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88-597: The Flyers were also the first minor league baseball team to have several of their games aired on a major market radio station during their inaugural season of 1999, WMAQ AM 670 in Chicago. Three Sunday afternoon games were broadcast that first season. In 1999, the Flyers hired their first manager, Ron Kittle , best known for his playing days with the Chicago White Sox . The former Chicago Cubs and White Sox player Greg Hibbard

176-493: A bachelor's degree in comprehensive science in 1976. Zook started coaching football immediately upon graduating from college, beginning his career in 1976 as the defensive backs coach at Orrville High School in Orrville, Ohio under head coach Mo Tipton. In 1978, Zook began his college football coaching career when he became a graduate assistant at Murray State University . Through the 1980s, Zook held coaching positions with

264-559: A 10–2 rout in Rockford. Dustin Glant gives up only one earned run on six hits and one walk in seven innings of work to earn the win. Richard Mercardo and Mike Mooney blast their first home runs of the season. May 28, 2010: The Flyers come onto Alexian Field under the temporary team name of Schaumburg Pilots. The Pilots name was upheld throughout the Stanley Cup Finals as a sign of support for

352-716: A 27–14 loss to Indiana, the Hoosiers' only Big Ten win of the season), sinking to 1–6 overall. Zook's team then put together a stunning 38-13 blowout of the Michigan Wolverines in Memorial Stadium , followed up with a 35–32 upset of Minnesota the next week. After back-to-back wins, the Illini fell to the rival Northwestern Wildcats , 21–16. To close out the season, the Fighting Illini put up a fight against Cincinnati, who finished

440-493: A 27–20 loss to Minnesota , Illinois crushed Indiana , 55–13. However, the Fighting Illini fell to Wisconsin the very next week; Wisconsin had been winless in Big Ten play prior to that game. While Zook's team was able to upset Iowa 27–24 a week after their loss to Wisconsin, the Illini finished 2008 with a three-game losing streak at the hands of Western Michigan (23–17), Ohio State (30–20), and Northwestern (27–10). Despite

528-543: A 4–0 win over the Lake County Fielders. It took 116 pitches for Quijano to finish the complete game, striking out seven Fielders along the way. It was the fourth complete game of the season for the Flyers. August 15, 2010: Dustin Glant is named Northern League Player of the Week. Glant went 2–0 in two starts with a 1.80 ERA during the week. August 29, 2010: Flyers sweep Fielders 9–4. Dustin Glant picked up his ninth win of

616-536: A 4–1 Flyers victory. Gehring picked up the win in his first start of the season. June 21, 2010: Dustin Glant tosses a complete-game shutout as the Flyers win 2–0 over Joliet. The righty allowed five hits while striking out seven batters. Joey Gomes hit an RBI single in the first inning, and Andre Marshall added a solo home run in the fourth to give the Flyers all they would need for the victory. June 22, 2010: University of Illinois head football coach Ron Zook and head basketball coach Bruce Weber were on hand to witness

704-451: A 4–3 victory over the Lake County Fielders. Joey Gomes drew two walks in the game, but did not collect a hit, snapping his 19-game hit streak. June 26, 2010: Flyers win their sixth straight game. Dustin Glant pitched 8.2 strong innings before being pulled in a bases loaded jam in the top of the ninth. Evans was able to strike out the Fielder's Brian McFall to seal the win for Glant and pick up

792-461: A 9–5 Flyers victory on Illini night at Alexian Field. June 23, 2010: The Flyers knocked off the Jackhammers in dramatic style with a bottom of the ninth walk-off double by Joe Pauley for a 5–4 win, securing Schaumburg's first series sweep of the season. Joey Gomes stretched his league leading hit streak to 18 games, going 3–4 with three singles. June 25, 2010: Flyers need just three hits to secure

880-400: A RBI double to finish off the Flyers scoring and putting the lead at 9–2 after six innings. The Fielders would get two more runs in the top of the 8th inning with Cody Strait and Adam Hale getting back to back hits, while both would round the bases to score. Dustin Glant picked up his ninth win of the season, going seven innings, allowing two runs on ten hits with three strikeouts. Alec Lewis got

968-669: A bank in Ocala, Florida . In 2014, Zook was hired by the Green Bay Packers to the position of assistant special teams coordinator. He was not retained by the team after the 2018 season. On February 28, 2019, Zook joined the Salt Lake Stallions of the Alliance of American Football as special teams coordinator and secondary coach. The league folded during the 2019 season. In 2019, Maryland head coach Mike Locksley hired Zook as

