Bachelor party turns into deadly brawl

DAVID SALE JR. was a passionate sports enthusiast and was the proud owner of "a box truck" full of baseball cards and Pittsburgh Steelers memorabilia.

"Why don't you sell this stuff and buy a home?" Grant Lindaberry, Sale's former Lansdale neighbor, recalled asking the young man.

Sale, 22, never had a chance to heed Lindaberry's advice before his life was cut short Saturday night in a parking lot outside McFadden's restaurant at Citizens Bank Park.

Sale, who was enjoying a bachelor party at the Phillies' ballpark and then inside the eatery, was pummeled to death during a brawl with a group of men who'd chartered a bus from a Fishtown bar for the game.

He was beaten by "hands and feet," at about 7 p.m., said police spokeswoman Jill Russell. By 8:10 p.m., Sale succumbed to head injuries at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Homicide detectives said late last night that they expected to charge three people - two already in custody, and a third individual who they had not yet apprehended.

Police said that one of the suspects is a Fishtown man who is believed to have been a part of the busload that went to South Philly. Charges against him are pending. No other details were immediately available. The District Attorney's Office is reviewing the case.

The late-afternoon game between the Phils and the St. Louis Cardinals probably started out as fun for the respective groups.

But at some point, the two factions exchanged words inside Citizens Bank Park, , Homicide Sgt. Bob Wilkins said. It is unclear what began the tensions, but stadium security was having none of it. They kicked both groups out of the ballpark, he said.

The bachelor party and the Fishtown fans made their way to McFadden's, which is on Citizens Bank Park property but has a separate entrance, Wilkins said. The hostility escalated inside the establishment to the point that McFadden's management, like stadium security, also booted the two clashing groups.

The Phillies fans spilled out into the parking lot where several fights ensued, Wilkins said. Sale was kicked and punched until police arrived and took him to the hospital, where he died.

Sale's parents, David Sale Sr. and Laverne Sale, could not be reached for comment.

Phillies spokeswoman Bonnie Clark said yesterday that the team will refrain from comment until charges are filed in the case.

Former neighbors were shocked by the news.

"I was thinking, 'God that's terrible,' not thinking it could be your neighbor," Lindaberry, 46, said.

Sale Jr., his father and his father's girlfriend lived inside a second-floor two-bedroom apartment on Green Street, in Lansdale.

Sale Jr. moved out two months ago to Warminster, according to public records. Sale Sr. and his girlfriend left a month ago, Lindaberry said.

Police said that David Sale Jr. moved back to Lansdale before his death. *