Created in 1980 by a group of young men from the Dearborn Homes section of Chicago, they began their rise by playing in the tournaments around their neighborhood such Avalon, Ogden, Hamilton, and Washington Parks. The next year a few Gypsy Stars players were added and played in tougher tourneys and leagues including the 75th […]
Softball has been in Laura’s blood from birth, she started playing 12 inch at the age of 5 with her mom coaching her. She pitched 12 inch for Richards High School. At 18, she started playing 16 inch with her mom and friends in Chicago Ridge. She was picked up by the Misfits and her
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Cecilia was born on the west side of Chicago, IL in 1965. Her parents were Robert and Mattie Redditt. Cecilia started her 40- year career in 1979 at Franklin Park with a team called The Lady Strokes whose coach was Mattie Smith. She played with Lady Strokes from the years 1979-1984. She later played with
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Rick began his 16-inch umpiring career in college at Southern Illinois University in the spring of 1967. He graduated in 1971 and has worked for over 15 of the suburban leagues from 1971 until today. Rick has also umpired many tournaments including: the Westchester Classic-5 times, the Life Newspaper Classic-10 times, and the Chicagoland Classic
Ed was born in 1942 to Jim and Louise Walz on the Southside of Chicago in Bridgeport. He started his softball career at seven years old. He first played with the older boys in the neighborhood at Healy schoolyard across the street from his house. He would continue to play softball with a few of
It did not take long for Tim to fall in love with the game when he started playing 16-inch softball in the Marshalltown, Iowa area with many of his high school friends. He played his first major National Tournament in 1987 with the Des Moines Merchants in Mt. Prospect. In order to compete at a
John Westermayer was raised in Des Plaines next to Tomahawk Park, a park that influenced his desire to play softball and baseball because he would listen to the sounds of baseball being played during the summer months. Additionally, the local 16-inch softball “Metros” were played over countless summers in his youth at Tomahawk. There was
Mayfair Park in Westchester has been the host site for sixteen-inch softball leagues and tournaments for over fifty years. The Suburban Life Classic was was one of the first tournaments to be played on them. Recently Westchester hosted baseball tournaments, state police softball tournaments, IHSA twelve-inch state tournaments, ASA sixteen-inch and twelve-inch ASA qualifying tournaments,
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Located on Chicago’s South Side, Washington Park was named for President George Washington and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Du Sable Museum of African-American History, the Lorado Taft Sculpture, the Fountain of Time, and The architecturally significant Richard L. Jones National Guard armory are all located inside the park’s boundaries.
Craig “Duck” Wente played, managed, and sponsored sixteen-inch softball teams for forty-two years. He started playing at eighteen with Durty Nellies and Runyon’s. He was an excellent second baseman and always betted over .500. As he matured, he became one of the top defensive pitchers in the game. He managed and sponsored Wente Trucking, later
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