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1056-528: A blowout win at Minnesota all but assured Zook's first bowl appearance as coach of the Illini. On November 10, the then-unranked Illini defeated #1-ranked Ohio State in Columbus. The Illini finished the 2007 regular season by defeating Northwestern to finish 9–3 overall, 6–2 in the Big Ten. Because Big Ten champion Ohio State played in the BCS National Championship game, Illinois received a bid to play in

1144-608: A celebrity softball event at Alexian Field following the Flyers game against Joliet. The Hawk suited up in front of a lively crowd with several other baseball greats and celebrities, including Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield, Don Zimmer, Vida Blue, Steve McMichael, and Giuliana and Bill Rancic. July 31, 2010: The Flyers beat the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 9–7 in an impressive display of offense by both teams at Alexian Field. Ruddy Yan hit an inside-the-park home run that scored two. August 2, 2010: Joey Gomes hit two home runs to blast

1232-549: A contract in 1976, and he would go to play with baseball in Clinton, Iowa . On his first baserunning play trying to score a run, he broke his neck when the catcher landed on him. For the rest of the year, he tried to play on what later diagnosed as a broken neck, complete with three crushed vertebrae and a cracked spinal cord. He had his discs fused while having his spine stabilized. For the next couple of years, he served as an ironworker while trying to build his body back up, trying to defy

1320-701: A few weeks earlier after being called in to defuse a dispute between the brothers and his players. Zook finished the regular season, but he did not coach the Gators in the Peach Bowl because he had already accepted the head coaching job at Illinois. Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong coached the Gators in the Peach Bowl. After Zook's departure, his successor Urban Meyer won a national title in 2006, largely with players whom Zook had recruited. During his time at Florida, Zook did have some notable accomplishments. He handed both

1408-411: A move considered by many to be a demotion due to the team's unsatisfactory performance on pass defense. Zook's special teams units performed well enough during the 1994 season that he was offered the defensive coordinator position at Michigan State , prompting Spurrier to give him the title of associate head coach to help keep him at Florida. Florida defensive coordinator Bobby Pruett left to become

1496-463: A number of college football teams, serving as a defensive coordinator at Cincinnati and Kansas and as a position coach at Tennessee , Virginia Tech , and Ohio State . Beginning in 1991 , Zook served as defensive coordinator for three seasons at the University of Florida under head coach Steve Spurrier . After the 1993 season , Spurrier reassigned Zook to be the special teams coordinator,

1584-421: A senior analyst; Locksley had worked under Zook at Illinois as his offensive coordinator and at Florida as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator. Zook was promoted to special teams coordinator in 2021 before stepping down after one season. In 2024, Zook was rehired by Locksley as a special teams quality control coach. In June 2021, Zook was announced as the defensive coordinator under Jim Haslett in

1672-515: A separate operating company), and a proposed sale in June 2010 to Adriano Pedrelli had fallen through. Despite troubles with Illinois tax officials, the Flyers signaled their intent to join the newly formed North American League in the winter of 2010, intending to play the 2011 season in that league. However, the Schaumburg Flyers were served an eviction notice from Alexian Field on February 24, with

1760-493: A sparkling 1.13 ERA in his first two starts of the campaign. May 25, 2009: Flyers turn second triple play in franchise history. With runners on first and second and in motion, Joliet's Wally Backman Jr. lined out to 2B Jose Valdez. Valdez threw to first for the second out, and 1B Jason Colson completed the play by firing to SS Travis Brown behind the lead runner at second. June 6, 2009: Richard Mercado blasts season's first walk-off homer at Alexian to top Kansas City 7–5, extending

1848-568: A team that had only one member carry over from the 2006 campaign. The road for Schaumburg that year proved to be difficult, as the Flyers could manage no more than 20 wins in either half of the season and failed to make the playoffs. The Flyers struggled mightily through the 2008 season, dropping their final 14 contests and winning just 30 games. Manager Steve Maddock will not return for the following season, and only six players will don Flyers uniforms on Opening Day 2009. The Flyers did set attendance records on Bearon's Birthday, with 8,636 fans attending

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1936-519: A triple, and two home runs in the week. August 31, 2009: Flyers lead the Northern league in win increase from 2008 to 2009 as well as highest attendance increase from 2008 to 2009. September 16, 2009: Cephas Howard named Northern League Rookie Pitcher of the Year, and shortstop Travis Brown named Northern League Defensive Player of the Year for the 2009 campaign. May 20, 2010: Flyers win the season opener with

