Lowell Junior played softball for sixty-one years. He grew up in the Altgeld Gardens and is one of the greatest baseball players to emerge from there. He began playing softball at Carver Park. His friend Maurice gave him the nickname “Yogi” because he said he reminded him of Yogi Berra of the Yankees. He played in the Tavern Leagues with sponsors like Louise’s Lounge on 37th and Wentworth, Tiger Lounge, located east on 79th Street, and the Apartment Lounge. He played in the legendary Daddy O’Daylie Leagues on Chicago’s South side. He played for the Chicagoans at Carver Park, the Flamingoes at Fuller Park, and the Iron Men at 37th and King Drive. He also played at Washington, Princeton, Tuley, Douglas, Cole, and Grant Parks. He was a Nat King Cole All-Star. The team was a compilation of such top Chicago softball players as Sweetwater Clifton (HOF), Dan Dumas (HOF), Bobby Blackstone (HOF), Charles Bell, Bill Reid, and Loyal Bratton. They played mostly night games at 72st and King Drive. Lowell played all positions and retired with a batting average over .400. He hit fifty homeruns and drove in 420 runs. He retired from the Chicago Housing Authority in 1992. Yogi and his wife, Semarian, have four children: Derrick, Keith, Steven, and Diane
