Fire Top Police in Annual Fourth of July Softball Game

Since the '70s, the Northbrook Police Department and the Northbrook Fire Department have fielded softball teams to settle a friendly rivalry at the Village Green on the Fourth of July.

This year’s version of the game took place in the morning, while many community members listened to music and partook of the Pancakes in the Park breakfast. The firemen won 16-11, their seventh straight victory over the police.

Police Officer Roger Atkins has played in the annual softball game each of his 24 years on the force.

“It’s an annual event, it’s something fun,” Atkins said. “The community comes out.”

The game is played in a mostly casual atmosphere, but every now and again that competitive streak becomes visible. Everyone wants to win.

Since the police haven’t won in a while, they had to get creative to come up with something to celebrate.

“The police chief said that he wanted a trophy for his office so he was hoping to get the first place one before he retires,” said firefighter Kevin Frangiamore, who took part in the game for the second year. “But it hasn’t happened yet.”

“What our chief did as a joke was, he had a second place trophy made,” Atkins said. “There is nothing for second place so he made it bigger and nicer than the first place, because that one’s old.”

After Monday’s defeat, the police posed for a photo with that second place trophy. Meanwhile, the firemen get to keep the first place trophy at their station for another year until it will be on the line again next Independence Day.

That’s part of the fun the two sides enjoy for this tradition.

“They threw donuts at us one year and we brought out a La-Z-Boy for them,” Atkins said. “It’s fun stuff."

“We got a good relationship with the fire department. We go to all their calls so we have a nice working relationship, a lot of friendships. A lot of our guys will take their breaks at a fire house.”

Both departments play in other tournaments throughout the summer, but the holiday atmosphere makes this game is a little different.

Frangiamore said the firemen don’t have any unusual traditions like the police department’s second place trophy.

“I wish we did,” he said. “We’ll do something for next year. We don’t have anything goofy.”

For now, winning will suffice as the fire department’s tradition.