
Jim “ack ack” Acanfora


Ron “Beetlebomb” Braasch


Percy “BoBo” Coleman


Nick “Moose” Camillo


Dick Cooper


Carey B. Goins

Carey Goins was born on the South Side of Chicago. Like so many young people before him, he started playing 16-inch softball in the vacant lots, alleys, and schoolyards of his neighborhood. He graduated from Calumet High School in 1971 (where he was a drummer in the band and played football) and then attended Eastern Illinois University. While at Eastern he learned that “softball” meant playing 12-inch, so he started a 16-inch tournament with his fraternity brothers.
He returned to Chicago in 1977 after graduation and created Deathwish with his frat brothers, family, and friends; he played catcher. They played at Avalon Park where they did not win a game but always played hard. The next year they competed in the Washington Park Sunday’s Best Softball League. They added veteran coach Ted Gothard and never finished below fourth place for the next four years. In 1985 they won the league championship. In 1985 they also entered the Saturday Budweiser League, won the regular season title and took second in the “AA” division playoffs. In 1985 Cary took his young team to the Blue Island “A” League where they finished third and realized that they could compete in competitive tournament softball. With this attitude, they entered the Blue Island Major League in 1988.
The team got better and the young players progressed. In 1993 they took third in the USSSA “A” State Tournament out of eighty-four teams, sixth in the USSSA “A” Nationals, and eighth in the ASA “A” Nationals. The team disbanded in 1993 as they were reaching their full potential after the death of Caery’s mother and the death of his wife a year later.
After three years out of softball, his friends convinced him to put a team back together, so Double Diamonds was formed in 1996, becoming Deathwish 2 in 1999. They combined with Rolling Dice in 2006. They won several Blue Island “A” league championships and played in two ASA Major Nationals and many “A” nationals over the years.
Carey retired after the 2006 season, but in 2010 Clifford “Pete Nice” Brown convinced him to manage the 10 Deep softball team. In 2012 he became the manager of the Dog Pound softball team.

Larry “Butch” Danley


Pete Dawkins


Rich “Chico” Driscoll


Ron Dunlap


Bob Eskew


Tom Frangella


Paul Frerking


Lee “Donnie” Gardner


James Gemskie


Floyd Glover


Carey B. Goins

Carey Goins was born on the South Side of Chicago. Like so many young people before him, he started playing 16-inch softball in the vacant lots, alleys, and schoolyards of his neighborhood. He graduated from Calumet High School in 1971 (where he was a drummer in the band and played football) and then attended Eastern Illinois University. While at Eastern he learned that “softball” meant playing 12-inch, so he started a 16-inch tournament with his fraternity brothers.
He returned to Chicago in 1977 after graduation and created Deathwish with his frat brothers, family, and friends; he played catcher. They played at Avalon Park where they did not win a game but always played hard. The next year they competed in the Washington Park Sunday’s Best Softball League. They added veteran coach Ted Gothard and never finished below fourth place for the next four years. In 1985 they won the league championship. In 1985 they also entered the Saturday Budweiser League, won the regular season title and took second in the “AA” division playoffs. In 1985 Cary took his young team to the Blue Island “A” League where they finished third and realized that they could compete in competitive tournament softball. With this attitude, they entered the Blue Island Major League in 1988.
The team got better and the young players progressed. In 1993 they took third in the USSSA “A” State Tournament out of eighty-four teams, sixth in the USSSA “A” Nationals, and eighth in the ASA “A” Nationals. The team disbanded in 1993 as they were reaching their full potential after the death of Caery’s mother and the death of his wife a year later.
After three years out of softball, his friends convinced him to put a team back together, so Double Diamonds was formed in 1996, becoming Deathwish 2 in 1999. They combined with Rolling Dice in 2006. They won several Blue Island “A” league championships and played in two ASA Major Nationals and many “A” nationals over the years.
Carey retired after the 2006 season, but in 2010 Clifford “Pete Nice” Brown convinced him to manage the 10 Deep softball team. In 2012 he became the manager of the Dog Pound softball team.

