Flashback Royals: Tom Gamboa attacked


Kansas City was visiting the White Sox on September 19, 2003. The game was supposed to be a typical day at the ballpark. The game looked to be going smoothly as it should; however, a few fans must have not liked the way the game was going at the old Comiskey Park. 
Two men seemed to be targeting Royals first base coach Tom Gamboa. Gamboa was in total shock when he was attacked by a couple of shirtless fans. Gamboa responded shortly after the attack: "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 told reporters at the time. "It just happened so fast." Both men seemed to be proud of their "fame." Gamboa thought the men didn't get a hard enough punishment: "To me probation is nothing." According to William Ligue Jr's MySpace page he seemed to be proud of the attack on the coach: "ME AND DAD (censored word) UP THA COACH FA THA KANSAS CITY ROYALS." Charming. The attack on Gamboa didn't just impact the game that night, but it also left the coach with permanent hearing loss in his right ear. Whether Gamboa did something wrong or not on the field in the past, being attacked on the field isn't what either the Royals or the White Sox wanted to see happen. The attack on the coach was planned by Ligue Jr. Shortly before the attack, Ligue Jr. called his sister and told her to watch the field. Gamboa told reporters that the hit took him by surprise: "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 continued: "It just happened so fast.” Both the Royals and the White Sox came in Gamboa defense to break up the attack. Shortly after both teams came in to protect the first base coach, the Ligue men were arrested. Gamboa shortly after the attack would praise the Royals for stepping in at the right time: " 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. That could have been really tragic." After the fiasco at the ballpark, it seemed the Ligue men wouldn't show their faces in the public eye. Ligue Jr. troubles continued two years later. In April of 2004, Ligue Jr. was arrested and charged with breaking into a car and a brief car chase with law enforcement. According to Sportscasting, law enforcement found a folded up pocket knife on him. According to former White Sox outfielder Aaron Rowand, he saw the knife fall out of one of the attacker's pockets. Although Gamboa lost hearing in his right ear, it could have been much worse for Gamboa with one of the Ligues having a knife at their disposal. Kansas City parted ways with Gamboa after the 2003 season; but the attack didn't stop Gamboa from doing what he loved—coaching baseball in any capacity. After Gamboa’s time with Kansas City came to an end, he spent time with the Padres and Angels organizations. Gamboa would retire just a few years later after the horrific attack.




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