Organized December 9, 1924
The C&NW 16-Inch Softball Team
The
game
of
softball
started
in
Chicago
on
Thanksgiving
day
1887
at
the
Farragut
Boat
Club,
when
Yale
&
Harvard
alumni,
waiting
for
the
ticker-tape
score
of
their
annual
football
game,
wrapped
up
a
boxing
glove
with
tape
&
started
hitting
it
around
inside the gym with a broom-stick.
Those
men
formalized
rules
&
eventually
the
game
moved
outdoors.
In
Chicago
the
parks
&
school
grounds
were
small,
so
the
ball
had
to
be
bigger
to
stay
in
the
park.
The
16-inch
diameter
became
the
size
of
choice
and
the
game
of
choice
during
the
"Great
Depression"
since
all
you
needed
was
a
bat
&
a
ball.
16-inch,
or
"NO-GLOVE,"
softball
has
been
famous
only
in
Chicago since the 1920's.
16-Inch
softball
remained
a
Chicago
game
and
is
played
without
gloves.
Starting
back
in
the
1920’s,
the
C&NW
fielded
a
team
made
up
of
Ravenswood
office
employees
which
lasted
into
the
1990’s.
In
2008,
Jim
Hallgren
submitted
the
team’s
application
for
induction
into
the
Chicago
16-Inch
Softball
Hall
of
Fame
and
in
2009
this
application
was
accepted
and
the
team
became
part
of
the
Hall
of
Fame
Class
of
2008.
This
application
for
this
honor,
repeated
below,
and
succeeding
pages
on
this
web
site
tell the story. Our thanks to Jim Hallgren who made this material available.
To the Board of Directors of the Chicago 16" Softball Hall of Fame
Re: The Chicago & North Western Railroad (also the "C&NW" or the "Railroad") Softball Dynasty.
Thank
you
for
the
opportunity
to
describe
to
you
why
the
C&NW
should
have
the
honor
and
distinct
privilege
of
being
inducted
into
the
Chicago
16"
Softball
Hall
of
Fame.
The
primary
reason
for
the
induction
is
the
team's
remarkable
string
of
victories
and
Championships
under
Hall
of
Fame
Manager
Joe
Umana
(inducted
2004)
from
1965
to
and
through
1992.
But
those teams were the pinnacle of a gloried history that started in the 1920's.
Records
of
games
played
by
C&NW
teams
in
the
Twenties
demonstrate
a
"roaring"
and
successful
team
that
captured
the
essence
of
that
decade.
A
photograph
of
the
1925
C&NW
team
includes
visage
of
its
player/manager
23
year
old
Abe
Saperstein
(bottom
row
second
from
the
left).
Mr.
Saperstein
played
shortstop
and
managed
that
team
the
year
before
he
became
the
leader of the Harlem Globetrotters in 1926.
In
the
Thirties,
the
Railroad
recruited
workers,
despite
the
Great
Depression,
based
on
their
prowess
on
the
diamond.
Employees
were
retained
regardless
of
their
work
skills
(or
lack
of
work
skills)
until
the
softball
season
ended.
The
records
of
their
games
were
unfortunately
lost
to
time,
but
legends
remain
about
the
teams
and
hundreds
of
dollars
won
and
lost
on
the
field and in the stands on wagers, at a time when one dollar was an acceptable daily wage.
But,
it
was
in
the
60's
when
the
C&NW
truly
became
Joe
Umana's
"Monster
of
the
Midway."
In
1965,
Umana
entered
the
Chicago
&
North
Western
team
in
the
Clarendon
Park
Industrial
League.
The
team
took
first
place.
From
1965
to
and
through
the
1992
season,
"Joe's
Team",
the
Chicago
&
North
Western
Railroad
16"
Softball
Team,
won
26
Industrial
League
and
Men's
League
Park
Championships;
2
Grant
Park
Tournament
of
Champions
City-Wide
First
Place
Titles;
one
City-Wide
Industrial
first
place
finish
at
Thillens
Stadium,
2
Grant
Park
Tournament
of
Champions
Second
Place
finishes;
with
a
total
of
7
Final
Four
finishes
in
the
Grant
Park
Industrial
Tournament
of
Champions
from
1969
through
1977.
There
are
few,
if
any,
teams with records that even come close to the C&NW's record of success during those years.
Some highlights worth recounting include the following:
·
In
1969,
Manager
Umana
led
the
Chicago
&
North
Western
16-Inch
Softball
Team
to
an
undefeated
regular
season
at
Welles
Park.
This
was
followed
by
the
team
capturing
the
City
Championship
of
16-Inch
Industrial
Softball
at
the
Grant
Park
Industrial Tournament of Champions.
·
In
1970,
the
C&NW
repeated
as
the
City-Wide
Champions
by
once
again
taking
the
Grant
Park
Industrial
Tournament
of Champions.
·
In
1972
and
1973,
the
team
repeated
its
success
at
the
highest
levels
of
Chicago
16-Inch
Industrial
softball
by
winning
the
first five games of the Grant Park Tournament. In both years, the team took second place at the Tournament.
As
a
result,
during
that
five-year
period,
the
Chicago
&
North
Western
16"
Softball
Team
finished
first
or
second,
four
years
out of five.
·
In
1990
Joe
Umana
entered
his
railroad
team
in
the
City
Wide
Industrial
Tournament
at
Thillens
Stadium.
The
team
prevailed
in
come-from-behind
fashion,
by
winning
five
straight
games
then
losing
to
the
U.
S.
