The Kankakee Chiefs were founded in 1964 when local college players, led by Irish O'Reilly, Denny Lehnus and Darryl Lehnus, decided there was no place for them to play and continue improving their skills. With the help of 18 local sponsors and Terry Kirkton, the newly-named business manager, the group created the Kankakee Chiefs.
The Chiefs were led by Carl Coleman and finished with a 20-6 record during the inaugural 1964 season, including a first place finish in the Wilmington Labor Day tournament.
In 1965, Denny Lehnus took over as manager and led the Chiefs for 14 years. Lehnus compiled a 445-156 record at the helm, taking only one year off to obtain his Master's Degree. During Lehnus' time away, Dick Carley led the Chiefs to a 31-16 record during the 1975 season.
After four seasons with no home field, local businessman Ray J. Benoit sponsored the installation of lights at LeVasseur Park in 1968. The lights allowed the Chiefs to increase their schedule and play a high percentage of home games. The lights were also a recruiting tool to bring in college players. Most of the collegiate players hailed from the Midwest and represented schools from all levels, including Anderson, Lewis, Benedictine, SIU-Carbondale, New Mexico, Texas Tech and USC.
The players were hosted by local families and found jobs in the area. In 1973, another businessman Bill Salkeld, became the primary sponsor of the Chiefs, which allowed semi-pro baseball to survive in Kankakee.
In their 16 years the Chiefs became one of the top semi-pro teams in the state of Illinois and carried an intense rivalry with the Midlothian White Sox for top spot in the state. The Chiefs were three-time National Baseball Congress state champs, two-time state runner-up, played in five NBC national tournaments in Wichita, Kansas, and finished 11th in the country twice.
The Chiefs played against several future major league players including Ron Guidry, Chris Chambliss, Phil Garner, David Hilton, Steve Dunning, and future NFL quarterback Steve Bartkowski. The Chiefs themselves boasted 30 players who signed with major league organizations with two making it to the big leagues: Rick Kemp with the Washington Senators and Tom Brennan with the Cleveland Indians.
The Chiefs finished their run after the 1979 season after Lehnus stepped down as manager, due to increased job demands as the athletic director and head basketball coach at Kankakee Community College. In addition to the coaches and players, there were several others who were paramount to the Chiefs' success: Marlew Lehnus, Buck LaMontagne, Chuck Gault, Ed Philips, Bruce Philips, Gary Dupuis, John Hasemeyer, Jerry Cougill and Gene Knaga, Sr.
