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Guide to the William J. Parizek Papers, 1887-2006
MSS 122
Table of Contents
Summary Information
- Abstract
- William J. “Boober” “Mr. Baseball” Parizek, was born in La Crosse, Wis., in 1919. He was known locally as one of the most knowledgeable people when it came to local baseball history. Parizek played both baseball and softball and served as a coach over most of his 88 years of life. His day job was working at the U. S. Post Office in La Crosse. Parizek died in a La Crosse, Wis., nursing home in 2008. The collection of materials includes clippings, notes, correspondence, photographs and other miscellaneous items about La Crosse, Wis., baseball and softball teams and players, the most notable being Edward “Koney” Konetchy, a La Crosse local who made it to the big leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals. His induction into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame was presented posthumously in La Crosse in 1962 and is represented in the collection with banquet programs, photographs of the event at the Mary E. Sawyer Auditorium, and a reel-to-reel and later reformatted digital version of the evening’s proceedings. There is also some La Crosse basketball and local history represented as well.
- Collection Title
- William J. Parizek Papers
- Date of Materials
- 1887-2006
- Creator
- Parizek, William J., 1919-2008
- Call Number
- MSS 122
- Amount
- 0.4 cubic feet
- Physical Description
- 1 archives box
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- La Crosse Public Library Archives
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], William J. Parizek Papers, MSS 122, La Crosse Public Library Archives, La Crosse, WI
Biographical Note
William J. “Boober” “Mr. Baseball” Parizek, was born in La Crosse, Wis., in 1919. His nickname “Boober” was given to him by an adult and in German it means “little child.” He was known locally as one of the most knowledgeable people when it came to baseball history. He was a statistician and collected numbers and information about La Crosse area baseball players, past and present. Parizek played both baseball and softball and served as a coach over most of his 88 years of life. In 1953 he was honored for playing 25 years in La Crosse softball circles.
His day job was working at the U. S. Post Office in La Crosse, and he enjoyed coming to the La Crosse Public Library to read about players or teams in other areas. Parizek did hope to someday publish a history of La Crosse or at least about baseball in La Crosse which was never realized. Parizek died in a La Crosse, Wis., nursing home in 2008.
Scope and Contents
The collection of materials includes clippings, notes, correspondence, photographs and other miscellaneous items about La Crosse, Wis., baseball and softball teams and players, the most notable being Edward “Koney” Konetchy, a La Crosse local who made it to the big leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals. His induction into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame was presented posthumously in La Crosse in 1962 and is represented in the collection with banquet programs, photographs of the event at the Mary E. Sawyer Auditorium, and a reel-to-reel and later reformatted digital version of the evening’s proceedings.
There is also some La Crosse basketball and local history represented as well, such as the Czech Slovak Protective Society (Free Thinkers), 1964-1978.
Administrative Information
Publication Information
La Crosse Public Library Archives 2009 July
800 Main St.La Crosse, Wisconsin, 54601
(608) 789-7136
archives@lacrosselibrary.org
Access to Materials
Materials in this collection are available for patron use, with the following exceptions:
Patrons may not access original recordings; copies must be created by Archives staff prior to patron use.
Acquisitions Information
(Accession no. 2007.075) Donated by William J. Parizek, 2007 August 30
(Accession no. 2008.068) Donated by Nancy Proksch and Kathy Lange, 2008 November
Processing Information
Processed by Anita Taylor Doering, Bill Doering, Margaret Donndelinger, 2009 July
Related Materials
Separated Materials
Most photos were removed from the collection and added to the appropriate subject heading in the picture file. Parizek donated several photographs to the La Crosse Public Library Archives over a long period of time.
