Baseball Fanatic Proud to Display Sports Memorablila.

Jake Bugajski, 13, seventh grader at

Jake Bugajski loves baseball. 

He follows in the footsteps of his father, Jim who played when he was younger. But what may be more fascinating, especially for Chicago Cub fans, is that Bugajski’s great uncle played for them during the 1956 and 1957 seasons.

Ed Winceniak played second base, shortstop and third in 32 games for the Chicago Cubs. He had a .209 hitting average with one home run among his 14 big league base hits.

Recently, Bugajski’s uncle gave him an autographed bat, glove and spikes he used while playing with the Cubs. These items, as well as an autographed baseball card of his uncle will be proudly displayed in Bugajski’s Cubs-themed bedroom.

“It’s really cool to be related to him and have his memorabilia,” Bugajski said with a huge grin.

Cubby blue is painted on the walls and the biggest wall contains an enlarged Cubs logo. His room also includes shelves of baseball trophies he has earned during the last few years. It definitely screams he is a fan of the Northside team.

For at least half of the year he is playing baseball. Whether it be with the Channahon Baseball League or the school team, Bugajski is ready to catch a fly ball when it comes to him in center or right field.

“I would have loved to met Lou Gehrig because he was a great baseball player and an American icon,” Bugajski said. “Despite dying of ALS, at his peak he was great. I would like to be as good as he was.”

He helped lead the Channahon Junior High School Indians to an undefeated record (15-0) and the title of the IVC (Illinois Valley Conference) Tournament. This summer the Channahon Baseball team traveled to Cooperstown and placed fifth out of 24 teams. When Bugajski was 10, he played in an All-Star game in Texas. The team placed third and broke a record for a team from the Northern Region of the country to place in 51 years.

Currently, Bugajski is training with the CJHS wrestling team. This is his third year wrestling as a lightweight. Last year, he placed third at regionals and competed in sectionals. His goal this year is to go to state competition.

“You have to have a different mind set for each person you compete against. It’s a very mental and physical sport,” Bugajski said. “The most important mind set is to win. You always have to know where you are in the match. It could be a matter of seconds to achieve the win or get a loss.”

Ironically, Bugajski was not going to tryout for the wrestling team three years ago. But the coach at that time encouraged him to join. Coach Dan Nyalka calls him the “little bulldog,” because he “wrestles like an animal.”

Bugajski is also a track star. He competes in the 4x100m race and hurdles. Last season he was .03 seconds shy of earning rights to go to sectionals. He also enjoys being a member of the CJHS Band where he plays saxophone. As study hall representative for student council, he makes announcements about upcoming activities.

Bugajski’s intelligence has earned him a spot on the Mathletes team, as well as a student in the math catalyst class. He is a high honor roll student also.

“My goal is to be valedictorian of my class,” Bugajski said.

But in his free time he likes to golf in the summer, eat Lou Malnati’s pizza and mint chocolate chip ice cream. He loves monkeys and the color orange.

While there is still time to decide on colleges and careers, Bugajski said he would like to attend a college out-of-state so he can meet new people and see the different regions of the U.S. 

“I’m not sure what I want to do, but I want to do something that will make lots of money,” Bugajski said. “ Perhaps a stock broker, lawyer or architectural engineer.”

During college, Bugajski said he would like to participate in the foreign exchange program. Australia is his choice of destination. And while he is there, he plans to swim in the Great Barrier Reef, swim with the dolphins and visit the Sydney Opera House.