Tom O’Malley is one of those rare players whose talent and longevity helped him reap the rewards of fifty-five years of playing softball. Perhaps his greatest achievement was winning the Kennedy Park championship at 59 in 2000 (his last year of playing) with his two sons, Mike and Tom. Tom grew up playing softball with …
Growing up in Canaryville, Jim McCardle started out playing softball the way generations of kids in Chicago did – on the street corner using the sewers as bases and dodging cars while chasing a fly ball. When he and his friends got too big for the street corner (and started threatening the windows of their …
Born in 1933, Tony Struppa played softball for fifteen years and later organized one of the best 16″ leagues in Chicago. Tony earned All-City honors for baseball and football while playing at Gage Park High School. He played first base for the city team in the Herald- American Prep All – Star Classic in Comiskey …
Like many Hall of Fame players who came before him, Gino Petramale started his softball career playing in the schoolyards and streets of Chicago. For Gino, these streets were Taylor and Roosevelt on Chicago’s West Side when he was in his early teens, but unlike many players, Gino also played a game that was foreign …
Jim Fuller started a 43 year softball career in 1959 that would bring him successes that few players ever dream of: he would play with some of the most notable teams of his era, including the Dwarfs, Lyons 45s, and American Rivet, he would be a part of teams that would win numerous league championships, …
Frank Szczech, one of the top leadoff players of his era, could do what all great hitters could do – he got on base. He was capable of driving the ball through the holes in the infield or over the heads of the infielders into the outfield gaps. His hitting and excellent speed made him a …
Wearing his trademark engineer’s cap as he chugged around the bases, Hank Magiera emerged as one of the most colorful players during his softball playing days. Hank Magiera demonstrated his athleticism when he lettered in four sports (baseball, football, track, and wrestling) at Schurz High School. He was selected as an All – State baseball …
At sixteen years of age, Robert “Butch” Gordon started his softball career at Sherman Park in an unusual way: he presented a phony birth certificate so he could play with the Calumet Council of the Knights of Columbus. He was later recruited by the Crusaders and played with them from 1958 to 1960. In 1961 …
“It is an honor to be selected to the Hall of Fame with all the other great players.” After playing with the Cadets for five years, Louis Zielinski and the Cadets learned a hard truth about 16”softball . George Morse at Clarendon would not let them play in the Majors (A League) until they won …
Playing his peak years of softball from 1961 to 1987, Jim Moore ranks as one of the top players to emerge on some of the top teams of that era. He began his career in 1964 playing with the Knight Of Columbus and other local Southside teams. He made his jump to big time softball …
