Fans Attack Baseball Coach On Field

Kansas City first-base coach Tom Gamboa was ambushed on the field by two spectators Thursday night at a game in Chicago, prompting players from both teams to rush to his rescue.

"They ran on the field and began pummeling him," reports CBS News Correspondent Frank Settipani, who was attending the game at Comiskey Park. "They jumped him from behind. He had no idea what was going on. The Royals players converged on the first base coach's box and began hitting the two who had Gamboa on the ground. Then the Chicago White Sox began coming over to see what they could do.

"There was no partisanship once that incident happened," said Settipani. "Everybody was together and they all wanted to do the same thing: Protect Tom Gamboa."

Gamboa had several cuts and a large bruise on his forehead. He walked off the field to a standing ovation from the crowd.

"I had my hands on my hips and I was looking at the next batter. I felt like a football team had hit me from behind. Next thing I knew, I'm on the ground trying to defend myself," Gamboa said.

A folded-up pocket knife was found at the scene. White Sox outfielder Aaron Rowand said he saw it fall out of the pocket of one of the attackers.

Gamboa said he had no idea why he was attacked.

"I don't know what we can do to eliminate this," Gamboa said. "I'm grateful (the Royals) got there as quick as they could, especially when there was a knife involved. God forbid me or somebody else would get stabbed."

"When it happened, people didn't know what was going on, and they turned to each other and said, 'What was that about?' Nobody had a clue what could have provoked this kind of incident," said Settipani. "People I think were very embarrassed by what they saw and very appreciative that the incident was not any worse than it was."

The bare-chested father and son were led off the field in handcuffs. The father, identified by police as 34-year-old William Ligue Jr. of Alsip, and his 15-year-old son were led off the field in handcuffs. Friday morning they were charged with aggravated battery.

The son faces two juvenile charges of battery because he also struck a security guard.

"It's sad and disturbing, very disturbing," said general manager Kenny Williams, who apologized to Gamboa and the Royals after the game.

"It is amazing something like that hasn't happened before," Royals outfielder Chuck Knoblauch said. "But it is a fear of players because it seems like the fans continue to get more and more hostile."

"Stuff like that is hard to control," Royals closer Roberto Hernandez said. "Once fans get a little boisterous and have a few too many beers, anything goes. Everybody was watching the play and these guys just literally walked on the field, then rushed Tom."

It was the second unusual disruption during a sports contest this week. On Monday, police trying to break up a fight in the stands at FedEx Field sprayed pepper spray that drifted onto the field and sickened some football players as the Philadelphia Eagles played the Washington Redskins.

The most notorious attack of a player at a game came when tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed in the back by an obsessed fan in April 1993 during a match in Hamburg, Germany.

In 1995, Cubs reliever Randy Myers was charged by a 27-year-old bond trader who ran out of the stands at Wrigley Field. Myers dropped his glove, knocked the man down with his forearm and pinned him to the ground.

Gamboa said he doesn't blame White Sox security for the incident. And he doesn't fault first-base umpire Matt Hollowell or White Sox second baseman Willie Harris for not immediately coming to his aid.

"In fairness to everybody," Gamboa said, "everyone was stunned."

But this should be a sobering lesson to everyone, Royals outfielder Carlos Beltran said. The next incident might not end so well.

"We think we're safe at the ballpark," Beltran said. "What happened today, that tells us no matter where we are, we're not safe."