Legion Had Right Man in Swerdling

In 1972 Mel Swerdling was coaching a Big League team in the San Fernando Valley using most of the players from North Hollywood High. In 1973 he was asked to join the Legion so they could play in the 20th District Legion Baseball program. In 1974 he was told by 20th District Legion officials that if he wanted to have a team in the program he would have to serve as 20th District Chairman. There were no volunteers. This is how he became District Chairman and continued his coaching at the same time. Nobody in the Legion back then considered it a conflict in interest. There were five teams in the program at the time. If he had not done this there would not have been an American Legion Baseball program in the 20th District during that time.

In Tris Wykes’ Wednesday commentary about Legion, the part “finding administrators who can clearly interpret the rules and enforce them” rings false. The program had such a man--Mel Swerdling, who was forced out of office, oddly enough, because he interpreted the rules and enforced them. Mel was officially notified that he had been relieved of his duties--after 24 years as a community volunteer--two days after The Times carried a story about his dismissal. Nice to read it in the paper first!

INGE SWERDLING

North Hills