Controlled Access Headings
Geographic Name(s)
- La Crosse (Wis.)--History
Personal Name(s)
- Konetchy, Edward
Subject(s)
- Baseball--Wisconsin--La Crosse
- Basketball--Wisconsin--La Crosse
- Softball--Wisconsin--La Crosse
Collection Inventory
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Basketball, 1921-1963 |
1 | 1 | ||
|
Baseball and softball |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
All stars, 1941 |
1 | 2 | ||
|
American Legion, 1958 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Biographical information about players, 1914-2006 |
1 | 4 | ||
|
Bodegas, 1931 |
1 | 5 | ||
|
Callahan cartoons |
1 | 6 | ||
|
Carroll, George C. "Kootch," 2007 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
Central High School, 1950s |
1 | 8 | ||
|
Chanute Field Planesmen (Illinois), 1942 |
1 | 9 | ||
|
Comeau, Erwin, 1968 |
1 | 10 | ||
|
Dahl's Fords, 1922-1923 |
1 | 11 | ||
|
Eagles, 1926 |
1 | 12 | ||
|
Ed's Tavern |
1 | 13 | ||
|
Fairbanks, Morse (Beloit), 1916-1923 |
1 | 14 | ||
|
Gohres, Joe |
1 | 15 | ||
|
Goosetown Clippers |
1 | 16 | ||
|
Harding, Wes, 2002 |
1 | 17 | ||
|
Hay, William E., 1956 |
1 | 18 | ||
|
House of David (Ohio) |
1 | 19 | ||
|
Konetchy, Edaward Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame induction, 1962 |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Banquet materials |
1 | 20 | ||
|
Recordings Reel-to-reel (unknown runtime); digital |
1 | 21 | ||
|
Photographs |
1 | 22-23 | ||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Knudson, Earl K., 1968 |
1 | 24 | ||
|
Kolb, Alfred G. "Ollie" |
1 | 25 | ||
|
La Crosse Angels, 1985 |
1 | 26 | ||
|
La Crosse Boosters, 1925-1927 |
1 | 27 | ||
|
La Crosse Browns, 1887 |
1 | 28 | ||
|
La Crosse Clothing |
1 | 29 | ||
|
La Crosse Mohawks, 1953 |
1 | 30 | ||
|
La Crosse News Company, 1922 |
1 | 31 | ||
|
La Crosse Outcasts |
1 | 32 | ||
|
La Crosse Troubadours |
1 | 33 | ||
|
Little League and playground teams, 1909-1983 |
1 | 34 | ||
|
Morris and Company, 1894 |
1 | 35 | ||
|
Nelsons (Nelson Clothing Company), 1919 |
1 | 36 | ||
|
Newbergs (Newberg Panthers) |
1 | 37 | ||
|
North La Crosse Ramblers, 1903 |
1 | 38 | ||
|
Notes written by Parizek |
1 | 39 | ||
|
Onalaska, 1968 |
1 | 40 | ||
|
Orwoll, Oswald Christian, 1928-1932 |
1 | 41A | ||
|
Parizek, William J. "Boober" |
1 | 41B | ||
|
Peerless and Causeway Beer Depot, 1954 |
1 | 42 | ||
|
Photographs of various La Crosse teams Existence and Location of Originals notePhotocopies; original images located in Picture file |
1 | 43 | ||
|
Powell Park kitten ball |
1 | 44 | ||
|
Riley, Pete |
1 | 45 | ||
|
River Rats, 1905 |
1 | 46 | ||
|
Runkel, Louis, 1905, 1965-1966 |
1 | 47 | ||
|
St. Wenceslaus, 1947 |
1 | 48 | ||
|
Stock certificates |
1 | 49 | ||
|
La Crosse Base Ball Association, 1887 |
||||
|
La Crosse Professional Baseball Association, 1907 |
||||
|
Streichers, 1934 |
1 | 50 | ||
|
35ers (age 35 and older), 1995-1996 |
1 | 51 | ||
|
UAWA #396, 1939 |
1 | 52 | ||
|
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, 1953-1956 |
1 | 53 | ||
|
Wilsey, Lloyd A., 1960 |
1 | 54 | ||
|
Wisconsin State League champions, 1905-1906 |
1 | 55 | ||
|
Women |
1 | 56 | ||
|
La Crosse history |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Czech-Slovak Protective Society (Free Thinkers), 1964-1978 |
1 | 57 | ||
|
Michel Brothers Brewery, 1910 |
1 | 58 | ||
|
Ott, Cyril W. "Harpo" World War II remembrances, 2005 |
1 | 59 | ||
|
Shannon, Lindy, 2002 |
1 | 60 | ||
|
Unidentified photographs |
1 | 61 | ||
|
Miscellaneous, 1965-2006 |
1 | 62 | ||