Quake Kids Helped Northridge Forget

They became a most pleasant and unlikely diversion.

A plucky team of precocious 12-year-old boys helped Northridge forget about a devastating earthquake and the Major Leagues baseball strike by winning the national championship at the 1994 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

Although many of their families were still displaced from their homes by the Jan. 17 temblor, the Northridge team, dubbed the “Earthquake Kids,” navigated through four tournaments to qualify for the World Series, gaining admirers as easily as they collected victories.

Northridge defeated Springfield, Va., 3-0 to win the national championship before losing to Maracaibo, Venezuela, 4-3 before 35,000 in the World Series final.

Mother Nature finally prevailed: The game was scoreless in the second inning when thunder, lightning and heavy rain caused a three-hour delay from which Northridge never seemed to recover.

Despite losing, the players were undaunted.

“We’re USA champions. We went as far as we wanted to go,” catcher Matt Cunningham said. “[Venezuela] is a great team.”

Limousines, parades and comedian Jay Leno greeted them upon their return to Northridge. But the celebrity soon wore off and the Earthquake Kids got down to the business of junior high school.

Three years later, most of them are playing on high school teams. Nathaniel Dunlap, who pitched a one-hitter against Springfield, and Spencer Gordon, who provided the Northridge offense in that game with a three-run home run, attend Chaminade College Preparatory in West Hills. Cunningham is the catcher at Notre Dame High in Sherman Oaks.

Manager Larry Baca and Coach George Saul continue to coach Little League and high school teams.