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Born in 1921, Santo “Sam” Bruno made his softball debut with the Mel-Oaks, a team from Melrose St. and Oakley Ave. On Sundays, the best players in the Bell School League would play marathon games for ten cents a man, with the bets doubling with each win. Some Sundays, Bruno and his teammates were joined […]

Growing up in the 18th and Halsted area of Chicago, Joe Brankis played at many of the top parks, and in many of the top tournaments. Those events would draw 500 fans for regular games and 700 fans for playoff or money games. In 1941, while playing with the Ruppert Knickerbockers, Brankis won the Windy

Born in 1917, Peter Bondi is one of the players who form the backbone and history of 16″ softball in the Pioneer Division. Bondi played with some of the top teams from the early 30s until his retirement in 1953. Along with his five brothers, Peter Bondi played with Nielson Steel, Lombardi Kids, and Mel

With an amazing lifetime record of 193 wins and 6 losses, Ladislaus “Bingy” Boblak forged a reputation as one of the top pitchers of his era while throwing against some of the finest teams in the Pioneer Era of 16″ softball. Pitching for J.J. Zientek Post, Boblak once defeated the legendary Brown Bombers by a

The standard of excellence, according to many baseball experts, is a player who has mastered the combined ability to hit, field and run the bases. They may have had John Backshis in mind when they created these standards. At 6′ 1″, 195 lbs. and a batting average of over 500, John Backshis was one of