Softball teammates offered up life lessons

Although he's never worked in the newspaper business, Mike Skowronski was a part of the Chicago Daily News/Sun-Times 16-inch softball team for 22 years.

Nearly 10 years later, he joined them again in a fitting tribute to nearly four decades of softball excellence and goodwill.

On Jan. 26, that team, co-founded by columnist Mike Royko in 1970, was inducted into the Chicago 16-Inch Softball Hall of Fame.

The team's other co-founder, former real estate editor Don DeBat, gave the acceptance speech in a ceremony that took place at Hawthorne Park Race Track in Cicero.

Several individuals and a few other teams also were inducted that evening, according to Skowronski, who teaches physical education at Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn after 20 years in school administration.

"It was a pretty big group," Skowronski said. "I was surprised at the number of people that were there."

He estimates there were approximately 500 people at the event, including about 80 of the more than 120 players who have played for the Chicago Daily News/Sun-Times teams over the years. It was a perfect time to catch up with former teammates.

"There were certainly 12 to 15 guys from my era that I played with for a good many years," Skowronski said. "I was just happy to see all those guys that I had not seen in a while. Many of those guys were older than me and were influential in my life. It was just great to see them again."

Skowronski, who still plays softball, joined the team in 1977 and played with the likes of Royko and TV sportscaster Tim Weigel. It was a valuable experience for the Park Ridge resident.

"I'm around all these guys, and here I am, 22 or 23, and still living at home," he said.

"I was impressionable, and to have all these well-known media guys kind of be my second fathers was kind of fun. I'd be sitting in the Billy Goat after a game hanging out with all these guys -- a 22-year-old with Royko and Weigel -- sitting there and hearing their thoughts on life and on work."

Skowronski took away more, however, than just a few good softball experiences.

"I took from them how to be a good person," he said. "I took from them how to be a good family guy; how to be a good teammate; how to be a good friend. And I think I learned a lot from them by just sitting there, like how to be responsible in your job."

One of his primary role models on job responsibility was Weigel, who managed to work in his own sports around reporting on the sporting events of others.

Skowronski was amazed how Weigel would be changing his clothes in his car while running from the newspaper office to the game and then after the game to the TV studios.

"He just loved playing, and he found a way to get it done," Skowronski said.

Getting it done was also what their Hall of Fame softball team did year after year. On the 16-inch Hall of Fame Web site, www.16inchsoftballhof.com, you will find that teams are honored by the Hall of Fame for having been successful over a long period of time.

Not all have won big tournaments, and many have just played for decades, but are the fabric of the 16-inch game's heritage.

Skowronski acknowledged that longevity was one of the two criteria for their selection, the other being charitable contributions to the area.

"We did a lot of charity games," he said. "We'd play in the stadiums that had fencing and admission gates. We'd play charity games for money and we'd give all the money to some local charity."

For those games, the Chicago Daily News/Sun-Times team would occasionally add a few local celebrities, such as radio icon Larry Lujack or former Yankees and White Sox great Bill "Moose" Skowron, to help draw even more fans to the contest.

For Skowronski, being a part of the Hall of Fame induction was a great honor. He was also pleased that his wife, Sheri, was on hand to see her husband become a Hall of Famer.

"Now she realizes more than ever just how lucky she is," he said.