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 …
Wally Mader is considered to be one the top pitchers in the game during the 1950s and early 60s. To bolster this claim, Mader’s statistics show that he had more wins at Clarendon Park than any other pitcher during the 60s and early 70s. In 1956 he played with the championship Alderman Laskoski’s 36th ward …
At 5’10” and 210 muscular pounds, Ed Mulligan was one of the most feared hitters in softball during the 1960s. Teamed with Kenneth Allen in the 1960s, he hit many legendary home runs – one measured more than 300 feet. A ball player of unequaled strength and power, he also played into the 1970s with …