2024-481: A very disappointing 2008 season, Zook's 2009 Fighting Illini team received AP Poll votes. As they had the previous two years, Illinois started off the season with a loss to Missouri, but this time, the result was far more lopsided than the previous affairs; Missouri won 39–7. Illinois stomped Illinois State 45–17 the next week, but then they suffered an embarrassing 30–0 shutout at the hands of Ohio State . Illinois lost their next four games by ten points or more (including

2112-470: Is an American former left fielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was known for his home run hitting power, and was named the 1983 AL Rookie of the Year . Kittle played for the Chicago White Sox (1982–86, 1989, 1991), New York Yankees (1986–87), Cleveland Indians (1988) and Baltimore Orioles (1990). He batted and threw right-handed. Kittle was also a manager for

2200-504: Is called "Fan Club: Reality Baseball". The program also included online video segments that took fans through the season alongside the team with behind-the-scenes access. The 2007 season saw the Flyers undergo some changes, most notably with the departure of '06 manager Andy McCauley to the Kansas City T-Bones . Steve Maddock became the fourth manager in Flyers history after McCauley left for Kansas City, and he quickly worked to build

2288-543: Is named the Northern League's Top Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. Brown led all shortstops with 330 assists and 522 total chances, committing only 20 errors (.962), and helping the Flyers post the best fielding percentage in the league (.977). November 18, 2010: Flyers join newly formed North American Baseball League. The league was formed by members of the Golden Baseball League,

2376-581: The Chicago Tribune asked Zook if he had talked to his players about the rumors pertaining to his future, he walked out of the press conference. The Illini went on to lose to Wisconsin , 28–17, and finished the regular season with a 27–7 loss to Minnesota . With the loss to the Golden Gophers, Illinois became the first team in NCAA Division I FBS history to start a season 6–0, and end it at 6–6. Zook

2464-673: The Coaches' Poll and 16th in the AP Poll . However, the Illini lost 17–7 to Ohio State and the season seemed headed towards a downward spiral as Illinois lost a pair of close road games at Purdue (21–14) and Penn State (10–7). Illinois returned home and lost to Michigan , 31–14. On the Tuesday before the Wisconsin game, Zook opened his weekly press conference by warning the reporters not to ask questions about his job status. When reporter Shannon Ryan of

2552-708: The Pittsburgh Steelers , then was the defensive backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1999 . KC finished with a 9–7 record, 16th in passing yards allowed, and James Hasty had seven interceptions and Cris Dishman finished with five interceptions. In the 2000 and 2001 seasons , Zook served as the defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints . In 2000, the Saints finished 10–6 with Zook's defense ranking tenth in points allowed. DT La'Roi Glover led

2640-529: The 2001 season, however, Kittle resigned as manager, with Jim Boynewicz hired to replace him. In 2004, the Flyers made it to the Northern League Championship Series against the St. Paul Saints . Despite leading the five-game series 2–1, Schaumburg eventually lost the championship. In Game 5, Flyers relief pitcher Lyle Prempas allowed a game-winning grand slam by St. Paul infielder Marc Mirizzi in

2728-596: The 2002 Georgia Bulldogs and 2003 LSU Tigers their only loss of the year. His Gators defeated three highly ranked teams in succession in 2003, all away from home (LSU, Arkansas and Georgia). In his final game he defeated the Florida State Seminoles at Tallahassee, something that Steve Spurrier never accomplished. That victory occurred on the night when FSU dedicated Bobby Bowden Field , leading Gator fans to refer to it as Ron Zook Field. Zook had winning records against SEC foes Georgia (2–1) and Auburn (1–0). Zook

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2816-448: The 2007 class. More recently, Zook also won over Simeon High School standout Martez Wilson along with Florida prospect D'Angelo McCray. This class was one of Illinois' best in recent memory, being rated within the top 25 nationally by some experts. Zook's recruiting success finally began to pay dividends during the 2007 season. After losing a close game on neutral turf to a Missouri squad which went on to be ranked as high as #1,

2904-454: The Fighting Illini won a trio of home games by a margin of a field goal over 22nd-ranked Arizona State (17–14), Western Michigan (23–20), and Northwestern (38–35) in a game in which Illinois rallied from a 28–10 deficit in the second half. After defeating Indiana 41–20 in Illinois' first road game of the season, the Illini were 6–0 for the first time since 1951 and they climbed to 15th in

