American Legion baseball makes Carol Stream a mini-vacation destination
Last month we reported on the sad cancellation of the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association summer league tournament.
Meanwhile, the American Legion summer league baseball tournament, first played in 1926, is holding on. The legion’s Great Lakes Regional started Wednesday and runs daily through the championship at noon Sunday, at Lee Pfund Stadium off Gary Avenue, north of Geneva Road in Carol Stream.
Teams representing legion posts in Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, two from Wisconsin, defending national runner-up Midland, Michigan, Illinois champion Danville, and the host Carol Stream Thunder, Post 76, play to determine which will advance to the American Legion World Series, Aug. 14-19 in Shelby, North Carolina.
This is important to the players, and to Carol Stream, in the second of a two-year contract to host the regional.
“They’re all coming to Carol Stream, they’re all coming with their families,” said Jeff Berger, a village trustee, president of the Carol Stream Chamber of Commerce and a volunteer with the tournament. Mayor Frank Saverino Sr. threw a first pitch at Wednesday’s opening ceremonies.
“It’s really showcasing Carol Stream and our restaurants, our hotels, shopping. It’s almost like a little, mini-vacation for these families. You know, we’re not normally a vacation destination, but we have these families coming for a long weekend in Carol Stream and staying in our hotels and eating at our restaurants, and that’s a great thing,” Berger said.
Jerry Miller, the veteran coach of the Post 76 Thunder, whose roster has players from Glenbard North, St. Francis, Wheaton Academy and Wheaton North, said the regional will head to Lexington, Kentucky, in 2026 and 2027.
“They’re asking us already for it to come back in ’28 and ’29 because they love our location,” Miller said. “We’re in between everybody. A transportation hub, there’s everything around here, hotels, restaurants, the Cubs games, the Sox games.”
Should the regional return, participants might find a fresher Pfund Field, which is owned by the American Legion in a partnership with Wheaton College.
Miller said a new scoreboard will be installed this year, followed by new synthetic turf in 2026 and a fuller stadium build-out “in the next few years.”
When the first phase of ballpark renewal began in 2011 the goal was to finish it by around 2020, “but COVID happened,” Miller said.
And the COVID-19 pandemic went away. The tournament remains.
“American Legion baseball is a great tradition,” Miller said.
A viable author
As an aspiring writer, if you’ve got product in Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville you’re on the right path.
West Chicago man Chuck Zydek was there Sunday as part of a new author showcase, supporting his book, “Farms to Fields, Prairies to Prep Sports.”
Spiral bound, 210 pages, as the tagline says it’s a history of DuPage County high school baseball, boys basketball and football.
“It seemed pretty well received. It’s more a niche book,” Zydek said.
The concept dawned on him after reading a 1997 Daily Herald story on the late Joe Carlton’s history of Glenbard West High School football, “As the Backs Go Tearing By.”
That year, Zydek started taking notes on key games and scores. His wife, Lisa, suggested he focus on Wheaton North since Chuck is a 1985 Falcons graduate.
He thought to expand it to the DuPage Valley Conference. Then, eventually, county-wide.
“I think that worked out better,” Zydek said. “It gave me a bigger target market and really lent to some interesting meetings with people.”
Juggling a downtown job in insurance data analysis while coaching three sports — his daughter, Bailey, played softball at St. Francis — Zydek had little time to work on the book until the COVID-19 pandemic.
Then he kicked it in. Zydek relished the period prose and silly nicknames (like “Mumbles”) scouring library microfilm. He got help with content from people like Wheaton North athletic director Matt Fisher, and editing from classmate Chris Bayee. Zydek worked with the Illinois High School Association on photos, and he solicited school logos.
Zydek loved the research. Editing, not so much.
“There’s always something,” said Zydek, who may be reached for copies of “Farms to Fields” at czydek2@gmail.com.
Since the book published in November 2023 he has sold more than 350 copies with more on Anderson’s shelves and at most DuPage County high schools.
Most satisfying, Zydek realized a landmark those of us stuck on page 24 of their great American novel still seek.
“Now I am a viable author.”
doberhelman@dailyherald.com