Joe grew up on the Southside in Burnside. Thanks to his Dad he played at an early age using sewer lids on the corners for bases and played till dark. In 1975 he graduated from high school, and started playing softball with the Burnside Bums. They played at Calumet, Palmer and Mt. Greenwood Parks. His …
Sonny’s softball career started in 1964 at the age of 14, with the Vandyke’s in Taylor Park. Sonny also played with the Ironmen, Senators, Safari Tigers, Flashes, Death Wish, The Express, the Untouchables and The Bandits. In 1980 Sonny’s team the Flashes took third in the ASA Nationals held in Marshalltown, Iowa. Sonny was named …
As a first baseman for Sulky Inn, Beth performed flawlessly for many years and was named by the Sun-Standard Newspaper as one of the best “first-sackers” in the league who is “wiry and can dig’em out of the dirt with the best of them. As a batter, she was known for her timely hitting and …
Calvin Jackson’s 16-inch softball career started at the age of twelve (1961). He was under the tutelage of Mr. Walton in the Madden Park-Darryl Home Park District softball league, located at 3813 South Rhodes. This league had two divisions: the Intermediate (12 to 15 years) and the Senior League (15 to 17 years). Calvin first …
Don (Donny) Bianchi threw his first 16-inch softball at Portage Park in the early 1960s. He used to watch his father played there, so he grabbed a yellow Clincher and brought it to the sandlot field in Niles. Donny and his buddies played 16-inch there because not everyone had a mitt, and the windows were …
