Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
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Tuesday, December 3
Li'l Wally, the Polka King, has died; he was 76. Today's Sun-Times runs an obituary; for photos of Wally's later years, see Jolly James's Typepad gallery. Born Walter A. Jagiello, he tore up W. Division in the '40s and '50s; the area was then known as "Polish Broadway." Jagiello was one of the first inductees into the Polka Music Hall of Fame, which is located at 4608 S. Archer. These days, his work is perhaps best known thanks to the White Sox, whose fight song he co-wrote in 1959.