Thornton Lee was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. He graduated from Chicago Vocational High School, served in the Army during the Vietnam Era, and attended Kennedy-King College and Chicago State University. He began paying organized sixteen-inch softball with the Challengers at Washington Park. He later played for the Bandits, Bad Company, […]
The Gillette sixteen-inch softball team played in the Grant Park Softball League in the 1950s through the 1960s. They became the Gillette Strokers in the early 1970s. Rumor has it that they won a few Grant Park championships in the ‘50s and ‘60s, but through the ‘70s and into the ‘90s they were a competitive
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The Sorkin family has played sixteen-inch softball for decades. Stuart Sorkin’s father, Harold, played for years on the West Side and in parks and leagues throughout Chicago. He played with many players who would become Sixteen-inch Softball Hall of Famers in the Windy City League, including Jimmy DiVito’s championship teams. Stuart’s aunt played for the original
The Stover sixteen-inch softball team was formed in the 1990’s with the majority of the team made up of Coppola brothers and cousins. It also included cousins without the Coppola last name (Langeness and McMurray) and close friends. The Stover name came from a business owner by the name of Roger Stover. In 2001,
Rosie was born in 1963 and had five brothers. She graduated from Oak Lawn High School in 1981. Senior year, she was co-captain of the volleyball and softball teams. Also, she was voted to the SICA All-Conference Team and was Oak Lawn High School’s Most Valuable Player in volleyball. She was also named to the
Rick Rostan’s passion for sixteen-inch softball began while watching his brother Steve and friends Bobby Grippo, Roger Ciska, The Donofrio Brothers (Ricky and Joey), Mike Tomasetti, Sal Oliver (HOF) and Charlie” Missy” Miceli (HOF) play at Amundsen Park and Kells Park as the Original Stompers. He started playing in leagues at thirteen for a grammar
Rick Gancarz’s journey into sixteen-inch softball began when he learned the game from his father, Richard Gancarz, while playing for the Troppists at Portage, Indian Road, and Riis Parks on the Northwest Side of Chicago. He was in high school and was competing against players significantly older and more experienced than he was. This mismatch
In 1987, John Pellegrino organized the Hickory Hills Rebels after growing up watching sixteen – inch softball games at the local park. The players were friends from the neighborhood looking for a competitive outlet and took their name from a childhood football league. The Rebels built momentum and skill, leading up to their first big
Randy Russ started his sixteen-inch softball career in the late 1980s playing neighborhood ball with the Levee and the Jackmen. Besides sixteen-inch softball, Randy also excelled at baseball. He played at Lewis University from 1987 – 1990. The team competed in the Division II College World Series from 1988 to 1990. They finished third in
The “Gashouse” was a group of Peoples Gas employees who primarily played at Grant Park in the Plaza League from the early 1960s until the early 2000s. They were a diverse mixture of young and old players who played with passion and had a lot of fun doing it. Although the bulk of players came
