Born in 1951 in Chicago, IL, Steven Jerome Kirby began playing organized 16-inch softball for Medill School Park in the Monroe and Racine Police District league when he was twelve years old. He played second base for Medill School and W.S.O.Express from1963 to 1979 at Garfield Park. He joined the Koreans in 1980, playing in […]
Jim Kraus has always loved sports. As a boy, you could always find him at the park playing baseball with his brother Joe. This interest in baseball led him to be a starting pitcher at Proviso East High School. He started playing softball in the early ‘70s with Spirit, a team made-up on high school
John Wooden once said, “Success is peace of mind in knowing you did your best. “ This quote fits Jack “Stone” Kelly because he always did his best. He began his major league softball career in 1977 with Shoes. From 1979 to 1981 Kelly played with Shoes, Condors, and Mr. Luckies respectively. He hit the
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A quiet leader who led by example … a natural athlete who was one of the best finest hitters in the game, and at turning a double play… a competitor who played his hardest at all levels of competition. These and other accolades from fellow players describe an inductee who many consider to be one
He was one of the most feared hitters in the game during the late 1970s and 1980s. He played with the ERV Strikers and Bobcats in the Windy City League in 1976 and ‘77. He was MVP of the Chicago Park District Tourney with the title holder Cats in ‘77. In 1978 he led the
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Rich “Chopper” Knorowski began his thirty-five year softball career at St. Pascals where he played second base for his grade school CYO team. He continued playing softball during high school. In 1963 he formed the Chantels and played third base. They competed in the Shabona Park League for three seasons from 1963 to 1965. In
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Willie Kemp aka Wicked Willie Pool, was born in Marigold, Mississippi and raised on Chicago’s South side. He attended both elementary and high school at Francis Parker where he excelled in football, basketball, wrestling, and softball. After graduation in the early 1960s, he attended Wilson Junior College and Chicago Teacher’s College South (now Chicago State).
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Mike Krolicki started playing 16-inch softball with the Vanguards at Kelly Park after he quit playing hardball when he was fifteen. After they disbanded, he joined the Marauders, and helped them win the Lawndale Park title twice. Because of their success, they played in the Chicago Park District City Tournament where they faced the Bobcats.
With a career spanning four decades, Hank Kemp, Jr has played with such great players as Dan Dumas, Terrell Jackson, and Streetwater Clifton. He started playing 16” softball in 1949 and quickly moved to play with the Van-Dyces, Kuppenheimer Globe Trotters, and as Kemp states, one of the best teams of all times – the
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Ken Kamradt, a five time All-American at the National Tournament level, and twenty year veteran of the softball wars, epitomizes excellence in 16” softball. As a shortstop with the ERV Strikers, Kamradt helped them win the 1974 ASA National Championship and the 1975 World Series of Softball at Soldier Field. In 1976 he switched to
