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Wearing his trademark engineer’s cap as he chugged around the bases, Hank Magiera emerged as one of the most colorful players during his softball playing days. Hank Magiera demonstrated his athleticism when he lettered in four sports (baseball, football, track, and wrestling) at Schurz High School. He was selected as an All – State baseball […]

Playing his peak years of softball from 1961 to 1987, Jim Moore ranks as one of the top players to emerge on some of the top teams of that era. He began his career in 1964 playing with the Knight Of Columbus and other local Southside teams. He made his jump to big time softball

A veteran of the softball wars in parks on the North and Northwest sides, Mike Moreno began his 16″ softball career as many great players before him did – on the school grounds of Chicago. He played with the legendary running back Jim Grabowski as a member of the Rascals at Rosedale Park and with

Bill Massuci played during some of softball’s most competitive decades, with some of the best teams of the era. In the ‘60s, ‘70s and early ‘80s, Bill played with top teams such as the Stompers, Rogues, Sobies and Otto’s. He earned a reputation as one of the best shortstops and short centers of his time,

Jack Marcoline began his softball career inthe sandlots and playgrounds around Midway Airport when he was twelve. His father, Joe, would often ask him to fill-in for the Chicago Fire Department team. When his family moved back to the West side, he continued playing in the fields at Clark and Moore. In 1954, Bob Snell

Gene Mathis was born in Chicago during the Great Depression. Like many great players, he started playing softball with the older boys in the neighborhood. But he had an advantage that other young players might not have had. He had a bat and ball. His grandfather found them as scavenged the more affluent areas of

Gil Muratori arrived in Chicago from Italy in October of 1938 when he was just a few months old. But in 1948, when he was ten years old, he adopted Chicago’s great game and started a twenty-eight year softball career that would change the way teams used a catcher. He started playing in the streets

Robert McCormack started his softball career in 1950 with the Braves and before he was finished he would play at some of the top parks and with some of the best teams of his era. After the Braves, he was recruited to play with the Yanks before heading over to play with Eddie Barretts for

Little did Ed Miller know when he started playing softball that he would be one of the players responsible for organizing one of 16″ softball’s greatest teams – the Bobcats. He played second base for the Rush Liquor in the Windy City League, with Weinberg Studebakers in the Northtown League and with the Jimmy Rose

Members of the Kool Vent Awning team would have been very surprised to find out the age of the kid they often called on to fill in for missing players. Dennis Migala was only 15 when he played for one of the top teams in 16″ softball history. He started playing sandlot baseball at age