also competitive.

“The barriers that may exist in a studio, the pecking order, is not there on Saturday,” said Larry Goldman, a television publicist. “If a guy from the mail room hits a home run to win a game, everyone’s excited. I can guarantee you that a lot of deals have been made as a result of playing softball in this league.”

The celebrities play a seven-month season that runs concurrently with major league baseball. It concludes in October with a playoff and championship game. Games begin on all four softball diamonds Saturdays on at 9:30 a.m.