Shirley never played in high school, as Cooley Vocational HS did not have it for girls; her skill was just natural. Her story began at the age of 10 on a Sunday, on the way home from church. Shirley was walking across a park district field house and noticed men playing. She asked if she could play, and they all laughed except one, Ernest Howell. He asked her what position she wanted to play, and she said anywhere. Still, she had on her Sunday clothes, but that didn’t matter. Needless to say, she impressed not only Ernest but all the men on the field, and from that moment on, her name was spread throughout the community, and everyone wanted to see Lil Shirley play or wanted her on their team. She started playing with the park district and what was called the Complex Tournaments, where the neighboring housing complexes around the City of Chicago would compete for bragging rights. With the Bomberettes, Coach Isabella Malone and Big Fifty with Coaches Lee and Mrs. Shirley Epps. She played against other teams on the West side of Chicago in parks like Douglas, Columbus, and Garfield until she was recruited by a team called the Force, alongside her God-Sister, Johnnie Hairston, and Gwendolyn Twig Polk. In 1980, Shirley started playing with the Force, which was the best time of her life. With the Force, Shirley’s reputation grew as a true softball player. They played every size softball there was – eleven-inch, twelve-inch, fourteen-inch, sixteen-inch, and mush ball. It didn’t matter if Coach Allen said we got a game, we played. During her time with The Force, she joined another sixteen-inch team in 1981 named Mama’s Family/Mixed Company out of Dunbar Park, on the South side of Chicago. She played with them for the duration of the team under the coaching of Mama Wanda, Mike Burns, and Juan Gayden. The Force and Mixed was a combined team, and between the two teams, the players competed in various leagues and tournaments, winning over 25 Tournament Championships. During Shirley’s peak years, she also played almost every position n various 16” Co-Ed 16” tournaments: the Players under the coach named Lauritz Smoke Bradey, Family from Dunbar, and others at Washington Park from the South side of Chicago, and Sloan out of Broadview, IL, for the coach, Old Style Classic Tournaments in Grant Park in the 1990s. Shirley has earned numerous awards, including MVP honors and all-tournament teams in many tournaments throughout Illinois, including, but not limited to, MVP on every team she played on. Batting Champ with an average of 836, defensive player, All Tournaments Team Player. Shirley no longer plays softball, but she did coach a women’s team named Over and Under for 7 years after her retirement, and, believe it or not, they won all seven championships. She has two daughters, Lynissa and Latese.
