In 1969 a bunch of childhood friends thought it was time to stop watching the great softball games at Amundsen Park (Park9) at night and start playing ourselves. After all, as young teenagers, we thought we were pretty good after winning back to back City of Chicago Softball Championship Tournaments. After a few years of […]
Louis Watkins, the owner of Louis’s Lounge located on the southwest side, sponsored the Patio Players to play competitively in 1979. The guys were always at the Lounge in the back on the patio, hence the name (Patio Players). During the early years, they never had a particularly strong program. Then the team began a
Joseph started playing softball at the age of 17 at Harrison Park in Pilsen. He played in a tavern league and joined the company A.G Becker team for 9 years. On that team there were inductees Dick Cooper and Kenny Flaws. In the early 90’s he played for his nephew’s team called the Creators for
Mike is one of the true gentleman of the sport. He has coached both men and women’s baseball and softball teams at the youth, high school, college and adult levels for more than 30 years. He started the Saints softball team in 1986 with a group of neighborhood athletes from Hinsdale South High School that
Steve first played organized 16-inch in grade school league in 1970 for St. Hilary on the Northside. Steve was a pitcher but later played the outfield or infield depending on what the team needed. He developed into a solid pitcher and fielded his position very well. After high school, he played with friends at Mather
What started as a neighborhood group of friends playing ball together in Bridgeport, back in 1987, slowly evolved into something way bigger than any of us could have ever imagined. On the field, these friends quickly and easily formed a sisterhood and family known as, The Brat Pack. Through a lot of ups and downs,
James was born in 1961 in St. Louis Mo.,but after going to Concordia University in River Forest where he played baseball, football, and basketball and graduated with a BA in education. He started working for the Chicago Transit Authority in 1987 and worked until 2006 when he played 16 inch softball winning the Grant Park
Chances are, if you are in a room of former Northside softball players talking about the teams they were on, the guys they had played with, and the leagues and tournaments they played in, Portage Park would surely be mentioned. Portage Park is well represented in the 16-inch Softball Hall of Fame with numerous players,
Dean Pritt began his softball career at the age of 18 when he and sev-en of his friends started playing on a team run by neighborhood legend Joe D’Argenio. After several successful seasons at Blackhawk Park, the younger players started their own team and kept the Traffic name. From 1986-2003, Dean managed the Traffic team
For many years, the Doran brothers, Rich, Jerry and John, and Vito Povilaitis of Mt. Greenwood were the nucleus of many youth baseball teams until they began their softball careers by assembling a softball team called the Trumbullies. They played at Mt. Greenwood in 1972 and 1973. Like many young teams, they weren’t as competitive
