Bill Bransfield started playing sixteen-inch softball in 1970 with the Corner, a neighborhood team. They won the league at Pottawatomie Park for two years before Bill moved on to the Vikings in 1972. They won both the Clarendon B-League and the league at Mather Park. In 1973 he played with the Dwarfs at James Park in Evanston. Although they didn’t win that league, he claims that short-lived league was one of the best because just about every game wasn’t decided until the last inning. They did, however, win the championship at Clarendon that year. In 1976 he started a two-year stint with theAmalgamonsters in the newly formed Windy City Classic League. They won that league its inaugural year. Bill retired from playing major softball in 1979 for business reasons, although he did continue to play with some local teams. Defensively, he played left and center fields and third and first base. Offensively, he was one of the great hitters of his era and his numbers prove it. He drove in 710 runs, hit 224 homeruns, and carried a lifetime batting average of .586. In 1975 he was selected MVP of the North Shore Tournament. Bill works for Chicago’s Streets and Sanitation Department. He and his wife, Patty, live on Chicago’s Northside.