Gary Kirch


Ken Hansen


John Hie


Joe Hoffmann


Frank Holan


Thomas Kelleher


Gary Kirch


Thornton T. Lee


Jim Lang

Vince Lombardi once said ‘ The spirit to win, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur.” This quote and these qualities especially fit the career of Jimmy Lang. He started his softball career in the early 1950s, playing in leagues at Harvey, Chicago, and Blue Island. In 1977 Jimmy decided to form his own team to challenge for the ASA National title. He put together a collection of players from Chicago’s Southside to create what many softball experts consider one of the best teams ever assembled - the Budweiser Whips. Jimmy’s efforts produced victory in 1980 when the Whips won their first ASA National Championship. For the next ten years they won six ASA National titles (1981, 83, 84, 88, 89, and 90). The Whips also won five USSSA World titles in the same time span (1982, 83, 84, 87, and 88). Besides being a great organizer, he also had the rare ability to attract some of the game’s best players. Lang picks the 1983 Whips with a record of 115 - 6 as the “best of the best.” Jimmy lists coaching his son at the major league softball level as a special memory. While many experts will debate the best teams of softball, most will agree that Jimmy Lang ranks as one the game’s top organizers.

Paul Leonard

Blue Island resident Paul Leonard made his transition from a 16" softball player to an umpire early in his career for a simple reason - he needed money after getting married. In 31 years behind the plate, Leonard would approach each game as if it was the most important of his umpiring career. In 1952 he joined the Official Umpires Protective Association and umpired in leagues on the Southside and at Grant Park. He also officiated at Grant Park's Tournament of Champions and numerous industrial leagues. In 1964 Paul formed the Professional Registered Officials under Charlie Jensen and partnered with the ASA where he worked the ASA Nationals in Chicago. From 1964 to '71 Leonard umpired in every ASA National Tournament in cities around the midwest, and was named Umpire-in-Chief at the 1970 National Tournament. As ASA District Commissioner, Leonard raised his area's registration from twelve teams in 1964 to 460 in the 1970's. Meanwhile, Paul also continued his PRO Group affiliation , officiating in over 30 leagues. Paul Leonard left the ASA and, with Les Duncan, united four umpiring groups into the Metro Umpires Alliance, which then hooked up with the USSSA with over 120 umpires. Leonard was named to the Illinois Softball Hall of Fame in 1981 and retired from umpiring in 1983. Paul and his wife, Lorraine, have three girls, three boys, thirteen grandchildren and one great grandchild. He is now retired from Commonwealth Edison.

Burt Leventhal

Burt began umpiring in the 1960s and officiated more divisions and more parks than any other umpire. He was known around softball during the 60s as atop umpire in the mens divisions, recreational divisions, and in women’s leagues and women’s tournaments. Burt always officiated the “big game” at Kelly Park during the ‘70s and ‘80s. Besides being a top ball and strike caller, Burt also started the careers of many umpires with the many clinics he would conduct around Chicagoland. As chief umpire, he was also responsible for assigning umpires to the many parks in the Chicago area. Besides being one of the top umpires of his time, Burt also served as the head football coach at Hibbard High School for 15 years. Deceased.

Todd Mirabelli


John Malloy

From umpiring games between the guards and inmates at 26th and California, to using hand signals to call a game in the Hearing Impaired League, John Malloy�s forty plus year umpiring career has seen some of the greatest matches in modern softball history. Malloy especially remembers umpiring for $6.00 at the great money games between Madonna and St. Albert, when St. Albert was loaded with Bobcat players. He also remembers the time when the inmates at the County Jail stole the shoes of the guards who were on the field against a Chicago Police team. One of guards actually wanted him to intervene with the 500 inmates in getting the shoes back. A 39 nyear member, John Malloy has also served for fifteen years on the Rules Committee of the Umpires Protective Association. He was instrumental in changing the rule that allowed a runner a free return to first base from second. A 1940 graduate of Tilden Tech, John Malloy worked for Rockwell International and Sears Roebuck. He and his wife Delores have three children, six stepchildren and numerous grandchildren.

