Chicago LGBT sports in the mid 1980s

Chicago's Windy City Times is celebrating its 25th anniversary. A major sponsor of the 2006 Gay Games and published by Tracy Baim, co-VP of Chicago's organizing committee, the paper is one of just a handful that has provided consistent LGBT sports coverage over the years. In this story in their 25th anniversary issue, WCT's sports writer Ross Forman talks about the Chicago LGBT sports scene in the mid 1980s, important leaders, the role played by AIDS/HIV, the influence of the Gay Games, and the impact LGBT sports in Chicago had on the city as well as worldwide LGBT sports organizing. Front and center in the photo is Peg Gray, the very first co-president of the Federation of Gay Games, who passed away in 2007.

Chicago, Sept 29, 2010: "Chicago's LGBT sports community has grown into, arguably, the biggest, best and most organized in the nation, if not the world. And its roots run concurrently with the launch of the Windy City Times' 25 years ago.

"By 1985, [ the LGBT sports community ] was already getting large. There were already well over 1,000 members of MSA ( Metropolitan Sports Association ) and several hundred in each of the other groups," said Chicagoan Dick Uyvari. "National organizations and tournaments already had been formed in the major GLBT participation sports such as softball, bowling, volleyball, tennis, etc. In addition, leagues were being formed in other sports, such as darts, flag football, pool, golf, etc."

"Chicago was, for all intents and purposes, the gay sports capital of the United States in the mid-1980s.

Read the full article HERE. Photos by Tracy Baim.