Louis Watkins, the owner of Louis’s Lounge located on the southwest side, sponsored the Patio Players to play competitively in 1979. The guys were always at the Lounge in the back on the patio, hence the name (Patio Players). During the early years, they never had a particularly strong program. Then the team began a youth movement that had an immediate impact on the young team. The team began to recruit young men fresh out of the surrounding area high schools. The resolve turned the team around. The team began to compete with the best of the best. Patio Players joined the Washington Park Sunday Best League in 1982. By 1988 they won their first Championship in the Sunday Best League only to go back-to-back in 1990-91. The Patio Players are well known for their compelling defense during the successful years. They played at the A and Major National levels with the ASA and USSSA Associations. While traveling to Cedar Rapid, Iowa and to the Black American World Tournament in St. Louis Missouri in 2000 winning that Championship.