2992-466: The Flyers entered Sunday's game up 2–0 in the final series against Winnipeg, and looked to finish the season on a high note with a sweep of the Goldeyes. However, with a late two-RBI double in the 8th inning, Winnipeg shut down those hopes and defeated the Flyers 4–3 in the final game of the 2010 season. The scoring began early off a Chris Schultz home run, his fourth of the season, putting the Flyers up 1–0 in

3080-532: The Flyers game with the JackHammers on July 23. February 18, 2009: Flyers hold Grand Reopening of The Schaumburg Club to a record off-season crowd of over 300 fans. Mayor Larson was on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony and local band 7th Heaven entertained fans and community partners until late in the evening. May 21, 2009: Flyers prepare to unveil their new logo, accompanied by a new black jersey to be worn for all Friday night home games. Along with this new look,

3168-507: The Flyers past the Riverhawks 12–5. Gomes finished his remarkable night 3–5 with two homers, a double, five RBI, and three runs scored. Mario Delgado returned to the Flyers with a bang as he launched a Brett Durand offering over the center field fence in the second inning. August 11, 2010: Alain Quijano was almost unhittable at Alexian Field. The lefty tossed a one-hit shutout as the Flyers earned

3256-419: The Flyers teamed up with Rainbow Play Systems and Finish Stong Sports Academy to expand their Kidz Zone, located along the left field line. May 22, 2009: Flyers starter Dustin Glant goes the distance, allowing just two runs en route to a 6–2 Flyers home-opener victory over the JackHammers in front of 5,288 fans. May 24, 2009: Glant earns season's first Northern League Pitcher of the Week honor, going 2–0 with

3344-446: The Flyers win streak to a season-best eight games. June 7, 2009: Flyers players sweep Northern League weekly awards, with Jeff Dunbar taking NL Player of the Week and Craig James earning NL Pitcher of the Week. June 28, 2009: Forty-three-year-old former big-leaguer and Flyers DH Felix Jose improves OBP to season-high .457, a .050 lead over the Northern League's second best. June 30, 2009: A Northern League-best nine Flyers are named to

3432-403: The Flyers would answer in the bottom half of the inning. Ruddy Yan got on base with a single and Joey Gomes would drive him in to tie the game 2–2 after six. Once more in the game, back-to-back scoring frames would occur starting with Winnipeg in the top of the 8th inning. Justice would have the game winning 2-RBI single to make the score 4–2, leaving the Flyers left to answer in the bottom half of

3520-488: The Great Lakes All-Star roster. Honorees are DH Felix Jose, 3B Vince Harrison, OF Jeff Dunbar, 2B Jose Valdez, OF Victor Ferrante, and pitchers Dustin Glant, Cephas Howard, Ed Almonte, and Craig James. July 16, 2009: Hundreds storm the infield at Alexian for the first Richard Allen Jewelers Diamond Dig. Participants are given Popsicle sticks to dig the infield dirt in search of a $ 1,500 diamond gold ring, which becomes

3608-417: The Illini had almost no pre-season expectations entering 2010. Juice Williams and Arrelious Benn were no longer on the team. However, running back Mikel Leshoure was, and he proved to be an invaluable asset on offense, while Illinois started freshman Nathan Scheelhaase at quarterback. They started off 2010 by losing to Missouri for the fourth consecutive year, 23–13. They held a 13–3 lead that almost lasted

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3696-457: The Illini ran off five straight wins, including back-to-back home wins over Penn State and Wisconsin. Illinois' 5–1 start gave them a #18 ranking in the AP Poll. This was Illinois' first ranking in the AP Poll since the end of the 2001 season. However, the ranking proved to be short-lived after consecutive losses to Iowa and Michigan. A homecoming win over Ball State gave the Illini bowl eligibility and

3784-570: The Northern League, and the United League. Toward the end of the 2010 season, in late August, Rich Ehrenreich's operating company for the team, Schaumburg Professional Baseball, L.L.C., was stripped of its business registration for nonpayment of sales and withholding taxes. Heavily in debt, Ehrenreich was attempting to sell the team since the beginning of the 2010 season to concentrate on the Lake County Fielders (which Ehrenrich co-owns under

3872-561: The Rose Bowl as the second ranked team in the Big Ten. Their improvement of seven wins over the 2006 season was the largest such increase of any Division I team. His success earned Zook a contract extension in October 2007, which paid him approximately $ 1.5 million through the 2013 season. Zook's success on recruiting trail continued as well, with Illinois having the #17 recruiting class in 2008 according to rivals.com. On November 20, 2007, Ron Zook

