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by selector.dub.u » Tue Nov 07, 2006 4:10 pm
The Gaylords Street gang has its beginnings in the area of grand and noble on Chicago's north side. The Gaylords were originally a softball club in the late 1940s or early 1950s, that eventually converted in to a street gang around 1952 (See Chicago Tribune reference). Softball clubs and social clubs were common in Chicago and many neighborhoods had them. Other softball clubs at that time included the Scorpions, Ramrods and the Demons. It is very important to say here, that for many years after the 1950s, gangs referred to themselves as "clubs" in Chicago.
It has been reported that the name of the Gaylords softball club was at first called "Gay Lords," which originated from the original leader a guy named "Larry" who looked up the word in the dictionary: "Gaylord is a surname with origins in Old France. Back then it was spelled Gaillard until it was anglicized during the reign of King Edward VI(1547-1553) when protestants from Normandy emmigrated to England to escape religious persecution. Gaylord is defined as meaning brave or representing strength. However, a direct translation of the word gaillard is ribald, bawdy or strapping, as in, 'he's a strapping young fellow'," see Gaillards. The reason for this is unknown, its probably because the usage of the word "Gay" by society at the time to reflect a cheerful mood.
The Gaylords adopted their name at a time period in which homosexuality had nothing to do with the word "Gay." It was a trendy and widely used word of the time that described a proud, happy mood. The word "Gay"could be found back then in the names of businesses, books and even in movies such as: The Gay Intruders (1948), and The Gay Amigo (with western star, Cisco Kid, 1949).