Jim grew up in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago. In grammar school, Jim, along with a number of his friends from St. Peter Canisius, began playing 16” softball at La Follette Park. During his high school years, Jim’s team finished second or third each year. The Sunday afternoons of Jim’s youth …
The Gillette sixteen-inch softball team played in the Grant Park Softball League in the 1950s through the 1960s. They became the Gillette Strokers in the early 1970s. Rumor has it that they won a few Grant Park championships in the ‘50s and ‘60s, but through the ‘70s and into the ‘90s they were a competitive …
The Sorkin family has played sixteen-inch softball for decades. Stuart Sorkin’s father, Harold, played for years on the West Side and in parks and leagues throughout Chicago. He played with many players who would become Sixteen-inch Softball Hall of Famers in the Windy City League, including Jimmy DiVito’s championship teams. Stuart’s aunt played for the original …
The Stover sixteen-inch softball team was formed in the 1990’s with the majority of the team made up of Coppola brothers and cousins. It also included cousins without the Coppola last name (Langeness and McMurray) and close friends. The Stover name came from a business owner by the name of Roger Stover. In 2001, …
Since 1992, Milan Stevanovich, better known as “Mr. Stats,” has been keeping stats for the Forest Park No-Glove Nationals 16-inch Softball Tournament . He is in charge of compiling and recording player and team stats for each game during the five – day event. Soon after each game, Mr. Stats posts the results of each …
During the late ‘60s and ‘70s, the Shooters were considered to be one of the five best teams in Chicago. The North Side had the Shooters, the Dwarfs, and the 45s and the South Side had the Bobcats, the Rogues, and the Sobies. The team members came from Senn, Sullivan, Mather, Roosevelt, Von Steuben, and …
Born in 1919, Lee Sutter played pickup games with his three brothers in Gage Park on Chicago’s Southwest Side. He then joined Tony’s Tigers in the Nightingale League. Because he was 6’3’ and had big hands, he was a commanding presence at first base. His softball career was interrupted by World War II. He served …
Babe Sanfilippo is the second of eight children. She grew up in Brighton Park on Chicago’s South Side. Growing up, Babe would gather her brothers and the neighborhood kids and go to the empty lot to play the game she loves. ”Many times we wouldn’t have enough people to play all positions. Right field would …
Don Stramaglia, who was born and raised in Evergreen Park, began his sixteen-inch softball career at the age of twelve. During the summer of 1949, he joined the Evergreen Athletic Association League and played for the Methodist Church. Later, he won two consecutive championships with the Evergreen Park Central School in seventh and eighth grade. …
The Saints sixteen-inch softball team first played in the Darien Park District League in the late 1970s. They were sponsored by Our Lady of Peace Church. Its pastor, Reverend Alphonse Mika, served as their first general manager. Father Al later joined forces with softball veteran Mike Paulo to take a group of neighborhood players …
