OLCHS to name varsity baseball field in honor of Skip Sullivan. (Supplied photo)
OLCHS to honor ‘Sully’ with baseball field dedication May 17
By Brian Frangella
Any Oak Lawn Community High School student who participated in athletics anywhere from 1973-2014, odds are Skip Sullivan coached or taught them in one way or another. He spent an entire lifetime going to school, excelling in sports, and coaching as a Spartan. He was truly one of a kind.
So, when “Sully” passed away on November 25, 2021, it was a crushing blow to any and all Spartans who knew the legend. However, in the coming weeks OLCHS is going to honor this “Spartan for life” by naming the varsity baseball field in his name as “Skip” Sullivan Field. The dedication will take place on Tuesday, May 17, at 4 p.m. as the Spartans host Reavis in a South Suburban Conference Red game. The event and game are open to the public. Shuttle service from the South parking lot will be provided beginning at 3:30 p.m.
The District 229 Board of Education passed a resolution acknowledging Skip’s lifelong commitment to support the Mission, Visions, and Values of Oak Lawn Community High School and naming the Varsity Baseball Field in his honor. The resolution was read during the February 16 board meeting by President Robert Loehr and unanimously passed by the board.
“I wish he was alive for this dedication; this would mean so much to him,” Janet Meyers, who coached girls basketball with Sullivan for several years, said. “He loved Oak Lawn Community High School, and he dedicated his career to helping students succeed in the classroom and on the field. He touched so many lives in his 41 years as a teacher and coach. He brought out the best in everyone. This is a great way to honor, not only his love of the game but the time and effort that he put into building the baseball program and updating the field.”
Sullivan attended OLCHS as a student from 1965-1969. He played varsity football, basketball, and baseball and earned all-conference honors in basketball and baseball during his junior and senior years. Sullivan then attended Iowa State University on a football scholarship and played both football and baseball there.
He started coaching at OLCHS in 1973 as an assistant football, boys basketball, and baseball coach. He was the head baseball coach from 1995-2008. In 1993-1994, he earned the Fred Parks Coach of the Year Award at OLCHS. In 1996, he was named the Pitch and Hit Club High School Coach of the Year. In 2009, he was inducted into the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches’ Association Hall of Fame.
Sullivan retired from teaching at OLCHS in 2006 and retired from coaching there in 2014. Even after retiring, Sullivan could be seen in the hallways and attending athletic events and rooting on the Spartans. It was truly his home away from home.
“Skip was always so welcoming to new people when they started at OLCHS and in the baseball program,” said current Spartan head baseball coach Bill Gerny. “I appreciated the time he took to make me feel like a part of the baseball family when I first started here. It’s only fitting that he will continue to welcome baseball players in the OLCHS family for generations to come.”
The baseball program has also included a commemorative Sully jersey that players, staff and parents have purchased and will wear at the event.
Local News
Think before you answer a Facebook quiz, BBB says
Spread the loveBy Better Business Bureau staff Social media is used as a fun distraction for some people, and taking a Facebook quiz may seem like a harmless way to pass the time. But are you giving away more information than you think? How the scam works A fun quiz pops up on your Facebook…
Thank you, Karen Sala
Spread the loveBy Joan Hadac GSWNH Columnist At-Large As we all know, longtime Gage Park correspondent Karen Sala has decided to conclude her time with this column. Like every Greater Southwest News-Herald correspondent, Karen made the neighborhoods she served a better place. Thank you, Karen! That said, the search now begins for a new Gage…
Crime prevention starts with each of us
Spread the loveBy Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327 Hi neighbors! Before I say another thing, I want to wish my fellow columnist Karen Sala well. As you know, she wrote her final column last week. I love Karen’s style of writing. It’s conversational and natural. I always felt like she…
Plenty to celebrate in February
Spread the loveBy Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 284-7394 “February is the month when days start to get long and gloomy nights to shrink.” –Anonymous. Thank goodness there are only 28 days this year. We are getting closer to March. But it’s silly to…
Obituaries Feb. 3, 2022
Spread the loveRONALD ADINT Ronald Adint, age 78, passed away December 17, 2021. Beloved husband of Cynthia, (nee Zalba) Adint; loving Father of Devin (Cynthia) Adint; dear grandfather of Rayna Adint, Nolan R. Adint, Micah D. Adint, and Kendra N. Adint; dearest brother of Nadia Adint, the late Victor Adint, and the late Leonard Adint.…
Storm scrambles waste pickup in Palos Park
Spread the loveOn Wednesday afternoon, the Village of Palos Park was informed by Republic Services that waste pickup is cancelled in the village, and all other communities they serve, for Thursday, February 3, due to the continued closure of landfill sites from the hazardous winter conditions. Thursday waste service customers will need to hold their…
