WALKING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THEIR ANCESTORS; BALL PLAYERS RELIVE BARNSTORMING DAYS.

Byline: Frank Fitzpatrick Philadelphia Inquirer 

Some of the Anderson Monarchs had never seen a beach, or a city other than Philadelphia. Some of the 10- and 11-year-old boys, all but one of them African-American, had never played baseball or been to a game until just a few years ago. None of them knew that in the 1930s the Negro National League's Philadelphia Stars often played on the same field they now use at 18th and Fitzwater Streets.

``I think that was before we were born,'' said Bilal Rogers, 10.

Now these same youngsters collect baseball cards with a passion. They have played on major-league fields. When asked their favorite players, they quickly shout out, ``Barry Bonds,'' ``Jeff Bagwell,'' ``Ken Griffey Jr.'' They can tell you about Buck O'Neil and Jackie Robinson. And, they all say, pointing to the crowded basketball courts at the Marian Anderson Recreation Center, they like baseball much better than the neighborhood's preferred sport.

``You can slide,'' said 10-year-old David Pough, ``and get dirty.''

On Saturday morning, the 14 Monarchs and their coaches left on a 13-day bus journey aimed at re-creating for them the experience of African-American barnstorming teams in the first half of this century.

They played on Saturday in Brooklyn, N.Y., and are competing against teams from there to St. Louis before returning on July 17. Steve Carlton got them tickets to the All-Star Game workout and Fanfest in Cleveland. They will visit the Negro League Museum in Kansas City, Mo., and play on the ``Field of Dreams'' in Dyersville, Iowa.

``The only hard part,'' said Bilal Rogers, sounding like a major-leaguer already, ``will be giving interviews.''

The Monarchs will travel in a refurbished 50-year-old bus - without air-conditioning, TVs or a restroom. They will use wooden bats, wear re-creations of Negro League uniforms, and, like the African-American teams they have been studying for months, sleep and eat on the road.

``But it will be easier for us,'' said Bilal, a diminutive center fielder. ``We can stay in hotels. And we can go wherever we want.''

Steve Bandura, a 36-year-old Philadelphia Recreation Department employee who gave up a career in marketing to do what he loves, devised this sentimental journey as an effort to again make baseball a sporting option for inner-city youngsters, and to teach them about a significant chapter in sports history.

``Some of the old Negro League players they will be meeting on this tour are in their late 70s and 80s,'' said Bandura, who is white and coaches the team along with four neighborhood men. ``This is probably our last chance to get a history lesson in person from them and not out of some book.''

These youngsters, though, already have experienced some of that history for themselves.

Last fall, the Monarchs played soccer, winning a city championship. In both sports, they are members of leagues that are predominantly white and predominantly based in Northeast Philadelphia. Most of the time, there are no problems, but occasionally there are ugly incidents, Bandura said.

``Sometimes when we're shaking hands, they (slide their hands up their sleeves),'' he said. ``Sometimes they'll shake my hand, but they won't shake the players' hands.''

Asked how such things affected him, Bilal Rogers said: ``Well, it's easy for us to play there, but we don't always play our best. Our minds aren't in the game. They're somewhere else.''

For the most part, though, opponents walk away respecting the Monarchs for their ability and demeanor. Bandura knows people are watching his players closely, waiting for them to misbehave, to confirm the stereotypes they have about inner-city children. So he is on them constantly. ``Jamaal, where's your hat? Go get it.'' ``Billy, put your cleats on.''

Leo Magazzu, director of the Northeast-based Devlin League, which is the most competitive youth baseball league in the city, called the Monarchs its ``most disciplined and well-behaved team.''

That's the real mission of the baseball leagues Bandura has helped establish at the South Philadelphia recreation center - to give these youngsters an alternative to the drugs and violence that beset their neighborhood.

``You can take one of my kids and put him in a crowd of neighborhood kids and you'll be able to pick him out every time,'' said Bandura, who has been working at Anderson for eight years, six of them as a volunteer. ``I like proving people wrong, shattering stereotypes. I grew up in the Northeast, and all the things I heard, I never really believed them.

``These are nice, decent kids, and I can't imagine anything I'd rather be doing than working with them. It changed my whole life. I used to be in marketing. I was making $45,000 and had a company car, but I've never been happier than now. A lot of them don't have father figures in their lives, and I guess I help meet that need. On weekends, you should see my house. It's usually crowded with these guys.''

Bandura said the trip idea wasn't an attempt to jump on the Jackie Robinson bandwagon on the 50th anniversary of the ballplayer's entry into the big leagues. After all, the teams in the baseball league at the Marian Anderson Recreation Center have been named after teams from the Negro Leagues since 1992.

``I just woke up one morning four months ago with the idea for this tour,'' he said. ``I want them to get a sense of the history. That's why the bus is so important. I want them to know that barnstorming isn't all video screens and air-conditioning and bathrooms.''

Since then, the boys have been learning about Robinson, the Negro Leagues, and the barnstorming teams that preceded them.

``He gave black baseball players like us a chance,'' said Duane Wyse, 11.

They also were counting the days until their trip, the first time away from home for some.

``I'm going to see the All-Star Game workout and the Negro League Museum, and on the bus I'm going to read ``Goosebumps'' and ``99-1/2 Hilarious Jokes'' and write in my scrapbook,'' Bilal Rogers said. ``And we get to eat in restaurants all the time.''

Will it all be fun, they were asked, or work?

``It's like half-important and half-fun,'' Duane Wyse said. ``We'll be learning and experiencing stuff about history. It will be a one-hand experience. Not a secondhand experience.''

On the field, the Monarchs likely will hold their own. In their first season, 1995, they went 2-14 in the Devlin League. The next year, they were 8-8. This season, they finished 10-6 and qualified for the playoffs.

``But we couldn't go for the championship because we were going on this trip,'' Bilal Rogers said.

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PHOTO The Anderson Monarchs embark on a 13-day tour reminiscent of the Negro Leagues barnstorming days.

Associated Press