The Chinese Softball League of Chicago, will be entering its 16th season of play in the spring of 2009, was founded in the fall of 1994 by George Lee. George formed the league with the intention of creating a friendly but competitive atmosphere for Asian youths and adults from across the Chicagoland area.
The inaugural season saw the CSL introduce four teams in an abbreviated fall session. The fall season proved to generate enough interest so that plans could be made to add teams for a full-fledged summer season. The second season began in the spring of 1995 and included six teams competing for what would become known as the CSL Championship. The league experienced some growing pains, but by the beginning of season three in 1996, the number of teams had increased again bringing the total number to ten. The number of teams in the CSL stayed at ten teams for the next few seasons and overall play became more spirited and competitive.
1996 marked quite a few firsts for the CSL, including detailed tracking of player and team statistics along with the introduction of the first CSL All-Star Game. Players finishing on top of certain offensive categories received trophies for their efforts along with the extra reward of being voted onto an all-star team by their peers. These new additions to the league seemed to create more interest as well as increase the fun factor for all those involved. The end of the 1996 season culminated with the 1st annual CSL Awards Banquet.
As in any organization, the following few seasons saw minor revisions to league rules, along with the addition and subtraction of teams. A league website (www.chinesesoftball.com) was created so that players and fans could track their favorite teams and players online.
In the spring of 2000, George Lee stepped down from his position as commissioner and handed the CSL over to a committee that included Steve Ko, John Lam, James Wong and Eric Yuen. Knowing that it would take hard work to keep the league moving forward, they accepted the responsibility. Together, Steve, John, James and Eric have tried to maintain the type of leadership that George provided over the previous six successful seasons of the CSL. All the members of the CSL have expressed their gratitude to George Lee and acknowledge his efforts in the accomplishment of starting this organization. It is due to the strong foundation laid by its founders that the league has continued to grow while its members become more involved in maintaining the league's integrity.
In 2006, the CSL hosted the 1st annual Chicago Asian Softball Tournament or CAST with teams coming from the outlying suburbs and as far as Toronto to compete.
In 2008, the CSL entered into interleague play with the Filipino Softball League (FSL) to expand competition and explore the possibility of uniting both leagues.

We look forward to another successful season ahead and welcome all new members of the CSL.