Thunder is a long time group of neighborhood friends that evolved into a consistent top-ten team, and for several years were much better than that. Frank Stella started the team in the Glenview Park District and Morton Grove Park District High School leagues in 1983. Thunder is still running in 2016 with no signs of …
It was the fall of 1991. Another softball season had just come to an end. While most people were taking a few months to get reacquainted with family and settle back into a more “normal” life without softball, Tim Walker was restless. His Philly Bar and Grill team had just completed a disappointing finish to …
Up until 1983, the Northern Trust Bank’s corporate softball team had limited success. About every other year, the team finished second in their Grant Park league, which qualified them to play in the GP Industrial Tournament. Once in the tournament, however, success was fleeting. They would maybe win their first game, but rarely would go …
Dukes Softball started in 1957 in the Father Jerry League in Chicago. Like most new teams, the Dukes struggled their first year, winning four games and losing eight. They might not have won a lot of games but they did have the best uniforms – black and white with satin warm-up jackets donated by Carmie …
Created in 1975 by a group of young men in the Englewood section of Chicago, LA Posse began their rise by playing in the tournaments around their neighborhood such Ogden, Hamilton and Washington Parks. The team consisted of the following players: Rufus Wright, Micheal Booker, Micheal Martin, Sam Woodson ( RIP), Marvin Bonds, Donald Woodson, …
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 …
Co-Founder: Jim Dorgan Co-Founder: Emil Smicklas Managers Jim Dorgan (1968-1989) Emil Smicklas (1968- 1986) Paul Rowan (1982-1993) Tim Daniher (1989-1993) In the summer of 1968, after playing mostly pick-up games on the Southwest Side of Chicago at a local park, Graver Park, Jim Dorgan and Emil Smicklas decided to form a team and …
In the summer of 1969, three friends – Hilde Diaz, John “Sweet Daddy” Wojtasik, and Ron “Orca” Michalowicz – recruited their neighborhood friends from Summit to form a sixteen-inch softball team called the Argo Sinners. That year they began playing in the Bedford Park and Summit Park leagues. Like most new teams in their first …
FORCE women’s sixteen-inch softball team evolved under the leadership of Coach and Founder, Allen Jenkins in 1979. This team of talented women from all neighborhoods of Chicago and the suburbs initially played at Garfield, Columbus, Franklin and Cabrini Parks. Season after season, FORCE dominated play and won league championships at these parks. As the team …
Great traditions often start with a simple mission and passion. The Flamingos, a world famous African-American sixteen-inch softball team, believed this to be true when they sought out the best softball teams to play “anytime and anywhere.” Under the expert coaching and organizing of Percy Coleman, the Flamingos became such a force in softball on …
