Last month I wrote about the Renegades, our 16-inch softball team which was celebrating the 40th anniversary of winning the championship in Bridgeview (“Working Man’s Olympics: A 40th Anniversary”).
The story described the unusual winning season, the unique players, and featured a team photo from 1976.
Several days after its publication, we received the following email from Charlie Farrell, the son of the Renegades’ relief pitcher.
Charlie, Jr. grew up on the South Side and now lives in Los Angeles, having become a successful actor in movies, TV and the theater. He graduated from The Second City Conservatory and currently plays the lead in “Point Break Live,” advertised as L.A.’s longest-running show. His film credits include the award winning Greg Fitzsimmon’s feature “Miss Ohio,” which was filmed in Chicago.
Dear Mr. McGrath,
My dad has been dead for seven years this November. So, you can imagine our surprise and delight when our mom told us that his name (and photo) appeared in the paper a few days before what would have been his 67th birthday.
That photo you published hung in my dad’s office and then his bar for our entire childhood. It is a photograph that I have studied and few photos remind me more of my dad than this one. It was good to see it again. And it was great to read what that photo represented and why it was taken.
My brothers and I knew it so well, we had nicknames for each player in the picture, like the ironic “Guy Smiley” for the man with the mustache furthest to the right. We always wondered who the man was front-and-center and why he was dressed the way he was. We always thought Mr. Dixon was so cool in this shot. And we always thought that those uniforms were eye-catching.
Later, the more interesting aspects of this photo became centered around how “dad used to look” back then, or how “thin dad was”. Before I saw this familiar tableau in the paper, I could have recreated 80 percent of it from memory for a sketch artists if called upon to do so.
I only played one full season of 16-inch softball for Team WTTW when I lived in Chicago before I moved to L.A. One season was enough time to create a ring finger so mangled that my wife and I had to practice putting the ring over my knuckle for our wedding. Since then, I would say that I have spent more time explaining what 16-inch softball is than actually playing it. “Yes, you play without a glove.”
You captured that world so accurately in your article. I grew up in that world. My three brothers and my mom would attend his games each Sunday. It was routine. We loved it. Many of my dad’s softball friends were invited guests to our weddings even after he had passed.
I just presumed that my life would be the same. Softball with the guys, a few beers, and a little exercise. I would have my wife and kids there too. It never turned out that way. There are few neighborhoods in L.A. and many people struggle to find a community of their own. Strangely, softball was a community for us growing up. I know so much has changed in 40 years, but I hope that still exists back home. In 2016, softball has much with which to compete. I imagine kids find their iPads and Pokemons a much better use of their time than lawn chairs and softball games.
As for my dad, I know he would have been very satisfied with the line you used to describe him. We always love to hear how other people describe my dad’s impact on his or her life. My wife only met my dad once. But it is a line like that which helps me paint a larger picture of him for her.
I apologize for the length of this correspondence, but your article caught me at a interesting time. I just started to convert old VHS onto my computer and a couple of tapes featured my dad’s days with the St. Linus softball team. There is endless footage of his pitch and signature look to first base. But, one part I’ll share with you was when he walks another batter in this one game and then yells at the guy on the way to first, “Let’s go! Swing the damn bat!” The next at-bat for my dad, he keeps the bat firmly on his shoulder the whole time with no intention of swinging just to piss them off. Love it.
On behalf of my mom and my brothers, thank you for remembering my dad and thank you for putting his name in print. It helps to remind us that he was here and he was relevant.
Have a good day, Mr. McGrath.
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Former Oak Forest resident David McGrath is emeritus English professor at the College of DuPage and author of the novel “Siege at Ojibwa.”