After a record-breaking baseball career at Illinois State University and two professional seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Frank Mustari focused his talents on 16-inch softball when he joined his neighborhood friends on Custom Tape. His talents were quickly noticed and Ken Cooper added him to the Cooper’s Sporting Goods roster. With Frank at shortstop, Coopers would become one of the dominant teams of their era and Frank would become one of the most sought after shortstops of that era. During the late 1980s, Frank joined Bud North and helped them to three consecutive Forest Park No Glove championships. Bud North was loaded with future Hall of Fame members Ken Cooper, John O’Connor, Tom Czarnik, Ken Flaws, Buddy Dorskin, and Mark Frighetto. In 1991, with the help of Ken Cooper and Al McFarlane, Frank started Splinters Sports Club, arguably one of the best teams in 16-inch softball. As player/coach, Frank led the team on the field and from the bench. These efforts produced an ASA title in Arizona, the first such title by a North side team. From 1993 to 1995, Frank brought his talents to Rick Melman’s Lettuce. He helped Lettuce to a national title in the 1993 Nationals and Marshalltown, Iowa. During that tournament, he won the batting title, the home run title, and was named tournament MVP. After lettuce, he rejoined Splinters and led them to a national championship in 1997. He also helped the Rizza Rockers win a Forest Park title. To finish out his softball career, Frank joined Bob Rascia and the 45s, a team that dominated the softball scene and won numerous national titles. Frank was a member of teams that won eight Forest Park titles and six ASA National championships. Personally he was named to the First Team All Mt. Prospect League; he won one ASA Major Home Run titles and two ASA Major Batting titles; he was an ASA Second Team All-American and was selected eight times as an ASA First Team All- American. Frank would like to thank all of the great sponsors that he played for throughout his career, specifically Dick Cooper, Rich Melman, Lane Nieman, and the best sponsor he ever teamed with – Al Mc Farlane and Splinters Sports Club. He also had special thanks for his great teammates Rick Gancarz, Jeff Berger, Ken Flaws, Israel Sanchez, Tom Czarnik, Ken Cooper, John O’Connor, Angelo Alesia, and Jim Matlock. He offers special thanks to his brother Dan Mustari and his defensive partner and dear friend, Tony Prochenski. Most importantly, he would like to thanks his wife and number one fan, Karin, who cheered him on at every game he played. He thanks his sons, Justin, Jeff, and Matty, his parents, Art and Elaine Mustari, and his in-laws, Bob and Hedy Clausen. Unfortunately, Bob passed away, but he would be thrilled to see Frank inducted into the Hall of Fame.
