Ed was born in 1942 to Jim and Louise Walz on the Southside of Chicago in Bridgeport. He started his softball career at seven years old. He first played with the older boys in the neighborhood at Healy schoolyard across the street from his house. He would continue to play softball with a few of those childhood friends for the next 30 years. In 1960, he graduated from Tilden Tech High School. He worked for the American Can Company, the Federal Reserve Bank and Western Electric. In 1964, he began his career with the Chicago Police Department. During this time, he played softball with his own teams and on the teams for each of his employers. He played left field from 1961 to 1972, and third base until 1986. He was a power hitter with incredible speed earned him the nickname of “Fast Eddie” making him an asset to any team, especially on defense. In 1964, his team played in the Tournament of Champions (Dundee, Illinois) composed of 32 championship teams from Illinois, they finished in second place, losing by one run. From 1960 to 1986, he would play in over 30 championship games, earning 21 first place titles. He played at Armour, Boyce, Cornell, Donovan, Foster, Grant, Hawthorne, Kelly, Pasteur, Proesel, and West Lawn Parks. His .636 batting average earned him the “Rookie of the Year: award in 1985 at Proesel Park. He played softball when team names were simply the name of their sponsors. He was honored to play for : The Black Orchid Lounge, Peg & Tiny’s Tap, Diamonds, Kairis Corner, Babe’s Liquors, Uncle Bob’s Lounge, Club Roma, Club Zacicza, and Smitty’s Tavern. He played when it was not uncommon to play on multiple teams and in multiple leagues; double headers were commonplace and playing five nights a week was not out of the ordinary. He also played by requestin tournaments for The Marauders, coached by Eddie “Beans” Laurence. He could have played with anyone, but he most enjoyed playing with his friends and younger brother John (aka Dunior) Walz when they were members of The Little Dagos and The Stickmen. Unfortunately, his last softball game was in Grant Park on July 3, 1986 when he broke his ankle crossing home plate. A plate and six screws forced him into early retirement. After 40 years of service, he retired from the Chicago Police Department in 2004. He is married to his high school sweetheart Lucille. They have three children: Eddie, Lisa and Michael, and five grandchildren: Lauren, Vyto, Dominic, Daiva, and great granddaughter, Brooke.
