Insane Popes (South Side) - Chicago Gang History

Founded	Founded in 1973 by Donnie “Buffalo” Tennet in or near Archer Heights
Founding story	Founded in Archer Heights, Archer and Komesky (Marzano’s Miami Bowling alley)
Formerly known as	Royal Popes 1973-1981
Affiliations	People Nation — c. 1981 – 2000 or later;
Colors	Black and White
Primary ethnicities	White
Symbols	Reaper, Sickle, Cross, Diamond, Shield, and Halo
Symbol usage	Cross with two slashes and a halo on top
Status	Active

This history was last updated 4/29/26

Where these Popes DO NOT come from

I would like to clarify one thing before we begin the story of the south side Insane Popes. This group of Popes has NO relations and no ties to the north side Insane Popes during their founding years or any time during the 70s and 80s. The south side Popes did NOT come from Larry “Larkin” Morris and were not sanctioned by them either. There was no alliance or ties between north side Popes, south side Popes and Simon City Royals. Only for a time in the 90s have some north side Popes and south side Popes connected a little bit but the south side Popes did not branch out from the north side or copy off north side symbols, the name or anything like that.

There was a piece that Mike Lee Hamilton wrote many years ago on the internet that told the story of Larkin and the North Side Popes helping found the south side Popes (https://www.stonegreasers.com/greaser/insanepopes.html). I do not believe that Hamilton lied or meant to tell any falsehoods, he was just mistaken about the history. I met with Donnie “Buffalo” Tennant (R.I.P) before he passed away along with a group of other old school Popes and they gave me the early history themselves; therefore, their story is far more credible than Hamilton’s story. Mike Hamilton is not an original Pope and was not in the group or even in the neighborhood back in the 70s.

The L.A. Boys and Big John Dayton

In the year 1968, a greaser gang was put together in the Archer Heights neighborhood called the “L.A. boys” that was named after the streets they hung around (La Crosse, Lamon, Laporte, Lavergn, Lawler) over by 49th to 50th Streets in Vittum Park. In the year 1972 the L.A. Boys declared extinction leaving their youngest member, John Dayton, without a club. John Dayton had no interest in joining any other clubs in the area especially since many were either rivals or dying out as well.

The Royal Insane Popes

In the summer of the year 1973, a group of about 10 teenagers put together a gang in the area called the “Sons of Diablo.” John Dayton was not easy to impress but he took a liking to the Diablos and began hanging around with them but he would not join the Diablos because he would not be a part of somone else’s creation since his L.A. Boy days. John told the Diablos about a visit he had to the north side where he saw a large “Insane Pope” tag on a wall and thought the name was pretty neat. John and the Diablos decided to scrap the Sons of Diablo idea and decided to adopt the name “Insane Pope” that the north side gang had. One of the Popes named “Puggy” wanted to add a uniqueness to the name to separate themselves from the north side group and Puggy invented the part of the name “Royal.” This is when the name “Royal Insane Popes” was adopted in July of 1973 and John Dayton donated the L.A. Boy colors of black and white to the Popes as he himself became a Pope. The biggest creator and founder was not Dayton, it was 15 year old Donnie “Buffalo” Tennant who not only was the founder but also the first leader until 1983. Other original Popes were: Pete Luna, Bumstead, Rusty, Lil Elvis, Satan, Dutch, Baby Pope, Rican, Lil Rican, Puggy and Wizard. The Popes began at the intersection of Archer & Komensky (Kool City, Old Vatican City) right out in front of Marzano’s Miami Bowl located at 5023 S. Archer Ave. The Popes also hung out at Archer Park at 4901 S Kilbourn Ave making 49th and Kilbourn one of their first sections. The Popes mainly formed out of boredom but would very quickly evolve into true street warriors as they battled with enemies like the Mad Lads, or a white and Hispanic gang called the “Spanish Cobras.” Once the Popes started to go at it with the Spanish Cobras the Cobras did not last much longer and were gone by 1974, the Popes went at them hard.

The original Popes and Popes in decades later were a big part of Miami Bowling alley and were seen there so much that all the locals knew of the Pope presence very well. The Marzano family likely took a liking to the Popes especially since the Popes would keep any other gangs and trouble makers out.

Once the Spanish Cobras went extinct, Royal Pope reputation grew and by 1974 there were now 20 members.

The PCN

When the Royal Popes formed in the year 1973 they immediately established a tight alliance with the Latin Counts from 18^th & Loomis and the two gangs have been tight ever since. I regret not asking more details from Buffalo about how the two clubs came together. This unity was called the “P.C.N” or “Pope Count Nation.” Buffalo and “Satan” were the main Popes that got this alliance going. Latin Counts would come in from Pilsen to hang out with the Popes near railroad tracks in the Archer Avenue and Cicero Avenue area, I think just north of 54^th Street. On a factory wall there was a large roller that read “PCN” in huge letters that was on that wall from the mid-70s until the early 2000s.

