M

Renette McCurry

Renette McCurry got her first feel of sixteen-inch softball around the age of fourteen when she started playing at the Sears parking lot, and a neighborhood playground on Homan Avenue on the West side of Chicago.  She played for her my girl scout group Girl Power under the leadership of Corrine Stubbs. She played fast […]

Renette McCurry Read More »

Tom “Oscar” McClelland

Before moving behind the plate to call balls and strikes, Tom McClelland played with some of the top teams of sixteen-inch softball.  He grew up in the Norwood Park neighborhood on Chicago’s Northwest Side. He started playing sixteen-inch softball in seventh grade at Immaculate Conception Elementary School. He played outfield and pitched for the Bobcats

Tom “Oscar” McClelland Read More »

Molex

John Krehbiel Sr., the founder of Molex in Lisle, IL, always had a passion for employee morale because he believed that employee engagement was vital to Molex’s success.  So he started company picnics, social activities, and he created a profit sharing plan, long before other companies even considered it in the 1950s.  Mr. Krehbiel believed

Molex Read More »

Mike Marchinski

Mike Marchinski was born and raised on the North Side of Chicago.  As a child of the 50’s and 60’s, two things were inevitable: Mike was a long – suffering Cub fan, and he spent every leisure moment playing 16-inch softball. Mike’s first venture into organized ball came as an eighth grader playing for Our

Mike Marchinski Read More »

Magic

In the summer of 1969, three friends – Hilde Diaz, John “Sweet Daddy” Wojtasik, and Ron “Orca” Michalowicz – recruited their neighborhood friends from Summit to form a sixteen-inch softball team called the Argo Sinners. That year they began playing in the Bedford Park and Summit Park leagues. Like most new teams in their first

Magic Read More »

Carl Maniscalco

Carl Maniscalco’s softball career spanned over twenty-five years, beginning when he was in grade school. Although he attended Queen of Angels Elementary School, he was frequently found at the playground of Waters Elementary School starting in the 1970s. It is there that he found his love of softball.  This love continued through his high school

Carl Maniscalco Read More »

Pete McGuire

  Pete McGuire had a twenty-one year career playing sixteen-inch softball. Six of those years were on the major level, most notably with the Whips and the Stompers. His best memo- ries though, were the years with his cousins Mike and Tom McGuire on The Groundsmen teams from the South Side and South suburbs. But

Pete McGuire Read More »

Molex Team

The Molex team is considered the best team to play in the Western suburbs in the 80’s and 90’s. They were recognized by the HOF for their longevity, tenacity, and ability. Organized by Jim Geiser in the 70’s for employees of the Fortune 500 global connector manufacturer. Joined by new employee and future HOF founder

Molex Team Read More »