It’s always a terrible day when we need to report on the passing of a baseball lifer: Longtime front-office exec and personal friend John Dittrich passed away today. He was 73. (more…)
Tag Archives | john dittrich
2011 Logo of the Year: Joliet Slammers
It was an edgy design that embraced, rather than ignored, Joliet’s penal history. In the end, a distinctive logo and look helped catapult the Joliet Slammers (independent; Frontier League) to a successful inaugural season and garnered recognition from Ballpark Digest for 2011 Logo of the Year. Setting up operations at Silver Cross Field was going […]
Slammers work hard to regain community trust
The Joliet JackHammers almost salted the territory after failing to pay bills the past few seasons, but the Joliet Slammers (independent; Frontier League) are working hard to regain community trust — and succeeding. The JackHammers folded after owing $400,000 to vendors and $200,000 to the city for rent at Silver Cross Field — a deficit […]
Oremus moves forward on Schaumburg lease
Alan Oremus and his investors have 90 days to finalize a lease for Alexian Field, the former home of the Schaumburg Flyers (independent; Northern League), as both the Village Board and Park District gave initial approval to the group this week. The ballpark is available because the Flyers were evicted earlier this month for nonpayment […]
Joliet Slammers unveil logos, uniforms
The Joliet Slammers (independent; Frontier League) unveiled new logos, uniforms and team colors last night at an all-star gala, with John Dittrich leading the crowd through skits, celebrity appearances and more. Among the celebrities on hand at Joliet’s Rialto Theatre: White Sox organist Nancy Faust, Blackhawksʼ national anthem singer Jim Cornelison, and longtime Chicago broadcaster […]
New for 2011: Joliet Slammers
We have a name for the new Silver Cross Field team in the independent Frontier League: the Joliet Slammers, as team ownership goes with a penal theme for its inaugural season. “We deliberated over this for many days and many nights,” said team president Bill Waliewski. “And when all the evidence was considered, we came […]
New group takes control of Joliet ballpark
The regime change in Joliet, Ill., is complete, as a new ownership group led by Alan Oremus takes control of Silver Cross Field and sets up operations today. Now comes the fun part: prepping for the 2011 season. Steel City Baseball paid $915,000 for the privilege of playing at Silver Cross Field, along with all […]
Joliet approves Steel City Baseball lease for Silver Cross Field
The pieces are almost all in place for Steel City Baseball to field an independent Frontier League team in Joliet’s Silver Cross Field, as the City Council approved a 10-year lease; John Dittrich will be GM of the new effort. Yesterday was a big deal for Steel City Baseball, headed by local resident Alan Oremus, […]