Team Recognition

Peoples Gas

The “Gashouse” was a group of Peoples Gas employees who primarily played at Grant Park in the Plaza League from the early 1960s until the early 2000s. They were a diverse mixture of young and old players who played with passion and had a lot of fun doing it. Although the bulk of players came […]

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OutCast

In1976 little was going on in the history of Black folk, but we know that at least three things happened. 1. Negro History week became Black History Month. 2. While accepting the Grammy for Album of the year, Paul Simon thanked Stevie Wonder for not releasing an album that year…Stevie had won it 1974, 1975

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JYNX

Bob Glosa and Tom Balek started JYNX softball as a combination of four South Side neighborhood teams. JYNX consisted of some good players and some great players, but they were all great guys. They were a special group with a strong bond of close-knit players. New players were often pals of current players who wanted

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Bidayos

The Bidayo’s women’s softball team started out as a local Oak Lawn in-house team in 1969. They were originally the Road Runners in the Oak Lawn Park District, but Karen Wagner renamed them the Bidayos around 1975. Ron Hurry has been at the helm of the Bidayos as manager since 1969 when he managed his

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Ray’s

Ray Linz Sr., owner of Ray’s Tavern in Calumet City, IL was the proud sponsor of RAY’S Women’s 16″ Softball Team from 1972-1980. The team was formed in 1972 from a recreational group of women’s power volleyball players. Although the members came from various teams, they shared a common bond — a competitive nature. Of

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Thunder

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

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Carpet Country

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

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Northern Trust

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

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