CHICAGO -- Back in mid-May, Chicago baseball fans entertained thoughts of a Cubs-White Sox World Series with both teams atop their respective divisions.
The crosstown dream faded and then disappeared, as the White Sox fell off the pace, but there's still an opportunity for fans to get their late-season Chicago baseball rivalry fix at the Larry A. Pogofsky All-Star Challenge on Sept. 10 at Boomers Stadium in Schaumburg.
This contest, organized by Pogofsky's children, pits retired legends from both sides against each other in a softball game for charitable causes. Money raised supports the Ozzie Guillen Foundation and the Jamie Moyer Foundation.
Both Guillen, who managed the 2005 White Sox to a World Series championship and played 13 years on the South Side, and Moyer, who won 28 of his 269 games with the Cubs, are scheduled to take part.
Jermaine Dye, Joe Crede, Greg Walker, Freddy Garcia, Carl Everett, Brian Anderson, Mike Huff, Dan Pasqua, Norberto Martin and Toby Hall also are set to participate on the White Sox side. Hall-of-Famer Billy Williams, Jon Lieber, Jerome Walton, Corey Patterson, Brian McRae, Cliff Floyd, Bill Madlock, Gary Matthews Jr., Adam Greenberg, Ryan Dempster, Kerry Wood, Mike Remlinger, Ray Burris, Roosevelt Brown and Carlos Zambrano have been enlisted to represent the Cubs side.
Scott Eyre and Bob Howry, who pitched on both sides of town, suit up for the Cubs.
"Me and my brother [Ben] wanted to do something obviously a to raise money for charity, but to keep our father's name alive and to kind of give other people the opportunities that we had to get up close and personal, to meet the players, have their kid go on the field," said Bradley Pogofsky of the festivities that began in 2013 and return after a one-year hiatus in '15.
"That's why it's kind of special to us," added Pogofsky, who grew up with his family on the North Side but has been part of the White Sox family since he was a child. "When it started three years ago, we got a few guys and it just kind of blew up. All the guys love coming in and they love doing it."
A kids' clinic run by the Bulls/Sox Academy will take place a few hours before the 2 p.m. first pitch. Players from the game will be lending their expertise in working with the youngsters.
Tickets are still available for the charity contest dedicated to the memory of the father of three, as well as longtime member of the White Sox board of directors who passed away five years ago. Larry's mother, Hermione, was a die-hard White Sox fan and he sold beer as a vender at old Comiskey Park, not to mention witnessing a championship.
There could be another title coming to Chicago this season, but it won't be a city World Series to decide it.
"When we came out of the gate and they were both killing it, we thought, 'Wow. if we are both in first place and we have our event, it would just be amazing,'" Bradley said. "Unfortunately, it didn't turn out like that for us this year."