Started by Fritz Zimmermann, March Softball began its incredible run back in 1974, competing in and winning numerous league championships at Glenview, Northbrook and Rolling Meadows Park Districts. They soon moved to a higher level of competition and began the climb up the ladder in the 80’s taking first place in the 1983 Thillens Tournament. […]
The Chicago Rollers 16-inch softball team team was formed at the end of the 1976 season. It was a team that merged players from Niles, Edison Park and Notre Dame High School. The original team started with the following players – Tom Czarnik, Hugh Carmichael, Ed Murray, Craig Christiansen, Bill Maurer, Tom Jones, Mike Fragale,
In 1986, Tony Pearson and a group of close friends formed the Untouchables, a new neighborhood team. They played their first year at Dunbar Park and managed to only win one game. But they played with heart and desire but lost many close games, so they decided it was time to support their already talented
For many years, the Doran brothers, Rich, Jerry and John, and Vito Povilaitis of Mt. Greenwood were the nucleus of many youth baseball teams until they began their softball careers by assembling a softball team called the Trumbullies. They played at Mt. Greenwood in 1972 and 1973. Like many young teams, they weren’t as competitive
While the members of the Hangovers didn’t grow-up exclusively playing 16 – inch softball (they played t-ball for two years starting when they were six), they did play it for twenty- six plus years. They started at Lawler Park in the 70’s in the Pigtail, Ponytail and then Junior Miss leagues. From there they went
Sal Vasta (HOF), founder and manager of the Blues softball team, was introduced to 16-inch softball in 1969 on Chicago’s Northwest Side through the CYO program. His involvement in the program made him realize the unity of playing Chicago’s great game. He began the Blues softball team in 1969, playing in various parks around Chicago.
The Alley Softball Team was formed in 1973 and consistently played at a high level of competition for more than 25 years. The team’s roots however date back even further to 1965. The team was formed as an outgrowth of Our Lady of Victory Parish’s youth sponsored softball program. Many of the original players started
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
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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,
In 1987, John Pellegrino organized the Hickory Hills Rebels after growing up watching sixteen – inch softball games at the local park. The players were friends from the neighborhood looking for a competitive outlet and took their name from a childhood football league. The Rebels built momentum and skill, leading up to their first big
