Dean Pritt began his softball career at the age of 18 when he and sev-en of his friends started playing on a team run by neighborhood legend Joe D’Argenio. After several successful seasons at Blackhawk Park, the younger players started their own team and kept the Traffic name. From 1986-2003, Dean managed the Traffic team …
The Frank C. Holan Award honors those who show passion for the game on and off the field. Passionate about the game of softball, or all other sports for that matter, is an understatement for Joe Mercadante. He grew up playing football, basketball, and baseball in Chicago; and his love for sports stayed with him …
Since 1992, Milan Stevanovich, better known as “Mr. Stats,” has been keeping stats for the Forest Park No-Glove Nationals 16-inch Softball Tournament . He is in charge of compiling and recording player and team stats for each game during the five – day event. Soon after each game, Mr. Stats posts the results of each …
Grace Kenney has been playing sixteen-inch softball in women’s leagues around Chicago for most of her adult life. She played for the team Beer Nuts for over thirty years in leagues at Monroe and Kennedy Park. They won the championship in both leagues. Grace started at the Park District of Forest Park as a …
Rich Catizone started playing softball when he was fourteen. He played on local teams with his friends on the playgrounds in Chicago. He was young and inexperienced and his teams lost most of their games, but he loved the game from the beginning. A few years later, Rich met Hall of Fame manager Nick …
There aren’t many sixteen-inch softball people who use the word passion to describe all aspects of the game, but John Reglein is one of those. John embodies the role of team sponsor, manager, player, friend, and successful business owner. His softball successes have come mainly from Iowa, but his business, The Graphic Edge is …
In August of 1970, Jack Olson started the Scrappers. They played their first game in the Ed Kelly Fall Classic Tournament held at Clarendon Park. They beat three “A” teams from Clarendon’s League and then lost 9-7 to the Dwarfs of Clarendon’s “A” League. Because of their success, they were asked to play in …
Rick Pyle first became involved in softball during 1964 by organizing and playing on an intramural team at Glenbrook High School in Northbrook and continuing that summer in the Park District Teen League. He continued playing on and managing various teams into the early 1980s, but his real love for the game was in …
Jim McCabe played softball in Glenview during high school from 1973 – 1974. He was with Phoenix from 1978 – 1982 as manager. His team won the league in 1978 and 1979 against such teams as the Railbirds, the Rat – Pack, and Jack Daniels. Phoenix became the Scorpions and competed in the Classic League …
Rich Wagner played 16-inch softball with Sim’s Bowl during the 1970s. Unfortunately, he suffered a serious knee injury while playing that forced him to switch to managing softball instead of playing it. He managed the Turtles from 1982 to 1990 before rejoining them for the ’92 through the ’95 seasons. During his time with the …
