The Joliet Slammers and Gateway Grizzlies play the Big House Ballgame seen from a guard tower at Old Joliet Prison on April 30, 2026. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Thursday marked 100 years since two entrepreneurs in Springfield, Missouri, sent a telegram to the nation’s capital requesting the name “66” for their new highway. Route 66 became official when the country adopted the numbered highway system in November of that year.
Against the backdrop of prison watchtowers and barbed wire, the celebration of Route 66 in Joliet featured three hours’ worth of pregame festivities, including 15 food trucks serving delicacies as quintessential as hot dogs and as unique as gourmet pasta in garlic bread cones. Actor and comedian Bill Murray, the Slammers’ co-owner best known for hit films like “Ghostbusters” and “Groundhog Day,” was recognized on the field at the start of the game.
Joliet Slammers batters warm up in the first inning against the Joliet Slammers during the Big House Ballgame at Old Joliet Prison, April 30, 2026, in Joliet. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)Fans head for their seats to watch the Joliet Slammers and Gateway Grizzlies in the Big House Ballgame at Old Joliet Prison, April 30, 2026, in Joliet. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)Joliet Slammers mascot J.L. Bird and youth baseball players wait for a pregame ceremony for the Joliet Slammers and Gateway Grizzlies in the Big House Ballgame at Old Joliet Prison, April 30, 2026, in Joliet. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)A fan wears a Joliet Slammers jersey with a Route 66 patch as the Slammers and Gateway Grizzlies play the Big House Ballgame at Old Joliet Prison, April 30, 2026, in Joliet. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)Actor Bill Murray gives a thumbs-up after handing each umpire cash during player introductions for the Joliet Slammers and Gateway Grizzlies in the Big House Ballgame at Old Joliet Prison, April 30, 2026, in Joliet. Murray is a part-owner of the Slammers. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)Joliet Slammers pitcher Ryan Daly throws against the Gateway Grizzlies during the Big House Ballgame at Old Joliet Prison, April 30, 2026, in Joliet. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)Joliet Slammers pitcher Ryan Daly throws against the Gateway Grizzlies during the Big House Ballgame at Old Joliet Prison, April 30, 2026, in Joliet. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)In a view from a guard tower, the Joliet Slammers and Gateway Grizzlies play the Big House Ballgame at Old Joliet Prison, April 30, 2026, in Joliet. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)Original keys to a guard tower door are held by a worker during the Big House Ballgame between the Joliet Slammers and Gateway Grizzlies at Old Joliet Prison, April 30, 2026, in Joliet. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)Isabella Dessauer, 10, and her father, Steve, wear rain ponchos as rain falls during the Big House Ballgame between the Joliet Slammers and Gateway Grizzlies at Old Joliet Prison, April 30, 2026, in Joliet. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)Sidney Reagor, center, takes pictures with Joliet Slammers player Austin Baugh before a game between the Slammers and Gateway Grizzlies in the Big House Ballgame at Old Joliet Prison, April 30, 2026. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)Elliott Clark, 4, looks up to the second floor of a jail cell before the Joliet Slammers and Gateway Grizzlies play in the Big House Ballgame at Old Joliet Prison, April 30, 2026, in Joliet. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)Gateway Grizzlies players warm up before playing the Joliet Slammers in the Big House Ballgame at Old Joliet Prison, April 30, 2026. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)Members of the Carroll family eat popcorn while watching the Big House Ballgame between the Joliet Slammers and Gateway Grizzlies at Old Joliet Prison, April 30, 2026, in Joliet. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)Fans enter and exit during a continuous drizzle at the Big House Ballgame between the Joliet Slammers and Gateway Grizzlies at Old Joliet Prison, April 30, 2026, in Joliet. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