Joe Manza

Having played softball for ten years, Joe Manza knew the game, players, and the rules. This knowledge helped him officiate games at the highest levels of competition. He played in six national tournaments with the Condors, Jays, and Eastsiders. In 1985 he became an ASA umpire and officiated a majority of his softball games in the major divisions at Blue Island, Mt. Prospect, and Clyde Park. He called balls-and-strikes at over 2500 games and is still umpiring today. During his twenty-four year tenure as an umpire, he officiated twenty Forest Park "No Gloves" Tournaments, twenty-three Metro tournaments, twenty-three state tournaments, and eight nationals. Joe has also been involved in many other major tournaments at various sites (Westchester and Alsip). Joe and his wife, Marie, live in Naperville, Illinois. They enjoy spending time with their children – Nicole, Jeff, and Jillian, son-in-law, Clay, and grandson, Ian.

Sherman Martin, Jr.

Born and raised on the West side of Chicago, Sherman began playing softball in the alleys and schoolyards of K-Town. He started playing sixteeninch softball at LaFollette Park with the Pirates, a team of high school buddies. After he graduated from Prosser Vocational High School, he played for the Cougars, Wild Bunch, T. Birds, Devils, Beavers, and Boss Larrys. Sherman played third base and shortstop on teams that won titles at Lafollette Park, Franklin Park, Garfield Park, and Maywood Park. Once he graduated from Lewis University, he was recruited to play with the legendary Safari Tigers. His skills helped them win many league championships. They were also runnersup at the 1984 and 1985 ASA Major Nationals. He played under Claude Rhodes (HOF) and soon was bit by the managerial bug. He was given the opportunity to manage in the spring of 1984 when he became the player / manager for the California Gold. They won league titles at Garfield and Maywood Parks. In 1994 the B-Athletes were created with Sherman as manager. They won many championships at Hamilton, Ogden, and Washington Parks. They were the first team to win the Mike Royko Tournament in Grant Park, with fellow coaches Floyd Glover, and Raymond "Doc" Warren. They also placed fifth in the 1999 ASA Major Nationals. They also played in the Forest Park "No Gloves" Nationals and in the Pro League. In 2004, Sherman was approached by veteran Dogg Pound players to take over the reins of the team. They won titles at Washington Park's Wednesday and Friday leagues and also clinched The Sunday's Best titles. In 2006, they won several Claude Rhode Tournaments and placed fourth in the 2006 ASA "A" Nationals at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In 2009, he coached the Solutions, leading them to titles at Washington Park and to three Southwest Windy City Classic championships (2009, 2010, 2011.) In September 2011 Solutions won the ASA "A" Nationals in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Sherman and his wonderful wife, Sharon, live in Chicago, Illinois. They have three children – Quintel (Jersan), Jason (Cady), and Sherman, III and two grandchildren, Bella and Jalen. 11

Mike McGovern

In its sixteen year history, the team known collectively as the Dwarfs / Amalgamonsters / Monsters, accumulated a record 1,322 wins against 333 losses, for a 799 winning percentage. As a player coach, Mike McGovern was an integral part of that impressive record. A graduate of Lane Tech High School and the University of Illinois (where he played 16” softball, football and ran track), McGovern began his career with the Dwarfs in 1957. As a catcher, he hit over 100 home runs, hit over 600 for two years, and was selected a First Team All-American in 1978, ‘79 and ‘80. At that time the Dwarfs/Amalgamonsters took second place three times and came in third once at the National Tournament. From 1990 to 1998, Mike McGovern had accumulated an equally impressive record as coach of the women’s fast pitch team at the University of Illinois, Chicago. His record includes one College World Series appearance, three NCAA Regional appearances, and a record 417 wins that ranked his team as 21st in USA Today. During the last five years, his 12” fast pitch team is the team with the fifth most wins in the United States. They have won five conference championships in a row. Mike McGovern and his wife, Pat have two sons who are continuing the softball tradition. In 2000 they were both playing for the Dwarfs.

