Howard Park Memories

The men arrive every Tuesday evening in the spring and summer.

They all wear shirts that match my green pasture.

The familiar faces are now rough like my gritty dirt. 

The new faces are fresh like a sprig of grass.

I provide an escape from daily life and strengthen neighborhood ties.

Children have trampled me for over 100 years.

These men transform into kids when they set foot on me.

I am Howard Park and they are the Cougars.

Oh, how I remember that very first game they played 12 years ago.

They were a ragtag group and showed up with such enthusiasm.

If I had a scoreboard, their opponent would have used all the numbers.

They quickly realized that sometimes the games are not a walk in the park.

Over the years, I have been the backdrop for their moments of futility and joy.

Win or lose, they always depart my fields together and drink in the night air.

I have witnessed this team learn something that few teams know:

The true success of their team cannot be measured in runs scored.

They left last night for the final time of 2019 with a loss but they are always winners.

As usual, they walked under my bright lights to go celebrate another year on my fields.

They strengthened bonds by reliving memories, both old and newly created.

The cheering voices of their friends and families will echo in my shadows until next spring.

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Game Video 
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Game Recap
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Postgame Pictures 
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Next Game
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April 21, 2020

Summery Summary

Our title today is a little homophonic word play to recap our hour of ball play.

Rather than being idle on Tuesdays, the Cougars play hard and try to be idols.   

Win or lose, you will always hear it here first as I write about our what went right (and wrong) for the Cougars.

First Inning

Old School got two tallies.  The inning was highlighted by a Martini to Li’l Rads pick-off play.

Boom walked and traded spots with Tiny Rads on a fielder’s choice.  Rads singled and Martini walked to load the bases.  JD followed suit and drove in a run with a walk.  Old School shut us down the rest of the inning.

Cougars 1  Old School 2

Second Inning

We held them scoreless.

No runs but two hits in inning by Sawdey and Flandog.

Cougars 1  Old School 2

Third Inning

Two more runs for Old School.   While it was only a couple runs, the Cougars had a crushing blow when Sawdey attempted to put the brakes on a ball to the gap and ended up with a break of his wrist!  We all hope he'll heal quickly.

Pastor Ted beat out an infield single and traded spots with Tiny Rads on a fielder’s choice.  Rads singled to put men on first and second.  As Martini walked to the plate, he called for a hit and run and then singled to score Tiny Rads.

Cougars 2 Old School 4

Fourth Inning

We put them down 1-2-3.

Jimmy hit a triple to the left center field gap and Li’l Rads drove him home on a hard grounder.

Cougars 3 Old School 4

Fifth Inning

Old School put up three on us.   They could have had more but a fantastic relay play from Jimmy to Rads to Joker got an advancing runner at the plate.

Pastor Ted led us off with a smash that the infield could not handle and Tiny Rads smoked a single.  Rads doubled to right center to score both of them.

Cougars 5 Old School 7

Sixth Inning

Three more for our opponent.

JD had a shot up the middle and Joker lined a drive to left.  Li’l Rads singled to score JD and moved Joker  to third.  Flandog walked to load them up.  Patrick lined a single to score Joker.

Cougars 7 Old School 10

Seventh Inning

We held them scoreless.

It was the last inning and we needed three to tie and four to win.  Boom singled and Charley walked.  Rads hit into a fielder’s choice.  Men on one and two.  Martin pushed us to two and three.  With two outs  JD had a clutch single to score Tiny Rads and Rads to get us within one.  The Cougars needed a run to tie it up and Old School needed an out to close it out.  They got their out and the Cougars go down 10-9 in a tough match.  

We only needed one but they won. 

But as always, we rushed to the postgame to have ales for our ails.  We know if we get a bruise on the field, a few brews with Cougar Nation always eases our pain.  Of course, kids, this isn't to say that booze is the way you should deal with the boos and hisses in your life.  The point is that our team is teeming with camaraderie and togetherness on and off the field.  Our imbibing isn't a sole venture but a soul venture! 

