Born in Arcola, Mississippi, he moved to Chicago with his family at a very young age. Started playing softball at 12 in the local parks and playgrounds in his neighborhood. Coty attended Wendell Phillips where he starred in football and track until 1976. His softball career took off and over forty years he was on …
Little did Joe know as a young kid growing up in the cradle of softball – Forest Park – that he would grow up to be the youngest member of some of the fabled top powerhouse teams of the late 60s and 70s. A fleet-footed player that used his athletic talent to get on base …
Calvin Jackson’s 16-inch softball career started at the age of twelve (1961). He was under the tutelage of Mr. Walton in the Madden Park-Darryl Home Park District softball league, located at 3813 South Rhodes. This league had two divisions: the Intermediate (12 to 15 years) and the Senior League (15 to 17 years). Calvin first …
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 …
Dan Jalowiec started playing softball in 1985 at Clyde Park in Cicero with some friends from Morton East High School when he was seventeen. After playing in the 18-and-under League at Clyde Park, he joined his father Jim, a member of the legendary Sobies in the early ‘70s, his brother Jeff, and several cousins …
Drake Jones started playing serious softball with the Mau Maus when he was eighteen years old and met Stanley Brown while working at the Post Office. They played in the Post Office League, at Washington Park, and in tournaments throughout the city. During one of those tournaments, they played against the legendary Flamingos. Drake …
Raymond Johnson began his softball career with the Flamingoes in 1961 when he was fifteen. He played third base with them in the Daddy- O-Daylie League at Meyerling Park, under the tutelage of John Wolf-Wilson. Besides finding great success in this league, the Flamingoes also finished in the top three in the Sixteen-inch World …
For millions of Chicagoans, the last weekend of July means one thing – a trip to Chicago’s lakefront to witness the thunder and majesty of the Chicago Air and Water Show. From water-craft demonstrations to precision flying teams to the power and daring of the Blue Angels, Chicaoans owe a debt of gratitude to the …
This marks Charles Jensen’s second Hall of Fame induction. In 1977 Jensen was inducted posthumously into the ASA National Hall of Fame for his long and meritorious service to that organization. The Chicago native’s softball and baseball umpiring career spanned thirty years. He was the ASA national umpire-in-chief from 1940 to ’48, after serving as …
Clayton Jones, one of softball’s premier shortstops, played with the Safari Tigers during the 1980s and with the Be- Athletes into the ‘90s. As a three-time All-American selection in 1985 and 1986 and again in 1995, Clayton’s excellence at shortstop excited fans for over twenty years. Playing with La La Washington (HOF) and Stretch Lee …
