Tom Czarnik began his major softball career in 1976 playing second base and pitching with Murderers Row in the Clarendon and Kelly Park leagues and with the Nocturnes at Kelly Park. Except for a brief stint with Mike McGovern’s Amalamonsters, the early 1980’s found Tom Czarnik joining some high school friends to play with the …
Paul Brezinski began his softball career in 1976 with the Freeloaders, a young team playing out of Bensenville. This squad was unique because it featured seven left-handed hitter (including Brezinski). They weren’t a long ball hitting team but a team that could hit singles and doubles consistently, often stretching for the extra base with their …
A 1969 graduate of Shurz High School and DPaul University, Steve Postran began his thirteen year softball career with the Road Runners in 1973. The following two seasons he played with Al Maag’s Baggers, then the Bakers and the Associates in 1976 before hitting it big with the Bobcats, Amalgamonsters, Runts and Stompers. The …
In 1970 Patrick Moran Sr. graduated from Roosevelt High School on the northwest side, where he had been an all-area basketball player and an all-city baseball player. He started his softball career with the Wolves, a team sponsored by a local tavern and managed by Jim Schmidt. Dwarfs Hall of Fame manager Mike McGovern quickly …
After graduating from Rolling Meadows High School in 1976, pitcher Terry Moran embarked on a softball career that was to include key roles on teams that won numerous local, state and national titles. Along the way, he was named to several All American teams, and won batting titles in several different leagues. After starting …
Tom Jurevis grew up near the southwest side of Chicago in Stickney. He won his first league championship at age 16, and by age 25, he had played for such top teams as the Shooting Stars, Magnum, Crush, the Outsiders and Touch. In 1983 he played on eight league champions, including the Kelly “A” and …
A graduate of Oak Lawn High School who played softball and baseball, Bill Dvorak was one of the top players of the “80’s. During his 21 years playing 16” softball, Bill reached milestones most players only dream of. His softball career began when he formed a church team in 1970. He then started Coolers in …
Little did Matt Biondic know in 1981 when he started playing 16″ softball with the Jays that he would one day become a key member of Lettuce, a team that dominated major 16″ competition during much of the 90’s. Biondic graduated from Brother Rice High School in 1979, where he was a wrestler for for …
When he began his softball career in the Grant Park Industrial League, a young Ray Topps experienced a moment few players ever got the change to experience; he played on the same field with his father, Ray Topolski, a fellow Hall of Famer, who retired from softball in 1970. Ray went on to play with …
While attending St. Rita High School, southsider Brian Panick and some of his buddies joined the Aces, a neighborhood softball team. The Aces went on to become a southside powerhouse during the late 70’s and early 80’s, winning many Chicago Park District league titles. Panick moved on to play for a short time with the …
