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
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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
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
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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
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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,
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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.
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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.
