Little did Jimmy Lang Sr. know that the team he formed in 1976 would go on to win seven ASA National Championships, five USSSA World Championships and four Forest Park No Glove Nationals and would lay claim to being one of the best teams in softball history. In 1976 they started playing in leagues throughout the South suburbs. In 1979, playing as the Budweiser Whips, they moved into “big-time” competitive softball at Kelly Park and Blue Island. They were sponsored by Hall of Famer “Uncle” Pete Crnjak of Pete’s Hideaway from 1988 to 1990. In 1980 they captured their first ASA National Championship and repeated as champions in 1981, ’83, ’84, ’88, ’89 and ’90. They won their first USSSA championship in 1982 and repeated in ’83, ’84, ’87 and ’88. They won the Forest Park No Glove Nationals in 1983, ’84, ’85 and ’90. In 1986 and ’87 a number of Whips players joined Sports Station and took the title at the ASA Nationals. They rejoined the Whips in 1988. The team disbanded in 1990 after winning the ASA title and the championship at the Forest Park No Glove Nationals.
Team Whips