Postal
service,
who
had
played
their
way
through
the
"loser's
bracket".
Then
defeating
that
same
Postal
Service
team
m
the
Championship
game
11-6.
This
Championship Team consisted of many of the same players who were mainstays of the great 1969 through 1977 team.
One
of
the
C&NW's
most
memorable
games
at
the
Grant
Park
Industrial
Tournament
of
Champions
was
in
1976.
The
C&NW
came
face-to-face
with
the
fantastic
Chicago
Daily
News
team
that
was
inducted
into
your
Hall
of
Fame
last
year.
Mike
Royko
was
on
the
mound
for
the
"Paper"
and
Tim
Weigel
played
left
field
for
them.
The
previous
year,
1975,
that
Daily
News
team
was
crowned
City
Champs.
But
that
was
not
to
happen
in
1976.
Instead,
the
Chicago
&
North
Western
team
beat
the
Daily
by
10
runs.
More
incredible
-
the
1975
City
Champs
were
shut
out
by
the
Chicago
&
North
Western
team
10-0.
When
asked
if
he
was
going
to
give
his
team
the
"Weigel
Weiner"
on
his
nightly
sportscast,
a
very
gracious
Tim
Weigel
had
nothing
but
praise
for
the
C&NW
team,
and
he
admitted
that
in
all
of
his
years
playing
16"
softball,
he
had
never
before
been
the
victim
of
a
shutout.
Over
the
years
the
Chicago
&
North
Western
Team
played
&
developed
some
great
rivalries
with
many
tough
teams
such
as;
The
First
National
Bank
of
Chicago,
Commonwealth
Edison,
Illinois
Bell,
Peoples
Gas,
CTA,
Rheem
Co.,
The
Chicago
Fire
Dept,
The
Chicago
Police
Dept.,
S&C
Electric
Co.,
Stewart
Warner,
Zenith
Co.,
Kemper
Insurance
Co.
and
Combined
Insurance
Co.
to
name
a
few.
Our
favorite
opponent
was
The
Bank
of
Ravenswood;
in
1982
&
1983
their
team
included
Mr.
Cub
himself,
Ernie
Banks.
What
a
thrill
it
was
to
play
on
the
same
field
with
a
Chicago
icon.
Ernie
could
still
hit
the
ball
with
authority even at the age of 51.
There
was
very
little
worker
turnover
at
the
Chicago
&
North
Western
and
that
carried
over
to
the
softball
team.
It
was
not
uncommon
to
field
a
team
consisting
of
a
majority
of
players
that
worked
and
played
together
for
more
than
15
years.
Joe
Umana's
guys
were
and
still
are
a
loyal
bunch,
some
say
that
he
taught
us
all
how
to
be
winners.
His
leadership
and
constant
striving for excellence brought the team to championship form 29 times in that 28 year span from 1965 to 1992.
Here
is
a
list
of
players
that
were
very
proud
to
be
a
part
of
the
Chicago
&
North
Western
Railroad
16-Inch
Softball
winning
tradition:
Joe
Umana,
Mike
Coyne,
Billy
Haig,
Wally
Friese,
Sy
Berman,
Bud
Allen,
Joe
Jurkisatis,
Ron
Ambroziak,
Jack
Walter,
Noel
Julian,
Denny
Zeri,
Jerry
Steigerwald,
Cliff
Edington,
Larry
Thompson,
Dick
Stewart,
Sal
Pantano,
Tom
May,
Ted
Lambrakis,
Vince
Flanagan,
Tony
Handzel,
Jim
Hallgren,
Bob
Franzen,
Rich
Gonzales,
Dave
Knight,
Gary
Ogurek,
Ed
Lydiksen,
Tim
O'Brien,
Bob
Madsen,
Gary
Kolbe,
Denny
Madison,
Sylvester
Bobo,
Lee
Bellman,
Jeff
Liggett,
Roy
Kramer,
Rich
Ginger,
Paul
Blazek,
Joe
Collins,
Al
Long,
Howard
Schulman,
Joe
Hill,
Ziggy
Wejman,
Dennis
Brauner,
Pat
Fiege,
Nick
Poulos,
Larry
Prince,
Bill
Boukas
&
Don
Napen.
The
Chicago
&
North
Western
Industrial
Team
has
an
80-year
commitment
to excellence and a record and history that reflects that commitment.
It
would
be
a
just
tribute
to
the
Railroad
and
the
honor
of
a
lifetime
to
those
of
us
who
battled
for
the
Railroad
on
the
softball
diamonds of Chicago, to have the team inducted into the Chicago 16-Inch Softball Hall of Fame.
Here’s
the
group
attending
the
2008
Hall
of
Fame
induction
ceremonies.
Standing,
left
to
right::
Dick
Stewart,
Pat
Fiege,
Roy
Kramer,
Ed
Lydiksen,
Tony
Handzel,
Jerry
Steigerwald,
Wally
Friese,
Sylvester
Bobo,
Jim
Hallgren
&
Vince
Flanagan.
Seated,
left
to
right:
Tim
O'Brien,
Gary
Kolbe,
Bob
Madsen,
Joe
Umana,
Sy
Berman,
Bob
Franzen,
Joe
Collins
&
Zig
Wejman. Also attending but not pictured: Lee Bellman, Paul Blazek & Mike Coyne.
Following
the
induction,
commemorative
shirts
were
made
up
and
given
to
all
former
team
members.
Here’s
what
they
look
like. We all got a view of this one, held by Marie Lambrakis, on September 25th at the 2009 Chicago Chapter luncheon.