Not-So-Little Leaguers Forfeit a Championship

THE JOYOUS HOMECOMING FOR THIS SUMMER'S LITtle League World Champions turned sour even before the last shred of confetti hit the ground. Local sports columnists claimed that as many as half the players on the team from Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines were over the 12-year age limit (or 13 if the player's birthday is after Aug. 1). Little League officials in Manila stonewalled efforts to certify the players' ages, and most of the Philippine press and public seemed to view the accusations as an American plot.

Last week the manager of the team dropped another bombshell: forget about being overage -- most of the team wasn't even from Zamboanga City. League officials in Manila had packed the squad with ringers even though national All-Star squads are barred from the World Series. Little League officials in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, declared eight Philippine players ineligible Thursday and ordered a forfeit of their team's 15-4 victory last month over Long Beach, California. The newly crowned California team got together Thursday night for a quiet celebration at a park. "I think this is a real big / thing," said pitcher Randall Shelley, 12. "But it would have been better if we had won it on the field."