As a player, Pat started playing 16-inch Softball at the young age of 16. He started playing with his older brother’s Buc’s and Right-On’s teams in Mt Greenwood Park, filling in for absent players. It didn’t take long for him to earn a regular spot and playing time. Soon, he was being recruited by other …
“Cav” began playing 16-inch softball in the mid 50’s when he was 7 years old in the alleys of Chicago at 71st & Racine. Like most kids, he progressed to playing on the street corners at 72nd & Ada using the 4 cornered manhole covers as bases. They played from early morning to late at …
Roy started his career at 16 years old with John Aggens Alsterda Construction team in Oak Lawn. They won the title in his 1st year as starting left fielder. In 1970-72, they played in Mt Greenwood with several Major teams and players in Metros every year. But 1974 was a breakout year. In the 4th …
Gildo “Gil” Coldebella started playing softball at Riis Park when he was a teenager. He played third base for the Lobos when they won the state title in 1955. He played with the Rogues at Clarendon and Kelly Parks and with the Big Banjo Bruins and the Lobos at Kosciusko Park. He primarily played third base …
Like many young people growing up in the inner city of Chicago, Dennis Colucci sought activities that were affordable and could be played in the streets and parks of Chicago. Sixteen-inch softball fit that requirement perfectly. He started playing organized softball in 1956 with the Jokers, a neighborhood team from Chicago Avenue. He became their …
Clyde Park District located in Cicero has been the site of softball league for decades. Starting in 1985 executive director Rusty Carlson took the league to the next level by attracting some of the best teams in the game until 1995 with his Super A league and tournaments for men and women. His hard work …
When it was completed in 1916, many considered north side Clarendon Park to be the largest and most practical bathing beaches in the country it lost this status in the 1930s when the Chicago Park District expanded Lincoln Park north to Foster Avenue, eliminating Clarendon’s lake frontage. While it was a great swimming beach and …
Percy V. Coleman began his softball career with the Flamingos in 1964 when he was twenty-three years old. His competitive spirit and love of softball and basketball drove him to play these sports at top levels. Percy turned this passion into a championship basketball career at Crane Junior College and Chicago State University where he …
THE BEGINNING My love for softball started in the early 70’s by going from park to ark with my dad to watch my brother Tom “Eggs” Czarnik play this great game of sixteen-inch softball. I remember my first time watching him play at Clarendon Park and was intrigued by the number of people surrounding the …
It was the fall of 1991. Another softball season had just come to an end. While most people were taking a few months to get reacquainted with family and settle back into a more “normal” life without softball, Tim Walker was restless. His Philly Bar and Grill team had just completed a disappointing finish to …
