Initiated in the 1960s, men’s 16-inch softball immediately became a significant program at Veterans Park District’s (VPD) Bulger Park located in Melrose Park. Thanks to the vision of former VPD Executive Director George A. Leoni and his staff, members of the community have been able to experience the excitement of the game and participate in …
CJ’s from Cedar Rapids, Iowa played from 1995 -2018 . They were sponsored by Punch and Connie Vasquez who owned CJ’s Sports Bar & Grill. Danny Arenas and Jody Beltram with family and friends established the team at Kirkwood Complex. As they started to have success, eventually, Greg “Termite” Mara took them to the next …
The Break-A-Ways started in 1989 when a group of friends combined from other teams to play softball, hence the name Break- A-Ways. They started playing 12-inch at Janura Park in Berwyn and 16-inch at Hawthorne Park in Cicero winning many times. Playing ball together and hanging out at the sponsor after was what everyone looked …
The Trojans began in 1980 with a group of High School friends led by Jeff Fritz and Greg Searle. Over the years the desire to play the great game of 16-inch softball grew which led to moving up the ranks in competition. Their foundation was playing out of the Mt. Prospect Park district leagues, and …
The Lords Softball Team were a group of neighborhood ball players that grew and became a dominate team in the western suburbs in the 1970’s to the 1990’s.The Lords played mostly in the leagues from Melrose Park, Broadview, Bellwood, Franklin Park, Westchester, Mount Prospect, Downers Grove, Westmont, Woodridge, and Lisle. The Lords won league championships …
The Ironman Softball Team was formed in 1976 by Jack Kelly right out of Oak Lawn High School. Additional friends were from the southwest suburbs. They have been together over 4 decades – to the present day. The Ironmen started with a core and have attracted major softball players and Hall of Famers on their …
The Alpha Giants have been in existence since 1979 and during that time we have participated in the Sunday’s Best Softball League at Washington Park, and won 60 percent of their 800 games The team comradery and the sportsmanship that has, been exhibited during this time has been a credit to the league and to …
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, …
Murderer’s Row was named after the 1927 Yankees, arguably the greatest baseball team ever assembled. The team name was started by a group of friends who lived in the area around Kosciusko Park, located near Diversey and Pulaski on the North Side of Chicago. At age 12 this group played in a junior high league …
The Scooters were formed in the spring of 1980 by Roy Solofra and Mike Slenk. The team started with17 players who were neighborhood and college friends. They were an athletic group talented enough to compete at an above-average level. The last piece of the puzzle was to nd a team name and Scooters was chosen …
