Pioneer softball players and umpires remember Jim Canna as a knowledgeable, fair, and dependable umpire whose reputation was always above reproach. A 1938 graduate of Hirsch High School, he began his umpiring career with Jim Allen in the Southwest Umpires Association in 1944 at parks on the southeast side of Chicago, including Avalon, Grand Crossing, …
Born in 1916, Paul Bute is one of the original members of the Windy City League. He played for Al Horan Boosters, Farmer’s Field, and Wellington and Ashland, original teams of the Windy City League. Bute’s first team was the Miami Club, managed by Johnny Mancuso where he led the league in home runs and …
Born in 1921, Santo “Sam” Bruno made his softball debut with the Mel-Oaks, a team from Melrose St. and Oakley Ave. On Sundays, the best players in the Bell School League would play marathon games for ten cents a man, with the bets doubling with each win. Some Sundays, Bruno and his teammates were joined …
Growing up in the 18th and Halsted area of Chicago, Joe Brankis played at many of the top parks, and in many of the top tournaments. Those events would draw 500 fans for regular games and 700 fans for playoff or money games. In 1941, while playing with the Ruppert Knickerbockers, Brankis won the Windy …
Born in 1917, Peter Bondi is one of the players who form the backbone and history of 16″ softball in the Pioneer Division. Bondi played with some of the top teams from the early 30s until his retirement in 1953. Along with his five brothers, Peter Bondi played with Nielson Steel, Lombardi Kids, and Mel …
With an amazing lifetime record of 193 wins and 6 losses, Ladislaus “Bingy” Boblak forged a reputation as one of the top pitchers of his era while throwing against some of the finest teams in the Pioneer Era of 16″ softball. Pitching for J.J. Zientek Post, Boblak once defeated the legendary Brown Bombers by a …
A graduate of McKinley High School in 1944, Sol Mosillami played with some of the great pioneers of 16″ softball. He began his career in 1942 with the Witt Hanley Yankees. A shortstop and occasional second baseman who batted leadoff most of his career, Mosillami was known for being a clutch single hitter who was …
The standard of excellence, according to many baseball experts, is a player who has mastered the combined ability to hit, field and run the bases. They may have had John Backshis in mind when they created these standards. At 6′ 1″, 195 lbs. and a batting average of over 500, John Backshis was one of …
