9th Annual Chicago Sixteen Hall of Fame Dinner
- continued
(L) Women Inductees & (R) Jack Dowling
- Frank Holan Award
Pitcher Gail 'Boydie' Livingston
was inducted next with Bliss saying, "She threw ten no hitters
and seventy one hitters during her career.
In accepting her award Livingston said,"If it wasn't for
my team, there would be no way that I am up here. This is a great
honor! Thank You."
The Speedy center fielder Cheryl 'Schmally' Mikolaitis was the
next person inducted with Bliss saying, "I'd like to thank
Pat McGuire and the Hall of Fame for this honor. I'd also like
to thank God for blessing me with such a supportive family."
She concluded by saying, "My mom has been my true inspiration
and my teammates, my buddies. I could write a book…and I
thank God we got home."
A special moment at every Hall of Fame induction Dinner is the
Frank C. Holan Award. The award is present to a person who is
an ambassador of the game with this years recipient be Jack Dowling.
Holan was in the process of writing a book on the history of sixteen
inch softball when he passed away and Dowling gave him access
to all his historical files to help Frank in his endeavor.
In accepting his award Dowling said, "I am honored to receive
this award, Frank and I were good friends." He regaled the
crowd with a story about going to lunch with Frank & Mel Turner
by saying, "He was fascinated by listening to this ninety-one
year old former player, manager, and sponsor talk about how it
was in the twenty's thirty's and forty's. He said to me on the
way home Jack, I'm going to do a whole chapter on Mel Turner."
With a playing career that lasted forty-eight years infielder
Mike Coyne was the next inductee representing the 1950 to 1963
Era of Sixteen Inch Softball. A infielder who turned to pitching
in his last fifteen years of participation, Coyne teams won numerous
league and tournament championships. In accepting his award Coyne
said, "I met my wife at a sixteen inch softball game…
she was not going to become a softball widow so she put the kids
into the buggy and brought them out to the park as she became
one of the most popular moms."
Co founder of the Chicago Sixteen Inch Hall of Fame, Tony Reibel
introduced Ed Whitman next by saying, "I played with and
against him…one of his old teams was inducted into the Hall
of Fame a couple of years back, The Lyons 45's… I like to
introduce a very fine player, Ed Whitman."
In his acceptance speech Whitman said, "The years I spent
playing softball were some of the best times in my life. It was
a chance to be with good people, to use my talent, and to have
fun."
(L) 1950 - 1963 Era & (R) 1964 - 1979 Era
Continued:
