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RIP, Jerry Pytlewski: August 1948 - May 2010
Gerald Pytlewski, left, with Bernie Kunzler and Candy Butler.
LTHL founder Gerald Pytlewski passed away on Saturday, May 29. It sounds like he was at home watching the Blackhawks play Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals. If he had to leave us so early, at least we know he went out happy. He was 61.
We were just talking about Jerry last weekend at the LTHL...about how we hoped he'd make a return to playing at this year's US Open (an event he helped found). And recalling how there likely wouldn't have been a Stiga league in Chicago if not for Jerry. It was Coleco territory at the time with the long-running CTHL, but he came up with the idea of a summer Stiga league. He hosted the LTHL for several years in his backyard. Jerry kept birds (pigeons?) in his backyard. And he had this little dog that would nip your ankles. Sometimes he'd barbecue.
I think everyone who passed through there over the years has fond memories of playing at Jerry's. We all cut our teeth on Stiga at his place. Sweating through the heat and humidity, it being Chicago in the summer. Playing Stiga in his family room shortly after I'd discovered the CTHL in early 2002 is a memory that's burned in my brain. As is the big birthday tournament we had that lasted until the wee hours of the morning...Pierre and Bernie came down from Canada for it...I wanna say it was August 2003. He is survived by his wife, Chris, his son, Scott, his daughter Andrea, and a granddaughter.
US OPEN WEEKEND 2010!!!!: We'll be playing the 2010 Coleco U.S. Open on Friday, July 23 at the Lemont VFW. The Stiga US Open is Saturday, July 24 at the Lithuanian World Center. Sign up today!
Hello everybody. The Lemont Table Hockey League is excited to announce that the 2010 Chicago S-Slot Coleco Series dates are now set! There are three dates total. Trophies and medals awarded at each event. Players earn points based on finishing order. Games featured in this series of events are as follows: original Coleco 5380, Labelle 5380 and Carleco 5380 models. Vito & Nick's Pizzeria and Lemont VFW Post are the venues for these events. So come play on the prettiest, finest-tuned original custom Coleco games on this planet! Here are the dates:
UPDATED INFO...Friday, July 23: Coleco U.S. Open, 5 p.m., Lemont VFW Post, Lemont.
August TBA: Another Coleco tournament, date and time TBA. This is the third and final event in the series and is open to all players.
Other News
Jeff Thill won the Chicago Straight Slot Championship on Sunday, Feb. 28 at Vito and Nick's. He bested Jim Rzonca 4-2 in the Best of 7 finals. Ron Marsik and Dan Lord also participated in the tournament, which started out with a 4x round robin. You can read about that by clicking here.
Ron Marsik won the straight slot shootout on Nov. 22 at the Lemont VFW. For more details, please click here.
Eric Krol is the 2009 LTHL Stiga Summer/Fall champion. For more details, please click here.
Upcoming Events
NEW: The LTHL Winter Season playoffs will be held on Saturday or Sunday, July 17-18.
The Lemont Table Hockey League took part in the Blackhawks' 2nd annual fan fest at the United Center on Sept. 19. Check out all the action by clicking here.
COLECO SHARK TANK CLASSIC: On Sunday, June 7, Jeff Thill defeated Jim Rzonca 4-1 in the Best of 7 finals to win the second leg of a three-tournament series, the Coleco S-Slot Challenge. Third was Bob Ingo over Dan Lord. The third leg, the Coleco U.S. Open, is set for Friday, July 31 at 5 p.m. Some quick round robin standings, playoff results and a link to discussion/photos can be found by CLICKING HERE.
COLECO S-SLOT CHALLENGE: On Sunday, April 19, Jeff Thill defeated Bob Ingo 4-1 in the Best of 7 finals to win the first leg of a three-tournament series, the Coleco S-Slot Challenge. Third was Jim Rzonca over Joe Salazar. John Medema won the B pool. A dozen players participated. The second leg, the Shark Tank, is scheduled for Sunday, June 7. Photos and results to come.
Thank you to our sponsor, Vito and Nick's Pizza and Bowling Lanes in Lemont.
Dan Lord wins his second Coleco Shark Tank Classic. Get the quick round robin results and photos with more to come by clicking here
We have a new Shark Tank Champion!: Rich Thill defeated his son (and multiple time Shark Tank champ) Jeff Thill in the finals of the Shark Tank Coleco tournament on May 25. Rich won the final series 4-2, getting out to a three-game lead before Jeff came back. Rich made the finals by coming back against Jim Rzonca from a 2-0 deficit in the best of 5 semis. Jeff advanced by defeating Dan Lord, who ended up third. Taking the B pool was Eric Krol, who defeated Bob Ingo 3-2 in the semis (Ingo was down 2-0 before coming back to tie the series). Runner-up in the B Pool was John Medema, who also came back from a 2-0 deficit to force a game 5. Update: Results posted here. The tournament was held at Vito and Nick's.
Proud to present Mr. Bob Ingo's YouTube video promo of the LTHL.
