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 to an overall record of 638-410. They
won 25 league and tournament championships. The early years
saw a lot of success in all the northwest side top leagues, including
Riis Park, Oriole Park and Indian Road. In 1989 the team went
67-17 and won four league championships. That season they
also started competing in USSSA “A” tournaments and found out
they could compete at that level. In 1992, the Traffic team won
the 150 team Grant Park tournament. From this point forward,
until Dean retired in 2003, Traffic was a consistent top 15 team
They played in every top league and tournament, including 4
USSSA “A”, 1 USSSA Major, 8 ASA Ma-jors, 3 ASA “A” and
11 Forest Park Invitationals. Their accomplish-ments included 2
ASA Metro Championships and a 2nd Place finish at the 1999
ASA “A” Nationals.
Dean took great pride in being able to compete against all
the top teams with his strong nucleus of players who never lost
their identity as a neighborhood team. Though he was never a
top player himself, Dean held his own on the mound and as a
catcher against all of the top teams. He also takes great pride in
all of the championships and great times he was a part of with
neighborhood teams – Green Onions and Edge. Dean currently
lives in Elmwood Park with his wife Tracy and has two children,
Sarah and Matthew. He enjoys coaching both chil-dren in all
sports.