Ron Amazzalorso grew up at 96th and Avenue N, a street referred to as “Goat Street” because goats were once raised there. Avenue M was referred to as “Cow Street” for the same reason. Many discussions at local bars debated which of these nicknamed streets produced the better athletes. Ron and his friends were gym …
Mike Kamenjarin started playing sixteen-inch softball when he was fifteen with the Tonti Playground CYO team. They won the city championship that year in their age bracket. Mike and his neighborhood friends formed the Group to play at Archer Park and at Wentworth Park. They won the Wentworth championship and won the Archer Park title …
Joe Firneno has been playing sixteen-inch softball for more than fifty-five years (and he just recently turned sixty-five). Some players say he still plays with the enthusiasm and passion of a twenty-five year old. Joe began playing softball in the alleys and streets around 80th and Peoria on the South Side of Chicago. In 1964, …
Gary Goldberg grew up on the North Side of Chicago. He has played sixteen-inch softball since he was six years old. He attended Sullivan High School where he lettered in baseball, basketball, and bowling. After high school and college, he started a softball career that continues to this day. He combined his softball skills with …
Ernest Millsap began playing sixteen-inch softball when he was just sixteen. He played with his older brothers R.V. and Vern, and friends Rob Kubicki (HOF) and Tim Kovel at Hodgkins Park District. He was hooked after his first season of play. As a younger kid, he had dreamed of playing in the major leagues, so …
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 …
Charles Martinkus grew up in Chicago’s West Lawn area and attended Bogan High School. He graduated in 1963 and was awarded “Most Physically Fit Senior”. While at Bogan, Charles won an intramural softball championship, which ignited his love for sixteen-inch softball and led to his playing in various Southwest side park leagues the next two …
Alvin “The Doctor” Robinzine (“Doc”) was known for his white cap and unique pitching style which consisted of various fakes used to keep the batters off balance. Some say he threw a high pitch, but what he actually pitched is called the Hump. Doc was named “The Doctor” by his teammates who admired how he …
Duke Gregerson’s sixteen-inch softball career started at fifteen when the game captured his heart. He has played more than five thousand games during his forty-four year career. He played with thirty-five different teams. The High Flyers, Coach’s Corner, Slammers, Brentano’s, Wallace Softball, Doctors, Warhawks, Hooligans, and Goons are all teams he played on that won …
“If I got asked, I played. Anytime. Anywhere.” This simple approach to playing the game of softball defined Jimmy Walsh’s 25-year career. Walsh was known throughout Chicagoland as one of the top utility players of his era because he could contribute not only with his bad but with his ability to play every position …
