Umpire Charges Parent With Assault : Little League Official Allegedly Hit at Huntington Beach Game

A 16-year-old Little League umpire has filed a complaint of assault and battery against a father who allegedly rushed out of the bleachers during a weekend game in Huntington Beach and punched him at least four times before spectators intervened.

The youth, C.J. Ellson, said only his protective chest gear spared him from injury Sunday when Robert Foster assaulted him during a Seaview Senior League baseball game at Edison High School between the A’s and Yankees, teams for 13-year-old boys.

At the time of the alleged altercation, the 5-foot, 9-inch Ellson had one arm in a cast from an earlier accident. Foster was described by spectators as 6 feet, 1 inch and weighing 230 pounds.

Huntington Beach Police Lt. Jim Walker said Ellson did not contact police immediately because he had to umpire another game. Instead, he filed a report with the police two hours later.

Foster could not be reached for comment.

“Even though we don’t have visible injuries, it’s still an obvious assault and battery,” said Lt. Walker. “The kid was knocked down in front of a lot of people.”

Foster’s son is a member of the A’s, who lost Sunday’s game after a player was called safe at first base by Ellson, allowing a run to score with two outs.

Although Ellson is one of the league’s youngest baseball umpires, he is a veteran of almost three seasons. He was called at home Sunday by Vicky Whitecotton, league vice president, to substitute after the scheduled official failed to appear.

Ellson said the problems began when Foster and his wife started verbally abusing him from the stands in the fourth inning after he called an A’s player out at third base.

The umpire said Foster shouted that “he was going to break my other arm.”

Ellson stopped the game and asked the A’s manager to calm the father down, but half an inning later Foster grew irate again. Ellson finally told him to leave the bleachers or his son’s team would have to forfeit the game.

Foster then came onto the field and allegedly began to beat the Edison High School junior, who weighs 170 pounds.

“When he hit me the first time, he almost knocked me down,” Ellson said. “I fell into somebody.”

At that point, both managers and parents rushed onto the field to restrain Foster, Ellson said.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever been threatened or hit,” he added. “But I still like doing it (umpiring). It’s still fun.

“The players and some parents came over and apologized. They said the team was really embarrassed about it.”

Walker said cases of verbal abuse of umpires were fairly common in Huntington Beach.

“Some parents turn into maniacs at these Little League games,” he said. “Sometimes they throw things, but I’ve never seen a situation where someone attacked an umpire.

“On Father’s Day, imagine the humiliation, the embarrassment of having your father come down out of the stands and hit an umpire over what he thought was a bad call.”

Two weeks ago, the El Centro Little League in Imperial County canceled its season after an umpire was threatened by a fan with a knife at a game for 8-year-olds.

Upon hearing of the Huntington Beach incident, Bruce Weaver, president of the Seaview Senior League, permanently banned Foster from attending future league games, according to Whitecotton.

“I was appalled, to say the least,” she said. “To think that anything could get so out of hand. Thank goodness the other parents stopped it before it could get any worse.”