CHICAGO — A heartbroken team of boys counted among the innocent victims of the adult-orchestrated Jackie Robinson West cheating scandal finally got the bittersweet redemption they deserved.
The New Albany, Ind., squad that last year lost to JRW in the Great Lakes Region championship — the game that clinches a trip to the Little League World Series — made a ceremonial trek to Williamsport, Penn., last week to be honored with the regional title they won by default.
Before Friday’s game between this year’s Great Lakes and West region teams, the New Albany boys were feted on the field before 20,000 fans.
Little League International, the organization that decided to strip JRW of the title, picked up the tab for the team’s trip — flights, hotel rooms and all, New Albany manager Josh Biven said.
“This was a very awesome experience for all involved,” Biven said. “It was emotional for a lot of people. Especially for the players and coaches acknowledged as region champs after finding out on Feb. 11 the reality that Jackie Robinson West adults cheated.”
The team got a banner recognizing its place as the rightful regional champs. And each player was given a medal and the yellow “Great Lakes” jersey and ball cap — the same ones worn by Jackie Robinson West during the title run that got erased in scandal.
Wearing the jerseys and hats, the New Albany team posed for a picture on the field they never got to play on because they got beat by an All-Star team of ringers from Chicago that the country later learned had only five eligible players, according to court documents filed by Little League International.
In a series of stories that led to Jackie Robinson West being stripped of the title, DNAinfo Chicago uncovered a conspiracy to falsify boundary maps. Little League said it was perpetrated by the de facto league president, Bill Haley, and District administrator Michael Kelley.
Jackie Robinson West leaders launched a legal fight to get the title back but ultimately dropped the case last week.
Biven said the New Albany players never took off the jerseys and hats the whole time they were in Williamsport.
“It was kind of hard because it was the same jersey that JRW wore. Ultimately, it was the right jersey and the right hat for the kids to get, because it’s what we should have been wearing last year,” Biven said. “That was a big deal to them.”
During their weekend in Williamsport, the New Albany boys signed autographs and traded pins — a Little League World Series tradition — and soaked in the World Series experience that some people argue got stolen from them.
“I never heard a word out of their mouths that they were ticked off or upset they didn’t get to play or didn’t get the Oakley sunglasses, or bats or gloves and stuff that you get when you make it that far. That’s a tribute to the parents who raised these boys,” Biven said.
“These boys learned a big-time life lesson about cheating and stealing and lying at a very young age.”
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