Willie Abbatacola grew up on the West side of Chicago. He attended St. Mel High School where he played basketball and was the quarterback of the football team. Willie and Hall of Fame manager Moose Camillo knew each other from Spencer Elementary School so Willie began his forty-four year playing career when he signed up […]
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From playing with Electrician’s Local 714 at Garfield Park at sixteen years of age to playing with Sam’s in the St. Charles League at the age of sixty, Jimmy Nallen has been a major factor on teams (Whips, Rogues, Bruins) that have amassed 117 championships, including world titles with the Sobies and Metro and Forest
During his fifty-year softball career, Dick Lubera wore a lot of hats: he was great player, a great manager, and a great organizer. He played and managed his teams to 590 wins and 100 losses. With a pitching record of 400 wins against only 89 losses, many softball experts of his time called him the
Chris Rocco grew up in Chicago, on “The Island”(Austin Boulevard and Roosevelt Road), and was an active player during the Golden Age of Chicago Softball, having begun playing as a youngster in the West side Key Clark school yard with neighborhood boys and his younger brother, Peter Rocco, Jr. (HOF). Chris’s career began in the
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Sal Novello began his softball career as a teenager on the Northwest side of Chicago at Athletic Field Park located at Addison and Drake. He formed the Addison Bears, a neighborhood team that featured the likes of John Hechinger (HOF) and Don Campbell, a power hitting infielder who later led Clarendon Park in homeruns
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Louis attended Crane Technical High School. He played organized softball from 1950 to 1958 at Garfield Park. He also played industrial softball for Dole Valve where he was an employee. He played with the Golden Keys at Kels Park at Chicago and Kedzie from 1958 to 1959. He then joined the Beetle Bombers with Ron
Jack Marcoline began his softball career inthe sandlots and playgrounds around Midway Airport when he was twelve. His father, Joe, would often ask him to fill-in for the Chicago Fire Department team. When his family moved back to the West side, he continued playing in the fields at Clark and Moore. In 1954, Bob Snell
Born in 1937, Raymond Ray grew up on the South side of Chicago at 41st and Dearborn. He was blessed to have a two-parent household with three brothers and three sisters. The neighborhood boys always had a sports hero to look up to and because Raymond was a baseball fanatic, he chose Jackie Robinson. He
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Ray Blumenthal graduated from De Paul Academy in 1948. While at De Paul, he was a four-year varisty basketball player, winning the North Section championship in 1948. As a teenager, Ray played with the Alderman Hoellen / Freeman teams. The Korean War called him away from softball but he kept his skills sharp by playing