Archer Avenue may go green
Spread the loveSt. Patrick’s Day parade planned By Tim Hadac Organizers of Garfield Ridge’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade are hoping the Lightfoot Administration will give a green thumbs-up to the small but festive celebration of all things Irish. For each of the last two years, City Hall withdrew its support and denied permits based…
No injuries in basement fire in Orland Park apartment
Spread the loveFrom staff reports A basement fire damaged a four-unit apartment building early Sunday morning in Orland Park. The fire was extinguished quickly and damage was kept to a small area of the basement, although smoke filled the building. Officials of the Orland Fire Protection District said there were no injuries and the cause…
Worth hires new management for Water’s Edge Golf Course
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Even an impending snowstorm could not damper the mood of Worth Trustee Laura Packwood regarding plans for the village’s Water’s Edge Golf Course. Packwood, who is the head of the golf committee, said that Orion, a company based out of Kansas City, Mo., became the official managers of Water’s Edge…
Neighbors
Pritzker calls SCOTUS emergency abortion ruling ‘small respite’ as state protections await his signature
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Abortion remains legal as an emergency medical procedure in Idaho, for now, after a Thursday U.S. Supreme Court ruling, while a bill that would cement those protections in Illinois law awaits Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature. The 6-3 decision saw the three liberal justices concur with the order. Three…
‘We don’t really know what we’re voting on,’ top Dem says of Pritzker’s prison plan
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com LINCOLN – On the eve of a scheduled vote to advise Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration on plans to close and rebuild a pair of dilapidated state prisons, hundreds filed into a junior high school gymnasium Thursday evening clad in matching green T-shirts. Printed on the shirts was a…
SCOTUS ruling could upend federal corruption cases for Madigan, allies
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday narrowed the scope of a federal bribery law prosecutors have relied on in their cases against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and several of his allies convicted of bribing him. A jury last spring found those allies – former lobbyists and…
Quantum technology companies set for big tax incentives under new law
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday gave final approval to a plan to bolster the state’s tech industry, including an incentives package – backed by $500 million in the state budget – aimed at making Illinois the nation’s leader in quantum computing. The package also expands tax…
Illinois child tax credit: who gets it, how much is it?
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com In the final hours of their spring legislative session, Illinois lawmakers approved a tax credit of up to about $300 for families with young children. The credit is available to Illinoisans with children under age 12 who qualify for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. Although…
Illinois’ ban on ‘bump stocks’ remains in place despite U.S. Supreme Court decision
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – An Illinois law banning the sale and use of “bump stocks” and other devices that increase the firing power of semiautomatic weapons remains in place, at least for now, despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision Friday striking down a federal ban on such items. “Illinois law…
Another Choate Mental Health Center employee indicted for abuse of resident
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com Another caregiver at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in Anna is facing charges for abusing a patient. A grand jury indicted Joseph A. Clark, 24, of Grand Chain, on a felony charge of aggravated battery and a misdemeanor charge of battery. Clark pinned a Choate resident to…
State highway shootings decline as critics sue over ‘dragnet surveillance’
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois State Police say an automated license plate reader program has helped the agency identify witnesses or suspects in 82 percent of highway shooting cases this year, including all eight that resulted in a death. But as the state looks to further expand its network of more than…
Illinois’ ban on ‘bump stocks’ remains in place despite U.S. Supreme Court decision
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – An Illinois law banning the sale and use of “bump stocks” and other devices that increase the firing power of semiautomatic weapons remains in place, at least for now, despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision Friday striking down a federal ban on such items. “Illinois law…
Just weeks before Republican National Convention, Illinois GOP chair announces resignation
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Halfway through the 2024 election cycle and just a few weeks away from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Illinois GOP Chair Don Tracy on Wednesday announced his resignation as head of the state Republican Party. Tracy, who’d held the job since February 2021, explained his resignation in…