Most of us can point to one or two people in our lives who helped shaped the direction we were taking. For many ball players on the Southside, including Hall of Fame members Bobbie Blackstone, Henry Curie and Dan Dumas, that person was Sally Gregory. Her family came to Chicago in the early 1900s. She demonstrated an interest and talent for sports early in life, playing both softball and basketball in college. Unfortunately, while attending Alabama State College, she sustained a serious knee injury that hampered her ability to run, but that didn’t end her desire to remain active in sports. “Miss Sally”, as everyone affectionately called her, returned to the Southside of Chicago to coach young boys and girls on the play lots and schoolyards of the city. She found sponsors for her teams and drove her teams to and from games in her 1941 Ford pickup truck. She also took teams to watch games in the Windy City softball league. As a member of St Marks Methodist Church, she developed and coached basketball and softball teams. In 1949 the St Marks softball team became community champions of the Southside. In 1951 the St Marks Apaches won the Chicago Herald American junior softball championship. In 1952 and 1953 the St Marks basketball team won the church league championship. Miss Sally also coached a young ladies baseball team that gave the legendary Bloomer Girls and Music Maids some competitive games. Unfortunately, Miss Sally Gregory became ill and died in 1972. Shortly after her death, St Marks created the Sally Gregory Memorial Fund to honor her twenty-five years of unselfish dedication towards the betterment of the young men and women of St. Marks Methodist Church. She will always be remembered for the positive impact she had on the lives of many young people from Chicago’s Southside.
