Keith Filkins started playing sixteen-inch softball in 1986 with the Cougars. For the next thirty years, he played for some of the greatest softball teams of all time – Sports Station, the Whips, Lettuce, Team 714, Splinters, Puglise / Bucks, Flashback, Windy City, and the Millers 45s. He has played every infield position and has …
Bob Glosa and Tom Balek started JYNX softball as a combination of four South Side neighborhood teams. JYNX consisted of some good players and some great players, but they were all great guys. They were a special group with a strong bond of close-knit players. New players were often pals of current players who wanted …
Joe Firneno has been playing sixteen-inch softball for more than fifty-five years (and he just recently turned sixty-five). Some players say he still plays with the enthusiasm and passion of a twenty-five year old. Joe began playing softball in the alleys and streets around 80th and Peoria on the South Side of Chicago. In 1964, …
Jeff Berger’s sixteen-inch softball career began in 1986 with the Otters. The next year he moved to the Rizza Rockers. Teammates and competitors soon noticed his incredible softball skills, but more importantly, he started showing his leadership skills on and off the field. After years of honing his skills with the Peppers, Irvings, Bud Runners, …
Sixteen-inch softball has been an institution at the Hodgkins Park District since the 1970s. It started with church leagues playing on an old baseball field and quickly evolved into one of the finest homes for “A”, Major, and Pro League softball teams. With its legendary twenty-foot high and two hundred-fifty foot fence and its perfectly …
Since starting her 16-inch softball career in 1958, Gloria Kolbusz has played, taught, coached, managed and organized for thirty-five years. She learned the game while playing in Chicago Park District tournaments for Antoinette Maffia at Clark and Ken-Wel Playgrounds. She and her Hiawatha Park teammates played in many leagues and tournaments on the Northwest Side …
Gary Goldberg grew up on the North Side of Chicago. He has played sixteen-inch softball since he was six years old. He attended Sullivan High School where he lettered in baseball, basketball, and bowling. After high school and college, he started a softball career that continues to this day. He combined his softball skills with …
For over twenty – years, the Forest Park Review has published a special pull out section for the No-Gloves National 16 – Inch Softball Tournament. This pullout allows softball fans from the city, suburbs, and surrounding states to get information on the No-Glove Nationals. It also helps fans understand the excitement of 16 – inch …
Like many young people growing up in the inner city of Chicago, Dennis Colucci sought activities that were affordable and could be played in the streets and parks of Chicago. Sixteen-inch softball fit that requirement perfectly. He started playing organized softball in 1956 with the Jokers, a neighborhood team from Chicago Avenue. He became their …
The Bidayo’s women’s softball team started out as a local Oak Lawn in-house team in 1969. They were originally the Road Runners in the Oak Lawn Park District, but Karen Wagner renamed them the Bidayos around 1975. Ron Hurry has been at the helm of the Bidayos as manager since 1969 when he managed his …
