“Bush” would go on to form the Hammond Chiefs, the first known team to serve as a way to keep the sport going for kids who were too old for the local leagues and did not want to play American Legion.Īfter playing the first few games with the group at the local Riverside Park, Sutkowski soon realized that he was far ahead of the travel baseball curve, finding immediate success with his group.įrom his first season in ’91 to his Babe Ruth coaching retirement in 2010, Sutkowski would lead his teams to 17 state titles and nine Ohio Valley Championships. The First Hammond Chiefs Baseball Team (1991) Sutkowski would not venture far for his college years, graduating just down the road at Purdue Calumet in 1985.Īfter somewhat staying involved with the game in his post-college years, he would turn to coaching in 1991. Baseball was an early love for “Bush,” playing through his town’s organized leagues all the way up to his graduation from Gavit in 1978. The skipper’s baseball story begins where his first managed team was based out of – Hammond. That win was not his first, nor (probably not) his last, but it was his 1,100th. Sutkowski’s Chiefs were recently at a tournament in Joliet this past weekend. A local baseball manager and longtime Hammond resident has completely altered the landscape of Northwest Indiana travel baseball.ĭave Sutkowski’s 5 Star Great Lakes Chiefs travel baseball team were victorious Sunday morning by a score of 9-1 over MVP Elite, a squad based out of Lake Zurich.
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