Pete McGuire


Rich Melman

Rich Melman has been a baseball player all of his life and retired at the age of 55. He and Joel Zimberoff have managed Lettuce to two runners-up finishes and to three ASA National titles. Lettuce has won every major championship in the game and is considered by many to be the “Yankees” of sixteen-inch softball. In between games, he also is one of the most successful restaurant executives in the world. Besides managing Lettuce, Rich Melman’s efforts were instrumental in attracting more players and teams to sixteen-inch softball. The Grant Park Classic that was televised for six years and the Pro League that was televised for three years was co-founded by Melman and producer David Hynes. The games were televised throughout the Midwest by the Sportschannel crew of Mike North, Steve Kashul, and George Bliss. This exposure created a renewed interest in softball with the ASA reporting increased enrollments by teams, by players in co-recreational leagues, and in tournament participation. Rich Melman also started the Windy City Classic, a league that attracted top “A” teams. This effort worked and the major division now has the best “A” teams competing each week. Rich and his wife, Martha, have three children who have all been encouraged to play Chicago’s great game.

Les Messinger

“When the ten dollar bet on the game was your last ten dollars, that’s pressure.” So begins Les Messinger’s commentary on softball in the 60s and 70s, an era that many softball historians consider the highest quality and most competitive softball era in Chicago history. Competing against such softball icons as the Bobcats, Sobies, Rogues, Butch Mc Guires, Dwarfs, and Lyons 45s, Messinger pitched and served as captain of the powerful Moore Business Forms and Loafers softball teams for fifteen years. Competing at Kelly and Clarendon Parks, the Loafers won eleven league or playoff titles. Many consider the Loafers to be the best defensive team in 16-inch history. Besides playing and managing, Messinger is also credited with being a major organizer of the major softball league at Kelly Park, where he served as league president for the first eleven years. Although the “big leagues” have passed him by, Les can still be found pitching two or three days a week in high caliber local leagues. For the past thirty years Messinger had been a commodity broker / cattle trader whose newsletter has been called the best advisory letter to the cattle industry in the United States.

Willis Miles


John Mitchell


Jim Murphy


Sherman Nelson


Lane Niemann

Lane Niemann started the Rizza Rockers in 1986. He managed and played for them until 1999. They played in leagues from North Riverside to Mt. Prospect and won league championships in North Riverside, Clyde Park, and LaGrange and tournament titles in the Suburban Life, Forest Park, Clyde Park, and Hawthorne Park tournaments. They won the Forest Park No-Glove Nationals in 1998 and finished in the top four in the ASA Major Nationals four times. The Rockers prided themselves on being a family oriented team, with players' wives and children attending most games. Additionally, they were fortunate to have Hall of Fame sponsor Joe Rizza backing their team. He made sure that his players always looked good on the diamond. Besides managing the Rockers, Lane also managed and played for Kids softball and the Riddlers from 2001 to 2004. Despite his many successes on the field, Lane's greatest memory was introducing so many young players to the game of softball. He is the deputy chief of police for the North Riverside Police Department. He had his wife, Laura, live in Willowbrook, Illinois. They have five children - April, Carissa, Lanette, Olivia, and Lane Jr.

Salvatore “Sal” Oliver

Sal Oliver grew up in the Gailwood area on Chicago's Northwest side. He graduated from Fenwick High School where he played football and basketball in the prestigious Catholic 5'-9"- and-Under League. He graduated from Loyola University with a degree in business administration. Sal had a twenty-one year softball career, and for those twenty-one years, he managed one team - the Stompers. He managed them to the USSSA National Championship in 1985 and runners-up positions in 1984 and 1986. They won the Kelly Park Tournament in 1975 and the Forest Park Tournament in 1980 (they were runners-up in 1978). All totaled, the Stompers played in four ASA Nationals. Sal was named USSSA All-World manager when he led the Stompers to the National title. During his career he has managed at least fifteen players who would go on to become Sixteen -inch Softball Hall of Fame players. Great managers have great players and great captains who help them win championships. Sal would like to thank Steve Rostan who helped him put together the first Stompers team at Amundsen Park. He also thanks Stomper captains Paul Sitkowski, Rick Rostan, Mike Romanelli, and Mike Oliver. They made it possible for the Stompers to be around for twenty-five years. Sal has been employed at Central States Trucking for the past twenty-five years, the last seven as senior vice president. He has three children: Michael, Michelle, and Steven and two grandchildren - Michael and Angelina. He lives in Naperville, Illinois.

