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Alderwoman “Ginger” Rugai
In 1989, Virginia Rugai was diagnosed with breast cancer. In the following months, friends and neighbors provided an incredible network of support for Rugai and her family as she waged a difficult battle with this horrible disease. Like so many other survivors, Ginger had an ongoing desire to continue the fight beyond her personal
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Cecil Roderick
Cecil and Diane Roderick own Buck’s Pit Stop and M&R Wrecking. Besides being long-term owners of these businesses, they are also long-term supporters of sixteen-inch softball through their sponsorship of hundreds of teams over a twenty-year period. These sponsorships have included police and fire teams, recreational and industrial teams, girls and women’s team, “A” league
Joseph Rizza
Unlike a lot of bar sponsors, Joe Rizza never sponsored a team expecting them to “pay him back” after the game. This attitude certainly produced a lot of happy wives whose husbands didn�t feel an obligation to stay out late after the game. All Joe Rizza asked was that a player or fan who was
Bob Rascia
Bob grew up in the Galewood neighborhood at North Avenue and Harlem. He attended Holy Cross High School where he earned varsity letters in football, baseball, and track. He is a member of the Holy Cross Hall of Fame for football and track. He also played hockey with the Oak Park Park District at Ridgewood
Terry “Riles” Reily
A graduate of Mt. Carmel High School where he ran track and was on the swimming and diving team, Terry Reilly’s umpiring career started in typical fashion – officiating little league and pony league games. However, his career didn’t end there. As he became more skilled and known as an umpire, he moved into the
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Tony Reibel
Born in 1933, Tony Reibel’s active playing career began in 1952 with Tom Green’s Baseball Inn and Kool Vent Awning at Kells Field (Chicago & Kedzie) in 1955-56 and with the Kenneth Allen team. He batted right-handed and threw right-handed. He was one of the top short centers in the game during the 60s and
Larry Randa
Larry Randa played a big role in the golden era of suburban newspapers and in a “golden era” of suburban sixteen-inch softball. Now the Community Relations Director for Valley View Community Unit District 365U in Bolingbrook and Romeoville, Randa is a former senior executive for LIFE Newspapers, a family-owned media group that published multiweeklies in
Paul Rowan
Paul Rowan began his twenty-seven plus year softball-organizing career in 1978 when he formed the Dukes to play in a six-team league that he also started. The Dukes and the league stayed together for four years. From 1978 to 1982 he played for and managed a few neighborhood teams before the desire to play more
Mike Royko
It is a great source of pride to many older softball players that the quintessential Chicago newspaper man, Mike Royko, who grew up playing 16” on the streets and playgrounds of the city’s north side, loved 16” softball. His love of the game and it’s traditions was so deep that when he wrote of it