Michael Anast grew up in Garfield Ridge and attended St. Rita High School, where he was a multi-sport athlete. His love of softball began in 1963 when he played his first game in the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO). He would end his softball career nearly forty years later in 2001 while playing with Out of …
Willie Abbatacola grew up on the West side of Chicago. He attended St. Mel High School where he played basketball and was the quarterback of the football team. Willie and Hall of Fame manager Moose Camillo knew each other from Spencer Elementary School so Willie began his forty-four year playing career when he signed up …
Bill Wadington grew up in the Jefferson Park neighborhood on the Northwest side of Chicago at a time when you went outside and played sports – pinners on the front step until your dad told you to cut it out, running bases, hockey on the North Branch of the Chicago River (when it still froze …
Charles Martinkus grew up in Chicago’s West Lawn area and attended Bogan High School. He graduated in 1963 and was awarded “Most Physically Fit Senior”. While at Bogan, Charles won an intramural softball championship, which ignited his love for sixteen-inch softball and led to his playing in various Southwest side park leagues the next two …
Larry Danley was known as one of the best defensive shortstops of his era (1970 to the early-1990s). He played in twelve national tournaments with the Senators, the Flashes, the Flamingoes, the Bandits, the Wild Bunch, and the Demons. Larry played with three of the greatest teams ever – the Senators, Flashes, and the Flamingoes. …
Alvin “The Doctor” Robinzine (“Doc”) was known for his white cap and unique pitching style which consisted of various fakes used to keep the batters off balance. Some say he threw a high pitch, but what he actually pitched is called the Hump. Doc was named “The Doctor” by his teammates who admired how he …
In his 2001 biography of Mike Royko, Richard Ciccone quotes Tim Weigel saying that he was disappointed that Royko became a pitcher because according to Weigel “there’s no such thing as a good pitcher.” Although Weigel was a Yale graduate, starting halfback on their football team, and a legendary local sportscaster, apparently he hadn’t been …
Tony Prochenski has been playing softball for nearly half of his life. He started out in neighborhood leagues with the Magicians at Hinkley Field in Park Ridge and with the Travelers at James Park in Evanston. He played with and against some of his lifelong friends, including Frank Mustari (HOF) and Billie Nichols to his …
Growing up on the north side of Cicero, Sharen’s interest in sports began at a young age as she was always playing basketball, softball, hockey, football, and swimming. When she was nine years old, she asked her parents if she could join the boys little league – her mother, Camille Olmstead, said, “no, if they …
Mayfair Park in Westchester has been the host site for sixteen-inch softball leagues and tournaments for over fifty years. The early days of the league primarily catered to local and surrounding area teams. Back in those days, all games were played starting at 6:30 pm on three fields. In the early 70s, Westchester lit its …