3960-798: The Schaumburg Flyers in the Northern League All-Star game in Tucson, Arizona. Mercado notched a hit and Glant pitched one inning of relief, giving up one earned run on two hits to go along with a strikeout. The Northern League All-Stars cruised past the Golden League All-Stars 9–3. July 24, 2010: Dustin Glant tosses a complete-game gem, his second of the year, as the Flyers beat the Winnipeg Goldeyes 4–2. Glant allowed just two runs on eight hits with four strikeouts and two walks. July 28, 2010: Newly inducted Hall of Famer Andre Dawson hosts

4048-651: The Sexes II, which pitted the Flyers against the National Pro Fastpitch Softball Champions, the Chicago Bandits , featuring star pitcher Jennie Finch . Played by official softball rules, the game was seen by an overflow record crowd of 8,918, and was won by the Bandits 4–2. For the second half of the 2006 season, the Flyers and MSN partnered to let fans choose the Flyers lineups online. This program

4136-592: The White Sox after 1986 and played part of 1986 before being traded midway through a game to the New York Yankees ; he played the ensuing 1987 season with them. Kittle then played 1988 with the Cleveland Indians. He briefly returned again to the White Sox in 1990 , sharing playing time at first base with Carlos Martínez . He batted .245 with 16 homers and 43 RBI but struck out 77 times in 277 at-bats through

4224-495: The White Sox again for the 1991 season. On a pitch during the season, he swung on it and blacked out. A doctor's examination found that if he kept trying to play, he would run the risk of paralysis. Wanting to see his children grow up with an able-bodied dad, he elected to retire in August of that year. Kittle appeared in 843 games over the course of his 10–year MLB career. He recorded 176 home runs and 460 runs batted in. In 1998, Kittle

4312-639: The White Sox, heard about the home run and gave him a tryout. He signed with the White Sox in September 1978. Kittle hit 50 homers in the minor leagues with the Edmonton Trappers and has his jersey retired in Edmonton at Telus Field . He was voted winner of 1982's Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player Award . He hit ninety home runs in the minors combined from the span of 1981 to 1982. He made his MLB debut at nearly 25 years old in September of 1982. Kittle

4400-409: The Winnipeg Goldeyes, giving the Flyers a 41–59 mark for the year. A tough loss for Alain Quijano, who pitched a complete game, allowing four runs on seven hits with six strikeouts, ending the season with a 3.77 ERA. Chad Benefield would be credited with his first career win as a professional pitcher, throwing 1.2 innings in relief of Goldeyes starter Jason Mackintosh. September 15, 2010: Travis Brown

4488-524: The ability of Illinois to recruit top football talent. According to one source, the 2006 recruiting class was one of the 30 best in college football. Despite this, they finished the 2006 season 1–7 in the conference and 2–10 overall. While the record did not improve, the play on the field did as the Illini nearly upset top ranked Ohio State in Champaign before losing 17–10. Additionally, the Illini played well against Iowa, Wisconsin, and Penn State (they lost 63–10

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4576-427: The book features anecdotes from Kittle's time as a major leaguer, mostly with the White Sox. Kittle builds custom collectible benches out of baseballs, bats and bases. He also works in public relations for the White Sox. Ron Zook Ronald Andrew Zook ( / z ʊ k / ; born April 28, 1954) is an American football coach who is a special teams quality control coach at the University of Maryland . He

4664-519: The expectations of his doctors that said he would never play baseball again (due to his injury, he could no longer hit from both sides of the plate). A few years later, he took a suggestion to play summer ball, doing so with the American Hellinic Educational Progressive Association. One of his towering home runs went far enough from the park to land on Interstate 294, "500-plus feet away". Bill Veeck , then owner of

4752-508: The first four months of that season. Kittle was acquired by the Baltimore Orioles from the White Sox for Phil Bradley on July 30, 1990. He was resentful of the trade which brought forth the possibility of Frank Thomas being promoted from the minors. In need of a right-handed power hitter, the Orioles received a player with a $ 550,000 salary as opposed to the $ 1.15 million that Bradley

4840-439: The game as Higgins led off in the third inning with a double and would eventually come to score. Chris Schultz got the hitting going again in the 4th inning. A big two RBI double followed by Ruddy Yan's third RBI single would make the game 7–1 after four innings. Fielders scored in the sixth inning off a solo home run by Cody Strait, but the Flyers would get the run back in same fashion from Chris Schultz. Mario Delgado followed with

