Burning of Little Leaguer’s Shirt Fans Fire in Anaheim

Little League manager Randy L. Pangborn lit a fire under his team Monday night, turning the pitcher’s mound into a pyre by burning an opponent’s jersey. His team won the game. But Pangborn might lose his job.

Parents who witnessed the pregame blaze have complained to Little League officials, and the young pitcher who saw a duplicate of his jersey set afire was apparently so rattled he committed a run-scoring error that contributed to his team’s first defeat of the season.

Robert Jackson, district administrator for 18 Little Leagues in Orange County, said Wednesday that officials will consider firing Pangborn, the manager of the Yankees and a member of the Anaheim Hills Little League board.

“We will not tolerate the burning of a uniform. It is like burning the American flag,” Jackson said. “There are 800 kids up there playing baseball, and we don’t want this type of thing happening. If he is responsible for this, he won’t be around.”

League representatives met Wednesday night at Imperial Elementary School to review the incident and consider whether to relieve Pangborn, who Jackson said was briefly suspended by the league two weeks ago for making rude remarks to an umpire. It was not determined if action would be taken against Pangborn’s unidentified coach, who also participated in the fire incident.

Anaheim Hills Little League board members and Pangborn, 38, who is also the league’s director of fields, declined comment Wednesday.

“He (Pangborn) does so much work down there it’s unbelievable,” said Jim Head, a Pangborn supporter whose child is on a league team. “He’s always getting people to contribute and getting people to donate materials.”

Witnesses said the incident involving the jersey began about 5 p.m. Monday, half an hour before the Yankees and the undefeated A’s--teams made up of boys ages 10 to 12--took the field at Crescent Intermediate School on Gerda Drive. During warm-ups, Pangborn and his coach propped up a green and yellow A’s jersey on the pitcher’s mound with a stake. On the back was No. 17, the number of Todd Sterman, star hurler for the A’s.

With two players to block the wind, the Yankees’ coach, encouraged by Pangborn, set the jersey on fire with a lighter, witnesses said. As it burned, Pangborn conducted infield practice, occasionally pausing to yell at Todd and to urge his own team on to victory.

“Todd, did you see the number on the jersey?” witnesses quoted Pangborn as saying. “We are going to burn the A’s down because the Yankees are fired up.”

Parents said the attempt to psyche out the opponents apparently worked; the A’s lost 3 to 1. The Yankees scored all their runs in the first inning, some on errors, including a wild throw by Todd that sailed over the first baseman’s head.

“Our first inning was so upsetting,” said Barbara Turner, whose son plays on the A’s. “Our kids were so nervous. They’re just little kids. Who knows if he will do this stunt again? Kids think it’s OK because he is a role model. But it isn’t.”

The pitcher could not be reached for comment.

On Tuesday, shocked parents called league president Teresa Dean, concerned that Pangborn had set a poor example for impressionable boys. Dean then contacted the Anaheim Fire Department and the Orange Unified School District, which owns the field the league uses.

“It was obviously poor judgment on his part, if he did this,” said Mike Feeney, a fire and arson investigator for the Anaheim Fire Department. “My concern in this particular case is what kind of lasting impression did he leave, not only from an intimidation standpoint, but from a safety standpoint. What if another kid lights up a jersey and someone gets hurt or killed?”

Feeney said there appears to be no violation of any arson laws, and proving that Pangborn set an illegal fire is difficult unless the suspect is caught red-handed by authorities.

Orange Unified School District has the power to bar teams from the field if dangerous incidents continue. But A. Stanley Corey, the district’s interim superintendent, said Crescent Intermediate officials have asked Anaheim Hills Little League to look into the matter and take appropriate action.