Ronnie Matrisciano began his sixteen-inch softball career playing pickup games with his brother Robert and the neighborhood kids on the playground of Emmett Grammar School on the corner of Madison and Central on Chicago’s West Side. His father, Santino, played in the legendary Chicago/ Kedzie League, so his father and brother taught Ronnie all about …
Clyde Park District located in Cicero has been the site of softball league for decades. Starting in 1985 executive director Rusty Carlson took the league to the next level by attracting some of the best teams in the game until 1995 with his Super A league and tournaments for men and women. His hard work …
Mayfair Park in Westchester has been the host site for sixteen-inch softball leagues and tournaments for over fifty years. The Suburban Life Classic was was one of the first tournaments to be played on them. Recently Westchester hosted baseball tournaments, state police softball tournaments, IHSA twelve-inch state tournaments, ASA sixteen-inch and twelve-inch ASA qualifying tournaments, …
Blue Island’s Centennial Park was dedicated in the 1930s by the Park District. In 1939 the Citry of Blue Island opened a new ballpark at 123rd and Western in front of three thousand spectators. In 1963 the Blue Island Park District purchased the ballpark and renamed the stadium Hart Park after Mayor John M. Hart. …
Located on Chicago’s South Side, Washington Park was named for President George Washington and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Du Sable Museum of African-American History, the Lorado Taft Sculpture, the Fountain of Time, and The architecturally significant Richard L. Jones National Guard armory are all located inside the park’s boundaries. …
When it was completed in 1916, many considered north side Clarendon Park to be the largest and most practical bathing beaches in the country it lost this status in the 1930s when the Chicago Park District expanded Lincoln Park north to Foster Avenue, eliminating Clarendon’s lake frontage. While it was a great swimming beach and …
Mt. Prospect Park District’s first involvement with major 16-inch softball came in the late 1970s when the district’s Meadows softball fields hosted a Winston Cup tourney. In 1982 they expanded its summer softball leagues from four to fifteen, then Rick Pyle and Bob Ancona started a softball league that attracted most of the major Chicago …
Grant Park has been the host site for sixteen-inch softball in Chicago since the 1920’s and grew popular in the 1933…when the World’s Fair showcased the game. The game fosters camaraderie amongst downtown co-workers in leagues from lawyers to media people and the site for tourneys on weekends. Including the largest in the history of …
Ray Linz Sr., owner of Ray’s Tavern in Calumet City, IL was the proud sponsor of RAY’S Women’s 16″ Softball Team from 1972-1980. The team was formed in 1972 from a recreational group of women’s power volleyball players. Although the members came from various teams, they shared a common bond — a competitive nature. Of …
Percy V. Coleman began his softball career with the Flamingos in 1964 when he was twenty-three years old. His competitive spirit and love of softball and basketball drove him to play these sports at top levels. Percy turned this passion into a championship basketball career at Crane Junior College and Chicago State University where he …