4928-476: The game. August 8, 2009: Flyers ride Dustin Glant to 7–2 win over Winnipeg, sealing their first series win at CanWest Park since 2006 and notching back-to-back victories for the first time in nearly a month. August 25, 2009: Flyers RF Victor Ferrante named Northern League Player of the Week, leading the league during the seven-day stretch in total bases (23), RBI (9) and slugging percentage (.920), while batting .440 (11-for-25) with seven runs scored, four doubles,

5016-566: The head coach at Marshall University in January 1995 and Zook was promoted to take his place, becoming Florida's defensive coordinator once again. However, the NFL 's Pittsburgh Steelers offered Zook the job of special teams coordinator just one month later and he accepted, leaving the college game for a time. With Zook leaving, Bob Stoops was brought in to run Florida's defense. After leaving Florida, Zook served three seasons as special teams coach for

5104-549: The head coach of the Illinois Fighting Illini football team. Zook inherited a program which had become a disaster since winning the Big Ten championship in 2001. They had only won nine games in the three seasons since, and only five games in Big Ten play. In Zook's inaugural season of 2005, Illinois finished with an overall record of 2–9, and a record of 0–8 in Big Ten games. Despite his team's past struggles, Zook improved

5192-721: The hometown Chicago Blackhawks as they took on (and beat) the Philadelphia Flyers in 6 games. The Pilots beat the Gary Southshore Railcats 5–3 for the team's first home win of the season. June 1, 2010: Pilots win 6–5 over the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks. Richard Mercado hit a two-run homer, and Andre Marshall hit a walk off solo home run to seal the game for the Pilots. June 19, 2010: Ryan Gehring strikes out eight Kansas City T-Bones and allows only five hits en route to

5280-415: The inning. Mario Delgado got things rolling with a double, Brett Harker came in to pinch-run, and eventually scored on Gomes' second RBI single of the game, his 53rd RBI of the season. There seemed to be a late surge in the bottom of the ninth, as the Flyers put two on base with two outs to go, but Ruddy Yan could not come through in the clutch, as the Flyers ended their season with a suspenseful 4–3 loss to

5368-510: The length of the game. After the early loss, Illinois defeated Southern Illinois, 35–3, and Northern Illinois , 28–22. While the Fighting Illini lost to Ohio State in their Big Ten opener, they gave the Buckeyes a scare, knocking out quarterback Terrelle Pryor and holding the Buckeye passing offense almost entirely in check. Illinois then traveled to Penn State to take on a Nittany Lions program that

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5456-515: The loss for the Fielders, allowing seven runs in 3.2 innings on ten hits. September 1, 2010: Flyers pitcher Brian McCullough is named the Northern League's Pitcher of the Month for August. McCullough allowed only one earned run during August and owned a 3–0 record with a 1.33 ERA in the month. He also had 5 saves during that span, while appearing in 12 games. September 5, 2010 – Going into their final game,

5544-533: The minor league Schaumburg Flyers . The son of a steelworker, Kittle planned to work with his dad after high school, complete with being given his own ironworkers apprentice union card after graduating. However, he was enticed to seek out a tryout camp that was being held in La Porte, Indiana by the Los Angeles Dodgers . An ideal showing from the 18-year-old eventually led to scouts from the team signing him to

5632-529: The nearby Kane County Cougars , then a Florida Marlins Class A team. The ad mimicked the highly successful Converse ads where Larry Johnson starred as both himself and "Grandmama." Kittle resigned his position in 2001. Kittle was married from 1984 until 2010 and has two children. Kittle's memoirs, Ron Kittle's Tales from the White Sox Dugout , was published in 2005. Co-written with Bob Logan, who also co-wrote Michael Jordan 's book Come Fly with Me ,

5720-498: The ninth inning. The Flyers appeared in the Northern League Playoffs four times (1999, 2003, 2004, 2006) but never won the championship. Among those who played for the Flyers were former Oakland A's outfielder Ozzie Canseco and former Chicago Cubs outfielders Dwight Smith and Brant Brown , as well as, very briefly, John Henry Williams , son of Ted Williams . On July 27, 2009, the Flyers played host to Battle of

