Police Athletic League of Delaware Inc-Pal

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PAL of Delaware was founded by three New Castle County Police Officers in 1984. Thomas Gordon, John Cunningham, and Scott Phillips recognized the need in Delaware for a PAL chapter. the support of the community, they were able to start the first PAL in Delaware. "Far too many youngsters make their first contact with a policeman in unsavory circumstances. The P.A.L. philosophy is to remedy that situation by ensuring that the first encounter of youth and the policeman is in a positive environment on the friendly field of sports competition." It started when a gang of New York toughs, harassing storekeepers and generally making life miserable in their neighborhood, threw a rock through a storekeeper's window. Lt. Ed W. Flynn, New York Police Department Crime Prevention Bureau, took on the case and tracked down the ringleader in hopes of finding out just exactly what was responsible for the kids' anti-social behavior. The kids complained: "We ain't got no place to play-nothing to do. The cops are always hasslin' us. We can't even play baseball." That was all it took for Lt. Flynn, a staunch baseball fan himself, to get things rolling. "Why, " he reasoned, "should the police chase kids from doing what was normal? Why not help those kids form a team? Give them a place to play under police supervision. Be a friend instead of an enemy."