SUN CITY – When it comes to starting a season, the Sun City Softball League does it with flair.
When they open their 11th season at Eakin Field this Saturday, they will have one of the largest and most prestigious guest lists – including large contingents from the Huntley Fire and Police Departments, possibly Mayor Chuck Sass, and village trustees, administrators, and representatives of many village businesses, who sponsor teams each year.
Above and below: Sun City softball teams get in a little preseason warm-ups before the 2010 season. (Sun Day File Photo)
In short, it takes a village to get the league started the right way.
Every year, the league prays and hopes for nice weather and usually gets it. “It was cold and windy last year, but it was dry,” Bob Kennedy, president of the league’s seven-member board, said.
There are few sports that demand, and get, the fierce loyalty that softball players feel toward the sport. Most of the Sun City players have played softball since childhood. Some are graduates of the famous Windy City 16-inch league that has produced so many outstanding national championship teams. “I’ve played softball for 40 of my last 48 years,” Kennedy said. “I grew up playing the game in Madison, Wisconsin, and I continued when I moved down to the Chicago area. As long as my legs and arms work, I’ll play.”
Some players are well into their 80s. Pete Karambelas is a good example. He’s 86 or 87 and one of the best players in the league at 5-3 and about 135 pounds. He pitches, roams the outfield, and runs the bases with the best of them. He plays because it’s a symbol of his ability to hold off Father Time and enjoy his retirement far beyond what most men are able to.
They play because of the camaraderie of friendly competition and of Sun City neighborhoods. “We offer opportunities all summer to socialize and build relationships and to play our favorite sport,” Kennedy said. “We build our teams around neighborhoods so that friends and neighbors play with friends. It’s our neighborhood concept.”
This year, the league has 240 players on 22 teams in three divisions, including four women. “We’ve had a couple of women for a few years, and this year, we added two more,” Kennedy said.
The league even has its own version of the New York Yankees.
“The Adjustors won the American Division of the Evening 16-inch league last year, and they have kind of dominated the division in recent years. We keep teams together year after year, so a team has a chance to win a lot of games.”
“The Fuelers won the regular season and post-season tournament last year in the National Division and are strong again this year,” Kennedy said. “The Lumbarjacks beat the Adjustors last year in the playoffs, so they are another good team. The Bears won the morning 16-inch league last year.”
“The best players are in the American Division of the evening 16-inch division, the next-best are in the National Division, and it goes down a bit from there,” Kennedy said. “Each team plays an 18-game schedule in the regular season from mid-May to September, and then we finish up with playoffs in each division in September.”
In addition to its jazzy opening day, the league collaborates with National Night Out officials in Huntley to stage the event at Eakin Field, complete with an all-star game played by selected players from the evening league. This event is held on the first Tuesday in August.
The league’s seven-member board is one of Sun City’s busiest year-round. Kennedy, as president, takes care of team rosters and scheduling. Pat McKay is in charge of field maintenance. Fred Thomas is in charge of umpires, Tony Nicosia is communications director and keeps tabs on scorekeepers, Don Keene takes care of the league’s webpage, and John Boyle is treasurer.
“Our season goes from April to September, but the board works virtually year-round,” Kennedy said. “Right after the September playoffs, we start putting together registrations and rosters for the next season.”
And in 11 seasons, no one has a hit a ball out of spacious Eakin Field on the fly. The story is still told about an outfielder chasing a well-hit ball on the warning track near the fence in left field a few years ago.
“He turned to try and catch it; the ball hit him in the head and bounced over the fence,” Kennedy recalled.
In the last couple of years, the league has adopted a new rule. If a batted ball goes over the fence on one bounce, it’s a home run.
“We adopt ASA (Amateur Softball Association) rules, but we aren’t afraid to modify them to suit our players and Eakin Field,” Kennedy said.
Nobody has hit a ball that way yet, he said. “But it probably will happen sometime,” he concluded.