5808-511: The opposition, causing many fans to question the prevent defense that was employed. Zook did not beat a ranked opponent at home during his time at Florida. Zook was fired before the end of the 2004 season after a 38–31 road loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs (who were 1–5 prior to the game, including a home loss to Division I-AA Maine ). He did not help his cause by getting into a heated argument with several fraternity members

5896-757: The owner of the Joliet Slammers , Alan Oremus, was awarded a new lease on the stadium. A new lease was signed by the new operating company, E.J.I., LLC, in July 2011, after which Oremus sold the franchise to local attorney Patrick A. Salvi . The replacement team, the Schaumburg Boomers , began play in 2012. The assets of the Flyers were auctioned in April 2011, bringing an end to the franchise. The back rent, however, has not been collected by Schaumburg officials. Ron Kittle Ronald Dale Kittle (born January 5, 1958)

5984-405: The property of the lucky finder, no strings attached. July 27, 2009: An Alexian Field record crowd of 8,918 witnesses the much-anticipated Battle of the Sexes, as the National Pro Fast-Pitch Softball's Chicago Bandits defeats the Flyers 4–2 in a game governed by official softball rules. July 30, 2009: Mayor proclaims Rotary Night. Rotarians and their guests account for 5,000 of the 5,596 people at

6072-455: The save. July 7, 2010: Flyers sweep their series against the Rockford Riverhawks, winning both games of a double-header. Richard Mercado and Joe Nowicki smacked solo home runs for the Flyers in the first game, and Matt Elliott picked up the win in the 5–2 victory. In the second game, Ron Bourquin drew a game-winning bases-loaded walk in the eleventh inning to score Ruddy Yan and win 4–3. July 14, 2010: Dustin Glant and Richard Mercado represent

6160-439: The second inning. Winnipeg would get that run back in the top of the third as Price Kendall hits a single, advanced on a stolen base, and scored on a Kevin West RBI single to tie the game 1–1. Neither team would score until Juan Diaz stepped up to the plate against Alain Quijano in the 6th inning. Diaz connected for his 24th homer of the season, and his 75th RBI to help the Goldeyes take the lead 2–1. The lead would not last long, as

6248-417: The team over $ 900,000 in arrears in rent on Alexian Field going back to 2007. A Cook County judge terminated the lease and ordering Flyers' ownership to pay the village and the Schaumburg Park District (the co-landlords) $ 551,828.92 in back rent (although the actual amount owed was $ 920,000 going back to 2007), with the eviction becoming final on March 6, 2011. Three days after the eviction notice became final,

6336-576: The team with 17 Sacks followed by 12 from DE Joe Johnson and 11 by DE Darren Howard . In January 2002, Steve Spurrier resigned from Florida to explore head coaching opportunities in the NFL, eventually signing with the Washington Redskins . Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley sought to replace him with either Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan or Oklahoma's Bob Stoops , but each decided to remain with their respective teams. Foley's next choice

6424-430: The year before; Penn State led 56–3 at halftime) but ended up losing close games (they were down 15–12 at Penn State until Penn State broke open a close game to make it 26–12). The 2006 recruiting class included Isiah "Juice" Williams of Chicago Vocational High School, considered to be one of the top quarterback recruits in the country. In late 2006, Zook signed Arrelious Benn , one of the top wide receiver prospects in

6512-480: The year undefeated, but were unable to pull off the upset; and they fell at home to Fresno State in a wild 53–52 game in the season finale. At the end of the 2009 season, offensive coordinator Mike Schultz was released from his contract, and co-defensive coordinators Dan Disch and Curt Mallory were demoted to position coaches. Illinois hired Paul Petrino as offensive coordinator, and Vic Koenning as defensive coordinator. After back-to-back disappointing years,

6600-442: The year, and Kit Pellow and Chris Schultz each hit homers for the Flyers. The first three batters set the tone for the Flyers as Travis Brown led off with a triple. Ruddy Yan followed with a RBI single and Kit Pellow stepped up next with a two-run blast to left field for an early 3–0 lead. The Flyers would tack on another run in the second inning with another RBI single from Ruddy Yan. The Fielders would get their four runs sparingly in

6688-559: Was Zook, who accepted the job. Given the success of Spurrier's 12-year tenure, expectations at Florida were high, and seemingly settling for Zook was not popular with many students and supporters. Others did not understand why the university would hire a man who was demoted as a coordinator on the same staff to be head coach. Within a day of Zook's hiring, one fan started a website called FireRonZook.com that gained national media attention. Many fraternity houses hung banners from week to week either praising Zook or calling for his firing. Zook

