Jim Lang, Jr. played softball for twenty-one years, the majority of the time with the Whips. They played at Lou Boudreau Stadium in Harvey and at Kelly Park, Centennial Park (Blue Island), Bedford Park, and Komensky Park, to name just a few. Jim played right field and was an extra hitter. He had a career batting average over .550 and hit twenty-five homeruns and drove in five hundred runs. He batted leadoff or second on one of the most potent offensive teams ever. He had a great on-base percentage and was known as a clutch hitter. In the late ’70s, Chicago Softball Magazine voted him (and Jack Kelly) as two of the up-and-coming young players in the Chicago land area. Jim and the Whips won seven ASA National titles, five USSSSA titles, and five Forest Park “No Glove” championships. In 1983 he was voted MVP of the “No Glove Nationals” in Harvey. He also was selected seven times as an ASA Second Team All-American and won ASA First Team All-American honors once. Jim lives in Tinley Park, Illinois. He has a daughter, Jacqueline Winkiel.
