Glen Groebili

In his early twenties, Glen Groebili started the SundownersI a team named for the company Glenn worked for. They played two years (1963 64) in the Riis Park Industrial League. In 1965, they moved from the Industrial League to the Melrose Park Men’s League; they played there until 1973 and dominated the Monday and Wednesdays leagues.

He moved to Downers Grove and took the Sundowners to play in the Downers Grove Men’s League (1974-76). They finished in first place all three years.

Glenn moved to Green Bay, WI in 1977 and returned to Palatine, IL in 1981. In 1982 he was co-founder and president of the newly formed Northwest Men’s Catholic 16-inch League. The league began with six Catholic churches and grew to twelve. Glenn served as president, manager, and player from 1982 to 1992. His team (St Theresa) finished in first in most of the years and took the playoffs in most years. The league is still viable with ten teams. Additionally, he served as president of the Palatine Men’s Softball League from 1992 to 1996.

In 1999 he became president of the Chicago Geezer’s. The Chicago Geezer’s had teams in the fifty, fifty-five, sixty, and sixty-five age groups. These teams competed in Senior Men’s Tournaments from coast to coast and from Florida to Canada. They were committed to playing in ten to -twelve tournaments each year. They won the 60AA World Championship in 2000. Glenn was president, manager, and player until 2012.

He moved to Sun City Huntley in 2002 and began to play both 16-inch softball in Sun City and 12-inch for the Chicago Geezers. He became president of Sun City Softball Club in 2006 and served until 2008. He made numerous changes to conform to the Chicago style softball. He built a 10 x 16 storage facility and expanded the league from ten team to twelve teams and changed the morning pick up into a six-team league.

Glenn continued to play both 16-inch and 12-inch softball in Sun City and began serving a second term as president in 2013untill 2018. While president, Sun City added a 12-inch league and added a 16-inch double – loss elimination tournament at the end of the year. They currently have twenty-three sponsors, covering the twenty-three teams that play in Sun City. They also changed the method of recognizing the league champions from an awarding a team picture to awarding each player a team jersey. They also began a skills competition prior to the All-Star game. In 2017 they added an “Honor the Veterans” softball game. Fifty veterans that play softball in Sun City participated. Players received a hat and shirt for their branch of service. Each player was introduced. This event will now become an annual event.

In 2011, Glenn formed and managed 16-inch softball team for seventy-year-old players to compete in a six-county Senior Olympics, which is held In Elk Grove each year. Their team, the Sun City Clippers, has won the gold medal four out of six times.

Sun City Huntley now ranks with one of the best 16 – inch softball programs in the Chicagoland area. They currently have 240 players and twenty-three teams playing on one of the finest softball fields in the area. The players range in age from fifty-five to the eighties, proving that you are never too old to play softball. Fan support is amazing as the stands are filled for almost every game. It is Chicago 16- inch softball at its best.