Grace Kenney has been playing sixteen-inch softball in women’s leagues around Chicago for most of her adult life. She played for the team Beer Nuts for over thirty years in leagues at Monroe and Kennedy Park. They won the championship in both leagues.
Grace started at the Park District of Forest Park as a scorekeeper for the sixteen-inch league. When the position of league director opened up, there was no one else thought of to fill the position, so she was hired. When she first took the position, the league had started to falter, but her efforts reestablished the Forest Park league as one of the top leagues in the Chicago area.
Grace has worked for the Forest Park District as league director for sixteen years. She has been instrumental in running the prestigious No-Glove Sixteen-inch Tournament. She was the co-director for many years but was named tournament director in 2015. During time leading up to the No-Gloves Tournament, Grace regularly scouts teams playing in other leagues and tournaments to see if they will be a good fit for the tournament.