Relations with Latin Kings

Ever since the Royal Insane Popes were formed in 1973, Popes and Latin Kings became tight allies. Once again, I regret not asking Buffalo the in depth history of how both mobs came together. I am not sure what section of Latin Kings the Popes became allies with because there were were no Latin King sections nearby in the 70s, but there were no Counts nearby either but Popes and Counts united somehow. A friendship with the Latin Kings was strong for decades and the two clubs never went to war for any longer periods. The relationship was so tight the Latin Kings were known as “Cousins” of the Popes.

War with Gangster Disciples

In the year 1974, Curie High School officially opened its doors for the first time. The original Royal Popes were sent to Curie High School to start the 74-75 school year. When the Popes started school they were alarmed by the presence of the Black Gangster Disciples attending the school who were bussed in from other areas of the city. At the time, the Black Gangster Disciples showed no respect to groups of white kids or white gangs because the BGDs were much bigger of a gang. The Popes were quick not to tolerate this and fought the BGDs almost daily to the point that Chicago police needed to sweep the hallways with police dogs. The Popes then declared that “POPE” stood for “Protection of the People eliminating Spooks.” These fights with the BGDs would start a permanent war with the Gangster Disciples for several decades to come.

The Junior Royal Popes

In the year 1975 the Royal Popes grew from 20 members to 40-50 members because some younger kids wanted to join the Popes. A meeting was held in Bobby Nichols’ (penguin) garage for these younger kids to join the Royal Insane Popes as the first junior members.

83^rd Street Vatican City

In the year 1975, the Popes branched out for the first time as they began hanging out at 83rd & Homan. I learned this from a guy who’s older brother became a Pope in Ashburn in 1975. The Popes formed at 83^rd & Homan to look out for the neighborhood during the earliest years of racial change. The far eastern part of Ashburn east of Western Avenue was rapidly becoming African American in the mid-late 70s but this wasn’t the main issue for the Popes, the issue was the increase in crime that was blowing in from the African American Auburn-Gresham neighborhood that was following African American migration.

This section was not legendary until the mid-80s when the Popes of Vatican City started gangbanging against Hispanic gangs moving to the neighborhood from Little Village. Ambrose, La Raza and later Two Six moved to Ashburn causing a gang and racial conflict between the Popes and these Folk allied gangs. I am not sure if these Popes fought with African American gangs until the 2000s when the Gangster Disciples started getting big. The Black P Stones were the main African American gang in the 80s and 90s but the Stones are with the People alliance. After white flight ran its final course in the mid-2000s the Vatican City Popes completely closed in 2006.

The Twelfth Street Players

In the year 1976, the Twelfth Street Players in Cicero were getting going in their earliest years. The Players somehow became knowledgeable about the black and white colors of the L.A. Boys but they found out the colors were already donated to the Popes thanks to John D. The Players began making trips to Pope neighborhood in the Archer Avenue & Cicero Avenue area and they spray painted a tag alongside a green fence at Green Brothers Junk Yard near Clover Club Bottling Company at Archer Avenue and Knox. The tag said “We will fight for the black and white!” This was a sign to the Royal Popes that the Twelfth Street Players felt like they were the only rightful owners to those colors and that the Popes should just surrender the colors. The Popes did not take these guys seriously at all and the Players felt it was time for a face to face confrontation. One day a car load of Players drove up to Ralph’s Pizza at Archer Avenue and Cicero Avenue where the Popes were hanging out. The Players informed the Popes that they were a new club and that the colors were theirs. “Taco” of the Popes pulled out a knife used for cutting cheese and stabbed the Player in the front seat causing the Players to flee the scene. I am not sure if there was anymore conflict between them but the conflict mostly died out with the Players.

Kool City and Vittum Park

In the 1970s, Popes had a reputation with the police for selling PCP, committing box car robberies and car thefts. According to Pope gang members when interviewed on June 15, 1978 for the Chicago Tribune, they were just “Party Greasers” that loved to drink and smoke Marijuana while protecting the neighborhood but police said otherwise. The Popes would use the money from these activities to buy guns, knives, brass knuckles and cars. They also bought lots of marijuana and alcohol with the money. In the summer of 1977 the 80 members of the gang polished off 49 cases of beer. The railroad tracks along 42nd to 55th Streets had long been known for train robberies. Popes would time the train arrivals at night then raid the box cars unloading several cases of beer. Popes also had an agreement with Miguel’s restaurant at 49th and Pulaski. The Popes wanted the basement of the restaurant as a hang out spot for their meetings but the owner had an objection to it at first. Donnie Tennant told him he would expect the owner to not only let them use it but to also pay the Popes $100 as well in exchange for the Popes standing down Archer Avenue right after school and directing all the students to eat at Miguel’s after school. All students were not allowed to eat anywhere else or the Popes would give them a hard time, Miguel’s then saw a major jump in business. This article shows the strength and power of the Popes by the later 70s. The Popes became so popular and well known that almost anyone that lived in the Midway area in the later 70s and early 80s remembers the Popes very well.

