Donald Siuda (1950's & 1960's) All-Star Shortstop Don Siuda started playing as a 14-year-old for the Chi-Gents, a semi-pro team based in northern Illinois. They played 4 - 5 games in Chicago on week days and traveled all over Illinois on week-ends. From 1954-1959 Siuda was the league's All-Star shortstop.

In 1956, he raised his batting mark from .303 the previous season to a robust .376, and lined 48 doubles in semi-pro competition, helping the Chi-Gents win the league championship with a 72-8 record. Although his batting mark slipped to .332 in 1957, he scored 101 runs in 112 games. Siuda was an outstanding fielding shortstop, possessed great range with a rapid throwing arm. Siuda was noted for his hard hitting to right-field. He spent 1960-1962 playing first base in the U.S. Military and rejoined the Chi-Gents in 1963 and played first baseman until 1965.

In 1963, Siuda made only three errors at 1st base in over 100 games. In recalling his playing days, Siuda said, "We played anyone, anywhere, any time, in leagues, and for money. At that time we would play for $5.00 a man, which was a lot of money then. We would travel all over in Illinois, the city (Chicago) and the suburbs, we played a lot against teams in the Fox Lake area, we always won. The Chi-Gents played in the Chicago Leagues during the week and money games on week-ends, probably 5 days a week during the season, mostly night games. I do not believe we lost more than nine games in any season. I played shortstop and was a good right-field hitter. We won the championship almost every season. Baseballhistorian.com