The Rizza Rockers, a team made up of public service employees from North Riverside and Riverside – Brookfield High School graduates, started playing in 1986 in the North Riverside Fall Ball Rec. League. The next year they struck gold when they won the North Riverside Summer League. With confidence firmly in hand, they started playing […]
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Although they were only together for a few years, the Slo-Pokes made their mark on women’s softball on the North and Northwest sides of Chicago. Like many great teams, they were a compilation of teams that had played against each other. And like other great teams, they had a strong organizer who could spot and
In 1970, Chicago Daily News reporter Don DeBat tacked a note on the newsroom bulletin board asking if anyone was interested in playing 16-inch softball just for fun. That same day, Mike Royko, the paper’s Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, put his hand on DeBat’s shoulder and said: “Lad, I understand you are starting a softball team.
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The Molex team is considered the best team to play in the Western suburbs in the 80’s and 90’s. They were recognized by the HOF for their longevity, tenacity, and ability. Organized by Jim Geiser in the 70’s for employees of the Fortune 500 global connector manufacturer. Joined by new employee and future HOF founder
Little did Jimmy Lang Sr. know that the team he formed in 1976 would go on to win seven ASA National Championships, five USSSA World Championships and four Forest Park No Glove Nationals and would lay claim to being one of the best teams in softball history. In 1976 they started playing in leagues throughout
The Rebels emerged as one of the most competitive women’s teams of the late 1970s and early ’80s, playing in park district leagues as well as countless tournaments on Chicago’s North and South Sides. One of the most memorable moments in team history occurred in the Women’s National Softball Tournament in 1977. When the tournament
Sixteen-inch softball has always been a game that cut across racial, cultural and socioeconomic barriers. What mattered most was how you played the game. During its twenty-seven years together, the Commonwealth Edison corporate team stood as a shining example of this trait. It was a team comprised of office workers, electricians, meter readers, union employees
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In the late 1970s, a chance meeting at a recently opened North Side bar led to the creation of McSchnapps, a women’s neighborhood team that would win many championships during the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s and create lifelong friendships along the way. During their heyday, McSchnapps played at Touhy, Paul Revere, Wells, Lake Shore, and
