Janet Carpenter’s lifelong interest in 16” softball began in 1977 when she was only thirteen. Joe Bertucci, the supervisor at Wilson Community Center in Chicago, asked her to play shortstop for the powerhouse Wilson C.C. team. They were so impressed by her defensive skills and talents on offense that they formed a long partnership. Wilson …
Pat Pasko grew up in the Bucktown neighborhood on Chicago’s Northwest side. Her athletic talents were apparent from an early age. She attended St. Hedwig Elementary School and Resurrection High School where she played basketball, softball, and bowled. She received M.V.P. honors in all three sports before going on to DePaul University to earn her …
Sink the paddleboat. Rosie dances moves. Just tape it up; it will be fine. These and other sayings are some of the memories that Kim Panozzo retains from her years of playing in the top echelons of women’s softball. After moving from Roseland to the Beverly area of Chicago, Kim Panozzo begged her father to …
Connie Coster-Bruegmann’s softball career began with a bang at the age of twelve, in 1958. She received a special exemption to play shortstop in an adult women’s 12” fast pitch league. She went on to Thornton Fractional South High School, where she earned multiple awards and letters, culminating in her winning the prestigious Senior Athlete …
Dolly Reardon’s softball career began when she was six playing with the Swirls and Curls in a twelve inch league. It was here that she cemented shortstop as her position. She continued playing in the Evergreen Park Kroury League until she entered high school. She attended Mother McAuley High School from 1967 to 1971 where …
A graduate of Budlong Elementary and Amundsen High School on Chicago’s northwest Side, Lynn Miceli went to the University of Illinois when it was at Navy Pier. She graduated with a degree in physical education from the U. of I. after it moved to the Circle Campus. She then went to work at Hiawatha Park …
The signs of Del Cecchini – Centanni’s athletic skills were apparent from an early age when she started playing softball at six years old at Bell Park on Chicago’s Northwest Side. She would go on to play with some of the top women’s teams of her day and establish herself as one of the top …
To say that Cheryl Mikolaitis started her softball career at a young age would be an understatement. Before playing with the Hickory Hill Spoilers in seventh grade, she honed her skills playing “street ball” against her brothers and many of the boys in her neighborhood, competition that produced the toughness she needed to later compete …
Like many softball players, Gail Livingston loved the game from an early age. However, she grew up in a time before girls played high school sports, so she began playing 12” softball in the parks of Chicago Ridge in her early teens. After she got married in 1967, Gail Livingston signed up to play softball …
“I love the game, and I’ll keep on playing until I can’t keep up with the younger players anymore.” Kim Summers began her softball career playing 14” ball in Markham at the ripe old age of twelve. She continued playing 14” ball until she went away to college at seventeen. Upon her return, she switched …