Dominick Paparatto

Born in July of 1925, Dominick Paparatto attended Morse Grammar School and Crane Tech High School where he excelled in baseball and track. From 1943 to 1945 Dominick served his country during World War II as an aerial gunner in the 15th Air Force stationed in Italy. He began his softball career in 1943 with the Paragons in playground leagues and at Kells Park. After the war he played with the Wilson Jones Company in the Industrial League at Garfield Park, which they won in 1948. Dominick also played with the Mammana Undertakers in 1947 and 48 in the Kells League. He then played with the Gremlins for two years in the O.L.A. Catholic League and at Kells Park, where he remembers pitching a game against “Moose” Skowron of the Yankees, who was playing for the 49ers. Skowron hit a ball all the way to Chicago Avenue. Dominick started his umpiring career in 1952 for “Shorty” Cole when Dominick was sent to umpire at LaFollette Park. His first game was a memorable one against “Moose” Camillo. After that game Dominick was ready to call an end to his short umpiring stint. Fortunately for 16” softball Dominick decided to continue umpiring. When Cole retired Dominick became the chief umpire Humboldt Park, Lafollette Park, Eckart Park, Oak Park, and at Kells Field. Two years later Paparatto became the head umpire at Clarendon Park where he umpired many of the classic battles between the American Rivet Sobies, the Bobcats. Moose Camillo, and Jim Roses. Dominick found that Allied Park, which Bull Brandiso ran, was the toughest park to umpire. Dominick has been married to his wife Mae for 51 years. They have two daughters and two grandchildren. He retired from the Wilson Jones Company in 1989 after working there for 46 years. He now resides in Largo, Florida

Stan Patek


Wally Pecs

Baseball, not softball, was Wally Pecs’ game after graduating from Roosevelt High School. But that changed after several unsuccessful major league try-outs led Wally to look to softball as an alternative outlet for his talents,so at age nineteen he started the Tappers. Two years later he left Tappers to join the Road Runners, a top Northside team. In 1975 he formed the Registers, a name taken from Schmaus Cash Register, where he started working in the early 70s. In 1980, the Registers merged with the Stompers, a powerful team managed by Sal Oliver. Wally took a hiatus from softball from 1984 to 1991 to be a coach to his kids. He coached his son Jeff’s Little League and Pony League teams. He also coached his daughter Tracy’s fast pitch career, and his daughter Kim’s equestrian interests. In 1991, Wally Pecs found his way back to softball as a pitcher with Rich Melman’s Lettuce team. In 1992 he started his third team, the Rabbits, who made quite an impact their first year, when they made it to the Grant Park Championship game. Although they lost that game to Lettuce in the last inning, they still succeeded in making a name for themselves. In September of that year, they defeated the Stickmen twice to win the USSSA Major title in Wisconsin. The Rabbits became Red Dog in 1995 when Pecs changed sponsors. Red Dog continued Pecs’ tradition of winning, by taking the 1998 and 1999 Hall of Fame tournaments. Pecs continued to demonstrate his physical prowess in 1995, when he hit a 270 foot home run at the Majewski Complex, two days after his 50th birthday. In addition to hitting, Pecs frustrated opposing players from the mound for his last 20 years. He’s thrown four no-hitters, including one in the 1982 USSSA Major World Tournament. Despite his two thousand plus wins, and numerous championships over his 37 year career, Pecs’ best memories are of games played with his children. Four seasons playing along side Jeff, and one game on Tracy’s 12” co-ed team, where all three had key hits to help win that game are all particularly good memories. In 2001, Wally had been married to Peggy for thirty years. They have four children; Pamela, Tracy, Kimberly and Jeff.

