Located on Chicago’s South Side, Washington Park was named for President George Washington and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Du Sable Museum of African-American History, the Lorado Taft Sculpture, the Fountain of Time, and The architecturally significant Richard L. Jones National Guard armory are all located inside the park’s boundaries. …
When it was completed in 1916, many considered north side Clarendon Park to be the largest and most practical bathing beaches in the country it lost this status in the 1930s when the Chicago Park District expanded Lincoln Park north to Foster Avenue, eliminating Clarendon’s lake frontage. While it was a great swimming beach and …
Mt. Prospect Park District’s first involvement with major 16-inch softball came in the late 1970s when the district’s Meadows softball fields hosted a Winston Cup tourney. In 1982 they expanded its summer softball leagues from four to fifteen, then Rick Pyle and Bob Ancona started a softball league that attracted most of the major Chicago …
Ray Linz Sr., owner of Ray’s Tavern in Calumet City, IL was the proud sponsor of RAY’S Women’s 16″ Softball Team from 1972-1980. The team was formed in 1972 from a recreational group of women’s power volleyball players. Although the members came from various teams, they shared a common bond — a competitive nature. Of …
Vada Primous grew up on the South Side of Chicago at 59th and Prairie and 73rd and South Shore. He attended Senn High School on the North Side of Chicago where he played football and baseball. He was named Most Athletic his senior year. After high school, he attended Triton Junior College, leaving after one …
Before moving behind the plate to call balls and strikes, Tom McClelland played with some of the top teams of sixteen-inch softball. He grew up in the Norwood Park neighborhood on Chicago’s Northwest Side. He started playing sixteen-inch softball in seventh grade at Immaculate Conception Elementary School. He played outfield and pitched for the Bobcats …
Sylvester McKinnon played with the Ironmen for 1961 to 1971. In 1961, they took second place in the Grant Park Major Tournament. From 1972 to 1979, he played with the Flamingos. In 1974, they took third place at the nationals held in Dalton, Georgia. In 1976, they played in the nationals in Sioux Falls, South …
Stan Patek started managing sixteen-inch softball at the Major level in 1996 when he started as assistant manager with Sportschannel. He managed the Gamblers in 1997 and then moved to Puglise from 1998 to 2002. He then managed Bucks (2002), Bucketheads (2003 and 2004), Impact (2005 through 2007 and 2010 to 2014). He was assistant …
During the late ‘60s and ‘70s, the Shooters were considered to be one of the five best teams in Chicago. The North Side had the Shooters, the Dwarfs, and the 45s and the South Side had the Bobcats, the Rogues, and the Sobies. The team members came from Senn, Sullivan, Mather, Roosevelt, Von Steuben, and …
Roger Babilla has been involved in sixteen-inch softball for thirty-six years as a player, coach, and sponsor. He grew up in the Old Town neighborhood of Chicago. Like many Chicagoans before him, he played softball first in the street and then moved to a more organized level at many parks, including Lincoln, Hamlin, Horner, River, …
