Tom grew up on softball fields in the 1970’s watching his dad, Bob, play. He started playing on his dad’s teams at 18. Tom was then recruited by John Pellegrino, who was putting together the Rebels with the intention of shifting from a neighborhood team to an A/Major contender. As a key member of the […]
Sherman Nelson was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. He graduated from Englewood High School in 1954 and joined the United States Air Force in January of 1955. After completing a 12 week / eight hours–a- day IBM technical training course, Sherman was assigned to a machine accounting department and spent
From playing with Electrician’s Local 714 at Garfield Park at sixteen years of age to playing with Sam’s in the St. Charles League at the age of sixty, Jimmy Nallen has been a major factor on teams (Whips, Rogues, Bruins) that have amassed 117 championships, including world titles with the Sobies and Metro and Forest
In 1970, Chicago Daily News reporter Don DeBat tacked a note on the newsroom bulletin board asking if anyone was interested in playing 16-inch softball just for fun. That same day, Mike Royko, the paper’s Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, put his hand on DeBat’s shoulder and said: “Lad, I understand you are starting a softball team.
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Long before cable television, internet, and air conditioning occupied our modern world, Chicagoans beat the summer’s heat by walking outside, sitting on the front porch, or watching a new sport that was sweeping Chicago : 16-inch softball. In 1937 North Shore Congregation of Chicago defeated Federal Auto Supply 9 to 2 in the first inter-city
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Raised in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood, Mike’s first real job was as a hot dog vendor at Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park in 1969. After a stint in the military and several jobs with the City of Chicago, Mike capitalized on his talent for serving hot food and spicy sports talk when he opened his
“No gloves. Never had them, Never will.” This motto, coined by Dave Novak best summarizes his years of dedication to Chicago’s game – 16” No Glove Softball. Dave began his career at the Park District of Forest Park 23 years ago in 1974 when Jim Sarno hired him as Softball League Supervisor. From 1975 to
Most great softball players grew up playing the game in the parks and schoolyards of the Chicagoland area. Young players would begin playing the game as soon as they could pick up the ball, and they competed against the older guys in the neighborhood until they could one day beat them at their own game,
Sal Novello began his softball career as a teenager on the Northwest side of Chicago at Athletic Field Park located at Addison and Drake. He formed the Addison Bears, a neighborhood team that featured the likes of John Hechinger (HOF) and Don Campbell, a power hitting infielder who later led Clarendon Park in homeruns
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Lane Niemann started the Rizza Rockers in 1986. He managed and played for them until 1999. They played in leagues from North Riverside to Mt. Prospect and won league championships in North Riverside, Clyde Park, and LaGrange and tournament titles in the Suburban Life, Forest Park, Clyde Park, and Hawthorne Park tournaments. They won the