Jerome Pelletier

Pelletier grew-up in Glendale Heights, Illinois and still resides there. He graduated from Glenbard North High School in 1974. He played sixteen-inch softball in the park district with the Pirates and later with the Stray Cats. He worked in various park districts for six years as a scheduler and umpire before staring his career as an umpire in Major Softball. He officiated at the Clyde Park "A" Leagues from 1994 to 1996 and then in the televised Bensenville / Forest Park Pro League from 1996 to 1998. Jerome umpired two finals in the Hawthorne "A" Classic (1995 - 1997), four finals in the USSSA Nationals (1990 - 1994), three finals (two Major and one "A" final) in the Grant Park Classic (1994 to 1997), and eight finals at the Forest Park "No Glove" Nationals (1990 to 1999). He has always treated managers and players with the highest respect. It did not matter if it was a nail-biting one-run game or a runaway twenty run victory, what mattered most was the mutual respect shared between the umpire and the opposing teams. Besides umpiring sixteen-inch softball games, Jerome has officiated high school basketball for twentytwo years. In 2013 he officiated the girl's state final basketball game. He has been employed as a maintenance mechanic and data wire technician for Spraying Systems for twentynine years. He has also served as a part-time firefighter / EMT for the Glenside Fire Protection District for thirty-four years. Jerome and his wife of thirty-two years, Pat, have two daughters - Allison and Lindsay.

Bob Peterson

Bob Peterson grew up in Calumet Park and attended Eisenhower High School where he played baseball, and football. He also played football at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. He played softball for the Hot Dogs at parks on Chicago’s Southwest side and in Oak Park. He began his umpiring career in 1983 when he attended the USSSA Umpires Clinic run by Les Duncan. He spent his first years officiating the Women’s A League at Peaks Park in Worth. He then moved to umpiring the Men’s Class A Leagues at Bedford Park and at Blue Island. In 1987 he moved to Clyde Park where he gained experience and was offered the opportunity to umpire the ASA Nationals at Mt. Prospect. From 1987 to 2000, he umpired the ASA Nationals nine times and officiated at the finals nine times - five times in Mt. Prospect, once at Blue Island, once at Indianapolis, and twice at Joliet. Besides the ASA Nationals, Peterson also umpired in the Classic “Pro” League, at several Grant Park Classic tournaments, and in various metro and state tournaments. He finished his career at Blue Island in the Men’s A Division. Bob credits Joe Hoffman and fellow Hall of Famers Tom O’Neill, Bud Luchetti, Terry Reilly, and Rusty Carlson for their support and expertise. Besides 16-inch softball, Bob was also involved in creating a fast pitch softball organization through Oak Lawn Baseball. As its past president, he organized ICE Fast Pitch Softball for girls aged 12- 14 in the Oak Lawn and Hometown areas. It started out fielding three teams and now fields seven teams. During this time, Bob also started umpiring high school games for the IHSA and for colleges, a practice he continues today. Bud Luchetti was especially important to Peterson, growth beyond softball. He had the opportunity to coach youth football with Luchetti for the Calumet Park Rams, one of the best football organization in the South suburbs. These teams traveled out of state for 20 years at Thanksgiving to tournaments in Kentucky, Hawaii, Kansas, and California. Bob and his wife of 33 years, Joanne, live in Oak Lawn, Illinois. They have two children, Daniel and Debra.

