William J. Parizek Papers

Collection

Identifier: MSS 122

Staff Only

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.

Dates

1887-2006

Creator

Parizek, William J. (Person)

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.

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.

Extent

0.4 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

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.

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

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.