1964-1979 Era

Joe Jaffe

Little did Joe know as a young kid growing up in the cradle of softball – Forest Park – that he would grow up to be the youngest member of some of the fabled top powerhouse teams of the late 60s and 70s. A fleet-footed player that used his athletic talent to get on base

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Timothy Hauser

Like many other great players, Tim’s career started with playing ball in his Northwest side neighborhood with the Owls. During his 12 years in the majors, “House” played on some of the best teams in the 70s, contributing to numerous titles. Tim worked hard to be a team player on teams he represented, including the

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Jim Martin

Jim Martin grew up on the North side of Chicago in the Hamlin Park neighborhood where he was introduced into the realm of sports by Chicago Park District icons Harold Joe Gaffney, aka “The Count,” DePaul University’s only All-American football player, and Carl Newey.  Jim attended Carl Schurz High School where he played basketball and

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Buddy Haines

Buddy started playing 16” softball in 1966 with Jeno’s Lounge before moving to Andy Ortolano’s Super Stars and then to the Dwarfs. He played second and third base with the Dwarfs and helped them win numerous tournament and league titles, helping them to a second place finish in the ASA Nationals and twice received ASA

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Ray Johnson

  Raymond Johnson began his softball career with the Flamingoes in 1961 when he was fifteen. He played third base with them in the Daddy- O-Daylie League at Meyerling Park, under the tutelage of John Wolf-Wilson. Besides finding great success in this league, the Flamingoes also finished in the top three in the Sixteen-inch World

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Ken Izral

  After graduating from St. Ignatius High School in 1964, Ken Izral began playing sixteen-inch softball with the Impalas at Sherman Park. The team was an average team, but it launched Ken into a stellar softball career. The next year he was recruited by Cordsman Inn, the top team in that league. Besides Sherman Park,

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