Rich Polfus


Bob Rascia

Bob grew up in the Galewood neighborhood at North Avenue and Harlem. He attended Holy Cross High School where he earned varsity letters in football, baseball, and track. He is a member of the Holy Cross Hall of Fame for football and track. He also played hockey with the Oak Park Park District at Ridgewood Commons. Bob’s longtime friend, Nick Sposato, helped him start his legendary softball career in grammar school when he and some little league friends formed an under-eighteen team at Sayre Park in 1974. They modeled their team after Lenny Nuzzo’s High Times team. His knack at winning championships started early in his career when his teams won league titles at Merrimac, Sayre, Shabonna, and Franklin Parks from 1976 to 1985. He also honed his skills by playing at Clarendon Park, skills that would later carry him and his teams to a record number of victories and national titles. Besides playing and managing the 45s, he also played for Lightning, the Jets, and O’Briens. He played primarily left and right field and was known as a line drive, doubles hitter who hit in the first through fifth spot. In 1988 he took over as manager of the 45s in the Classic League and managed them every year until his retirement at the end of the 2007 season. At first the team struggled to compete at the major level. In 1992 the fortune of the 45s changed with the acquisition of former Touch star, Tim Flanagan and his brother John Flanagan, a star baseball player at Notre Dame. Hall of Fame players Mike Stout and Mike Caputo along with Kurt and Eric Kiesel, Larry Downes, and Tony Portincaso joined the 45s in 1993. From 1993 to ‘97 the Bud 45s won their first national tournaments and became a consistent competitor in the upper division of the Classic League. In 1998 the team took a major step forward when Hall of Famers Frank Mustari, Pat Heraty, Tom Czarnik, Mark Frighetto, Paul Brezinski, and Curt Uidl joined the team. This coup was made possible by Rick “The Franchise” Gancarz. With the help of these very talented players the 45’s won their first of six ASA Major National Titles. In 2003 the dynasty was complete when Jeff Berger, Jim Matlock, and Hall of Famer Ron Kubicki joined the 45s. Additionally, Israel Sanchez, Mark Holstein, Brian Miller, Rich Villa, Jim Dooley, Anthony Avila, Keith Filkins (HOF), John Wolnick, Dave Singer, Fred Grief, Chris Downes, Len Nuzzo, and Marty Dosen were responsible for 468 wins against only 52 loses from 2003 to 2007. During the years that Bob managed the 45s, they won forty-six tournaments, including five straight ASA National titles. In 1996 they won their first Forest Park Invitational championship and took their first ASA title in2001. In 2001 the team was down 14-0 in the first inning but went on to defeat Traffic 18-16 in a game that lasted three and a half hours. In 2005 the 45s posted a record of 86 wins against 6 losses. He proudly managed them to an ASA tournament record of 44-3 from 2001 to 2007. Over the 27- year history of the Classic League, Bob Rascia holds the following records as a manager: 331 wins, seven championships, 26 wins in a single season, two seasons of 22 wins, the highest winning percentage of .958 and most games managed at 472. Bob and his wife, Melissa, live in Park Ridge, Illinois. They have three children. He is a criminal defense attorney.

Tony Reibel

Born in 1933, Tony Reibel's active playing career began in 1952 with Tom Green’s Baseball Inn and Kool Vent Awning at Kells Field (Chicago & Kedzie) in 1955-56 and with the Kenneth Allen team. He batted right-handed and threw right-handed. He was one of the top short centers in the game during the 60s and 70s. His list of accomplishments as an individual player merits recognition for the Hall of Fame alone, but he is best remembered for leading one of the top teams of the 60s & 70s in American Rivet Sobies to over 700 wins over a decade. They were one of the most dominant teams in the game from ‘66 to ‘72. The Sobies won three consecutive ASA National Championships (‘66, ‘67, ‘68). They won over 100 games in both ‘71 and’72 in possibly their finest years, winning every title except the ASA Nationals. The Sobies impressively won the first World Series of Softball in 1974 at Hart Stadium in Blue Island. They also won three Forest Park titles and five Andy Frain Tournament titles. The Sobies' battles with Eddie Zolna’s Bobcats were legendary and in 1971 the player everyone wanted to watch was the ASA All-American short center. He consistently batted over .500 with power in the cleanup spot. In 1970 he hit .548; 1971 - .560; and 1973 - .503. Tony was so respected as a player, manager, and administrator that he was unanimously elected as the first commissioner of the rebirth of the Windy City League in Bridgeview 1976 -77. Tony was responsible for changing an important rule which is unique to Chicago softball- “the foul third strike rule.” At Clarendon Park in the ‘60s, Tony was known to foul off dozens of pitches in an effort to stall the game, while his team waited for a tardy player because Tony was simply trying to get the pitcher to make a better pitch to hit. Clarendon Park supervisor, George Morse, implemented “foul third strike” rule to speed up the game. Reibel graduated from Lane Tech H. S. on the Northside. He was also asked to help softball and was the first white player to play in a Negro league with Sweetwater Clifton on the Capitol Records team Daddie 0 - Daylie League. He is also a co-founder of the Chicago 16” Softball Hall of Fame. He thanks his wife Marilynn, 5 children and his grandchildren for putting up with his pastime.