6776-441: Was a popular player on the 1983 " winning ugly " Chicago White Sox when they won 99 games and made their first playoff appearance since the 1959 World Series . That season, Kittle was selected an All-Star and won Rookie of the Year honors after hitting 35 home runs (club record for a rookie) and 100 RBI. Kittle maintained his home run power, but after 1983 his batting average declined and his strikeouts increased. Kittle left

6864-506: Was earning. Baltimore general manager Roland Hemond was criticized by the Daily Press for bringing on too many ex-White Sox like Kittle, Greg Walker , Kevin Hickey , Tim Hulett and Dave Gallagher . He became a free agent again in the off-season when the Orioles, who had earlier signed Dwight Evans , elected not to exercise the option on his contract on December 15, 1990. He returned to

6952-496: Was fired on November 27, 2011. His final record at Illinois was 34–51. The Illini received a bowl invitation, and they defeated UCLA in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. It was the first time in school history that the football team won back-to-back bowl games. After leaving Illinois, Zook spent two seasons out of football, during which time he worked as a college football studio analyst for CBS and took an executive position at

7040-461: Was head coach at Florida for three seasons. The Gators compiled records of 8–5 ( 2002 ), 8–5 ( 2003 ) and 7–5 ( 2004 ). While Zook's tenure saw modest success, it was well short of what Gator fans had come to expect. In his three seasons, the Gators lost six games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium . By comparison, Spurrier lost only five home games in 12 years. Many of the losses were fourth quarter comebacks by

7128-524: Was hired as a college football studio analyst by CBS Sports . He was also employed as the special teams coach for the Green Bay Packers . In 2019, he was the special teams coordinator and secondary coach for the Salt Lake Stallions of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). Ronald Andrew Zook was born in Ashland, Ohio and raised in nearby Loudonville . At Loudonville High School , Zook played basketball , track , and football. Upon graduating, he

7216-472: Was hired as the first manager of the non-affiliated minor league Schaumburg Flyers of the Northern League . During the early years of the Flyers franchise, Kittle did a series of TV commercials to promote the team, using the gimmick " Ma Kittle ," where he played both himself and his "Ma Kittle." The ads were successful at sparking some initial interest in the team as the Flyers hoped to steal away fans from

7304-552: Was offered a track scholarship to Purdue University and received offers to play football at several small colleges in the Midwest . However, Zook wanted to play Division I football, so he decided to walk on at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio . He made the team, and by his senior season, Zook was a starting defensive back and a co-captain for the Miami Redskins . He graduated with

7392-492: Was regarded as a fine recruiter who brought a great deal of talent to Florida during his tenure as head coach. Following the Gators' victory over Ohio State in the 2007 BCS National Championship Game , Urban Meyer praised Zook for recruiting the large class of seniors who played in the game. Twenty-two of the 24 starters were recruited to Florida by Zook. In 2005, the University of Illinois hired Zook to replace Ron Turner as

7480-684: Was selected as the Big Ten Coach of the Year. Zook also was awarded the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award following the 2007 season. After making the 2008 Rose Bowl , Illinois was squashed 49–17 by the USC Trojans , putting a damper on an otherwise great season. Expectations were high for 2008, but Illinois didn't live up to those expectations early on, as they lost to Missouri , 52–42, in their season opener and to Penn State , 38–24. After

7568-523: Was the head football coach at the University of Florida from 2002 to 2004 and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign from 2005 to 2011. Zook is a native of Ohio and an alumnus of Miami University , where he played college football . He has worked as an assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL) with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1996–1998), Kansas City Chiefs (1999), and New Orleans Saints (2000–2001). In August 2012, he

7656-403: Was the pitching coach. Kittle did a series of TV commercials to promote the team, using the gimmick "Ma Kittle," portraying both himself and his "Ma." The ads sparked interest as the Flyers hoped to steal away fans from the nearby Kane County Cougars . The campaign mimicked the highly successful Converse ads in which basketball star Larry Johnson starred as both himself and "Gramama." After

7744-598: Was undefeated at home against the Fighting Illini. Illinois handed Penn State a stunning 33–13 loss on homecoming. They went on to finish the season with a win in the Texas Bowl , a comfortable 38-13 victory against Baylor . As the 2011 season begun, the Illini were picked by most experts to finish near the bottom of the newly formed Leaders Division. However, Illinois got off to one of their best starts in history by winning their first six games. After taking care of Arkansas State , 33–15, and blasting South Dakota State , 56–3,

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