From playing with Electrician’s Local 714 at Garfield Park at sixteen years of age to playing with Sam’s in the St. Charles League at the age of sixty, Jimmy Nallen has been a major factor on teams (Whips, Rogues, Bruins) that have amassed 117 championships, including world titles with the Sobies and Metro and Forest Park titles with Moose Camillo and Cherry Lounge. He was a member of the Cherry Lounge team in 1963 that defeated the all-star laden Bobcat team in a $20,000 money game — the largest amount ever wagered on a softball game. During his playing tenure, Jimmy Nallen won batting titles, was selected to numerous all-star teams, and was the leading hitter at age 60 in the St. Charles League. He even hit a game winning homerun in that league in his slippers because the unpires wouldn’t let him play in his metal cleats. Nallen was known as one of the top outfielders in the Chicago and the suburbs. He was a gap hitter who could spray balls to all fields while batting leadoff or second on most of his teams. Jimmy Nallen is a retired electrician (42 years) in Local 134. He and his wife, Charlotte, have two children — Jim and Laura and five grandchildren. He lives in Schaumburg, Illinois.