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Postgame Photos

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Because he is our leadoff hitter, our games always start with a Boom.  Last night, it also ended with a Boom because he treated Cougar Nation to a perfect postgame

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Video Highlights

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Martini to Li'l Rads pickoff play.






Jimmy to Rads to Joker play at the plate






Jimmy's triple




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Full Game Video

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South Side on the North Shore

It was South Side night on the North Shore.

For a few Cougars, our baseball careers began in South Holland and our field of dreams was Veterans Park. 

In 1985, five members of Cougar Nation were on the field together for the first time.

Can you find those Cougars in the team photo?  There are three Bobises, one Radtke, and one Otsuka.

• Diddy is in the front row second from the right.
• Li’l Rads is in the front row third from the left.
• Bobi is in the second row and is second from the right.
• Coach is in the back row second from the left.
• Jason is in the front row on the far left.

Last night in Wilmette, 34 years later, we had four of them on the field and one watching the live stream of the game.

Our game at Howard Park was a field of nightmares as the Cougars lost 10-1 to Old Neighborhood Grill. 

Three decades ago we all held our postgames at Tastee Freeze.  Today, the postgame is still the highlight of the night.

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Game Photos

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Jason, visiting from Australia, played with his brother Jeff and the Cougars again this year while Coach cheered his boys.  It was a Bobis night!

Our fans are always the greatest highlight of each night!

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Postgame Photos

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It was a blast to have Jon and Laurie celebrate the night with the Cougars!

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Game Video

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The live stream app did as well as the Cougars last night and kept crashing.  To be posted soon.

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Next Game

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July 16
8:45pm
Cougars vs Old School

Meat and Potatoes

Let’s get right to the meat and potatoes.  The Cougars won 14-7 over Pitches last night. 

Fort started us off with a single … and then stole second base!  Martini singled to drive in our first run.  We held our foe scoreless.   Cougars up 1-0.

In the second inning Jimmy, Li’l Rads, and Sawdey all had consecutive hits to score a run and Crawford had a sacrifice fly to get another.  Our opponent scored two in the bottom of the frame to make it 3-2 Cougars.

In the third Fort had a hit but didn’t touch the dish.  We put Pitches down 1-2-3.  Cougars still up 3-2.

In the fourth inning, Jimmy, Li’l Rads, and Sawdey went back-to-back-to back again to plate a run and Crawford had another sacrifice for another RBI.  Once again our opponent scored two to make it 5-4 Cougars.

The fifth inning was a whopper.  Tiny Rads singled, Rads tripled, Fort singled, Martini singled, Joker doubled, and Li’l Rads singled.  We put five on the board.  Pitches scored two in the bottom of the inning to make the score 10-6.

In the sixth, we extended our lead.  Pastor Ted and Bobi both singled and Rads drove home a run.  Then Fort pounded a homer to score three more.  Martini and Joker followed with singles but were left stranded on the basepaths.  Pitches plated one in their half.

The last inning was quiet except for Cougar cheers!  Cougars notch a win 14-7.

Apologies, I went off on a tangent about the game even though I said I would get to the meat and potatoes.

Win or lose, the meat and potatoes of every Cougar Tuesday is always the postgame celebration.  

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Postgame Photos

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Thanks to Susan and Fort, who provided the literal meat and potatoes along with the warm hospitality.

Charley had an undefeated tripleheader on Tuesday with two Loyola games and the Cougar game.  

Julie and I celebrated our 24th anniversary with the Cougars!

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Game Video

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Game Highlights

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Ok, I'll admit it.  I have watched this a dozen times already.  

The big bopper for Pitches bashed the ball to the left center field.  After it ricocheted off the fence, I grabbed it and fired it to Charley on a fly to third base where he  placed the tag on the runner to stop a triple and end the inning.  That one felt good.

Fort with the opposite field homer.  After his sweet slide into home plate, his knee was as bloody as our filet roasts.