Joanie grew up on the Northwest side of Chicago right across from Athletic Field, a Chicago Park District facility, so this was where her story began. As a young girl and a typical Chicago kid she spent a fair amount of time at the park and outside in the neighborhood. As luck would have it, …
Growing up on a block full of boys on the north side of Cicero, Kim played baseball and softball in a corner yard, learning quickly to hit the ball straight up the middle to avoid breaking windows. This skill was handy in her career as she was able to control where she hit the ball …
Kathy started playing 16-inch softball in the summer of 1984 in Bellwood / Hillside, Illinois with high school friends on the Jynx team. After moving to Berwyn, she played with the Tappers, Banshees and Phillies, which helped her sharpen her skills. Eventually, she helped organize and play on Break-A-Ways, which became one of the top …
In the spring of 1982, Joe Umana Jr., the son of the late Joseph I. Umana (2004 HOF) organized a 16” softball team consisting of his wife Rose and a group of her Forest View High School and work friends. Being a longtime resident of the Mt. Prospect Park District, they joined the Mt. Prospect …
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 …
Rosie was born in 1963 and had five brothers. She graduated from Oak Lawn High School in 1981. Senior year, she was co-captain of the volleyball and softball teams. Also, she was voted to the SICA All-Conference Team and was Oak Lawn High School’s Most Valuable Player in volleyball. She was also named to the …
Lisa Lovato was born and raised in Blue Island, Illinois along with her seven brothers and three sisters. She started playing organized softball as a shortstop for the Bandits when she was nine. She batted leadoff due to her speed and ability to get on base. In her second year of softball at age ten …
Growing up on the north side of Cicero, Sharen’s interest in sports began at a young age as she was always playing basketball, softball, hockey, football, and swimming. When she was nine years old, she asked her parents if she could join the boys little league – her mother, Camille Olmstead, said, “no, if they …
Renette McCurry got her first feel of sixteen-inch softball around the age of fourteen when she started playing at the Sears parking lot, and a neighborhood playground on Homan Avenue on the West side of Chicago. She played for her my girl scout group Girl Power under the leadership of Corrine Stubbs. She played fast …
Lisa Pugh grew up at Cabrini Green, an inner city housing project on Chicago’s North Side. She was the seventh child of nine (one brother and eight sisters). When she was ten, she began playing baseball with the neighborhood boys. They called her a tomboy but they changed their tune when she struck out some …
