A few years ago, the Chicago Public Schools made 16” softball a varsity high school sport. What many might not know, however, is that softball was a Catholic high school sport in 1955, and Mike Coyne played it. In his senior year at St. Gregory’s, Mike was the captain of his 16” softball team. That …
“It was a great time for a great sport.” Before there were batting averages, homerun stats, on base percentages, and national championships, there were money games. Some were big and some were small. League play was only a game during the week with a factory or an office team because the top players wanted to …
Little did Ed Miller know when he started playing softball that he would be one of the players responsible for organizing one of 16″ softball’s greatest teams – the Bobcats. He played second base for the Rush Liquor in the Windy City League, with Weinberg Studebakers in the Northtown League and with the Jimmy Rose …
In 1947, as a junior player on a senior dominated basketball team, Jack Lyman helped Tilden win the Public League Christmas Tournament. By that time, Lyman already had a year of softball under his belt, having started his career with DeVries Lumber in 1946 after his junior year of high school. He played with DeVries …
Growing up on the Southside of Chicago, Victor Kostecki developed the skills that would ultimately lead to his playing 16″ softball during the Golden Years of softball with one of the premier teams in the game. He graduated from St. Rita High School in 1948 where he lettered in football. He played one year of …
Like many great players of his era, Eddie Koss had a traditional Chicago softball upbringing. He attended St. Ann Grade School and St. Ann High School. He played sports as a boy at Union League Boys Club, and honed his athletic skills by playing and defeating many top teams from other Boys Clubs in Chicago. …
A lifetime batting average of over 600, and his thousand plus homeruns place Edward Zaitz among the great softball hitters of all time. Zaitz began his softball career in 1947 at the age of fifteen, playing for the S&S Bobcats as well as with Swift and Company. In addition to having the ability to play …
One of the best shortstops of the era, Ted Tomczak played on a variety of top teams including the Dunne Cones, the 1025 Club, Bennetts, Tracys, Ted Reese and Jim Roses. In 1945, Ted, with the 1025 Club, won 81 games against only 8 losses. In addition to his prowess at shortstop, Tomczak’s 550 lifetime …
Henry “Hawk” Currie, as he is affectionately called by friend and foe, began his softball career in the early 1950s at Madden Park, one of the most talent laden parks of that time. He won his first softball medal when the Aces took third place in the Chicago Park District Junior tournament. In 1961 he …
Bobbie Blackstone is truly one of the great players of one of softballs great eras. A shortstop, he began his 30 year 16″ softball career in 1951 while still a student at Tilden High School. He joined a team that won the Sun Times Chicago City Softball Championship in the junior division. The team was …