Terry “Riles” Reily

A graduate of Mt. Carmel High School where he ran track and was on the swimming and diving team, Terry Reilly’s umpiring career started in typical fashion - officiating little league and pony league games. However, his career didn’t end there. As he became more skilled and known as an umpire, he moved into the world of “major / minor” umpiring when he began working behind the plate in semi-pro baseball games. His 16" softball career started when he was watching a game in Blue Island and realized that he could officiate softball games, and the rest is history. He started out officiating in B and C leagues, but got his big break in 1979 when got a chance to umpire a Major 16" National game in Harvey. That opportunity worked out well and Terry Reilly never looked back during his twenty-three year career. He credits his success in umpiring 16" softball to his years of umpiring semi-pro baseball where he learned to hustle, to follow the ball, and to develop a good demeanor for the game. From 1976 to 1999 as an ASA umpire, he officiated over five thousand games at leagues in Blue Island, Kelly, Harvey and Clyde Parks. From 1982 to 1999 he was ASA umpire-in-chief of Metro Chicago leagues. He umpired at twelve 16"Major League National Tournaments, calling balls and strikes at more than two hundred games. He was deputy umpire-in-chief at five Major Nationals and was umpire-in-chief for two “A” level Nationals. He also officiated at all tournaments, including district competitions, qualifiers, some state tournaments, three Hawthorne Classics, and several Grant Park Tournaments. He retired after thirty-four years with the Chicago Transit Authority where he was the Director of Emergency Services. He has two children, Tina and Kellie, two grandchildren, and a wonderful girlfriend, Brenda Bryan. He lives in Park Forest, Illinois.

Ron “Binger” Schabinger

Ron Schabinger began organizing the Jackmen in the early ‘80s for league play that began in 1982 and continued into the late ‘90s. During that time they accumulated 878 wins and won nearly forty league championships and twenty tournament titles during their uninterrupted run in leagues throughout the city and suburbs. Although teams that stay together that long often undergo changes in players, in the case of the Jackman, it was Ron Schabinger’s ability to attract the top players of the day that kept them on top. He understood that the Jackmen was an outstanding neighborhood team that followed the tradition upon which 16" softball was formed. When not playing for and managing the Jackmen, he also played for and managed other teams throughout the city and suburbs. Besides managing softball during the summer, Ron also coached multiple sports at Schurz and Prosser High Schools. He was head girls basketball and volleyball coach at Prosser and also organized summer work programs, programs designed to teach students a variety of skills and to take pride in their school. During one summer program, students painted the entire school. Unfortunately the softball community lost Ron Schabinger in 2006 after a short battle with cancer. He will truly be missed.

Pete Schmit

Pete Schmit holds an interesting first in the annals of high school football; he’s the first football player from St. George High School to be selected to an All-State football team. During the 1939-40 season, he and two other players from Mt. Carmel High School were the only players from the Chicago area to be named to the Champaign News-Gazette All Star Team. His football talents paid off as Pete Schmit earned a football scholarship to the University of Iowa, graduating in 1943. Pete served his country in World War II in France and Germany with Patton’s Third Armored Division. After the war, Schmit returned to coach football and basketball at St. George from 1948 to 1961. He then moved to St. Patrick High School, serving twenty five years as Athletic Director. Pete finished his teaching career after six years at Immaculate Conception High School. Before and after the war, Schmit played softball at Thillens and Welles Park in pot games that often offered over five hundred dollars in prize money. Eventually, Pete quit softball playing and took up umpiring to help with the bills of his young family. He began by umpiring games at Welles Park in 1951 with the Brown Bombers, a team that boasted Harlem Globetrotters on its roster. During one of those games, power hitter Sweetwater Clifton hit the longest home run Schmit had ever seen. In 1953 Schmit became Chief Umpire, eventually controlling some eighty umpires at thirty different throughout his career. He also worked and assigned umpires in the Windy City Softball Classic League. Later, he began umpiring baseball and fast pitch softball games, extending his umpiring career to nearly fifty years. In 2001, Pete and his wife Jean lived in Chicago. They have six children and sixteen grandchildren.

Tony Valosek


Sal Vasta


Joel Zimberoff


Mike Zizzi
