Growing up in the early 1960’s when you were associated with the parish you grew up in, neighborhood friends and classmates of St. Felicitas grade school moved on from the little league diamonds to the softball elds of Avalon Park. Thus began a bond that started during our school years and continued to grow as …
Grand Theft was an offspring of Fire, a Church Team, which was organized by The New Nazareth Baptist Church in 1975. The name of the team was changed when several members after a practice voted on the new name. Grand Theft was established in 1982. Located on the Southeast side in Chicago, we played in …
Spring early 1980’s…Russell Grande gets together a group of his High School buddies from Steinmetz to play 16” Softball, a Chicago specialty, this is when the High Lites began. The inspiration to play came when Russell and Geno Grande as teenagers would hangout at their brother-in laws games in the dugout and around the field …
Wildbunch! Wildbunch! Wildbunch! was the chant started by a group of young men who spent their youth playing basketball and 16-inch softball, on the courts and diamonds at the neighborhood playgrounds, practicing good sportsmanship, and cultivating friendships that have lasted a lifetime. They lived on the 2600, 2700, and 2800 blocks of West Jackson, Adams, …
The Turtles were predominantly made up of players from Maine West HS and the Des Plaines Rand Park AA League. The Des Plaines Rand Park AA League of the late 70’s and 80’s featured many good teams like the Youngsters, Badgers, Bushmen, Kitty’s and Custom Tape. Many of the original Turtles players played on the …
The Ducks were created in the early 70’s by teacher and varsity baseball coach Skip Borkowski as a local Oak Lawn area team. Many of the original players were either Oak Lawn Community HS graduates or teachers. The Ducks won over 75% of their games over the years, but win or lose, could always be …
Originally named Cutty when they formed in 1982, the team name was changed to Babes after Babes Tavern in Niles, Illinois. The tavern was owned by Gary Pearson, a Chicago police officer who sponsored, managed and played for the 24 years the team played together. In 1984, Mike Caliendo joined the team as a starting …
The CTA Softball league was established in 1969, providing entertainment and fellowship for CTA employees, friends and family for generations, and 3rd Rail is an extension of that family. After winning the CTA championship in 2002 with the West Side ‘L’, Drake Jones and Tony Ward decided to form their own softball team, naming it …
51 YEARS AND COUNTING! In 1969, students at St. Benedict High School officially formed the “ACES” to join the newly created 16-inch softball league at Paul Revere Park. It was fitting because many of the original ACES started playing at the Neighborhood Boys and Girls Club (NBGC) at Revere. In 1971, the Aces added friends …
Andrew (Bay Bay) Patterson was looking for a deterrent for the young men living in the Rockwell Gardens Housing community. In 1984, he decided to build a 16inch softball team. In collaboration with existing teams, 340 Invaders and Altgeld Invaders, created a team called California Gold. California Gold played competitively throughout the local park district …