In the Garfield Ridge and Archer Heights communities the Popes now had territory from Central Avenue to Lawndale Avenue and from 47^th Street to Archer Avenue. South of Archer Avenue was no gang and was entering the non-gang area of West Elsdon. North of 47^th Street became very Hispanic and African American in the late 70s. Brighton Park was just east of Archer and Lawndale. West of Central Avenue was non-gang land in the 70s and most of the 80s. This means the Popes had any gang areas of choice that were white neighborhoods between Vittum Park and Archer Heights. This land was legendary gang land even before and during the L.A. Boy days when gangs like the Centurions, Mad Lads, and the 58^th Street Jungle, now it was in the hands of the Popes and only the Popes once the Cobras and Mad Lads were eliminated.

Popes started in the “Old Vatican City” area between Archer to 47^th and Lawndale to Pulaski when they began gathering at Archer & Pulaski at Miami Bowl. Original Popes also congregated at Archer Park and this whole area from Cicero Avenue to Lawndale and from 47^th the Pulaski became “Kool City” with Archer Park and Old Vatican City inside, this area is mainly on the Archer Heights side. The Garfield Ridge side was mainly the Vittum Park Popes side that started in 1975 between Cicero Avenue to Central Avenue and from 47^th to Archer.

According to Buffalo himself there were 336 members by the end of the 70s. These members were mainly just in Archer Heights and Garfield Ridge, I believe this excluded the Ashburn Popes off 83^rd Street. The Popes had so much respect that they could even call upon youths that were not in gangs to assist them in times of need making some youths part of the gang without actually being members acting as auxiliary members.

Since the 1960s, there is a house at 47^th & Ridgeway in Archer Heights that was a greaser gang hangout, but I don’t know what greaser gangs were there in the 60s and early 70s. When the Popes began taking over the neighborhood in the mid-70s they laid claim to this house and turned it into a club house/party house. In the basement of the house there was a 1950s jukebox, pool table and many other club house type features. The walls and ceiling became covered in Insane Pope graffiti and many pictures were taken in the 1990s in this basement that have since circulated online. The Popes ran this house since the 70s until at least the 2000s. In 1979, the house was hit in a drive by shooting. This house was infamous and is said to still have graffiti in it.

The “Kool City” name was not invented until the mid-80s. I only refer to it as that name when discussing the 70s for geographical purposes.

War with Two Six

In the year 1977, the Two Six organization from the Little Village community entered a new phase of existence as they took in most of the Ayala brothers and fused partially with the Mexican drug cartel to become a full fledged, gun toting gang banging mob with colors, sweaters, symbols and lots of guns. Two Six now had a 26 year old leader and cartel associate in their direct ranks and this mob couldn’t help but to feel all powerful. The 26 year old leader was a drug trafficker that distributed drugs in the Midway area between Cicero, Archer Heights, Back of the Yards, Brighton Park, Gage Park and possibly other communities. This 26 year old leader was nicknamed “Sweet Wine” and the original Popes, including Buffalo, were the first ones to tell me about him which led me to do research and learn all about Teddy “Sweet Wine” Ordonez. Sweet Wine did as he pleased because he knew he was a badass that fought like a Comanche and was quick with the trigger. Sweet Wine and his closest killer associates frequented taverns in the neighborhoods they served ignoring local mostly white gangs that told him and his guys to leave, Sweet Wine would just laugh and punch those guys out or pull a gun on them. The only way to put any kind of hurt on Sweetwine was to pile on him with several guys and that was even hard work.

Sweet Wine was just the beginning, the young Ayala boys kept showing up in the Midway area as did the newest Two Six branch from 38^th & Albany. The Two Sixs were about half Hispanic and half white so they stood out in the all-white Archer Heights community when they casually strolled in. The Royal Popes went ballistic when they heard about and saw Two Six gang members in their neighborhood. When Popes confronted the Two Sixs they were met with a fury they never encountered which was tough guys with lots of guns. The Two Sixs became the most violent adversary the Popes had ever encountered but instead of cowering in fear the Popes learned how to hit back. I recall a story Buffalo told me during that one meetup I had with him that he was shot by a Two Six but he still kept coming at that Two Six even with blood all over him. Buffalo was not afraid of Two Six nor were the main heavy hitters of the Popes. Other reasons why Two Six was coming to Archer Heights and Garfield Ridge area was because the first Hispanic families had just moved into the Sleepy Hallow area of Garfield Ridge and Archer Heights between Cicero Avenue to Pulaski Road and between 43^rd to 47^th. Despite how bad ass and how dangerous the original Tiny Two Six and Albany Two Sixs were they never could lay claim to any of the streets of Archer Heights and Garfield Ridge ever. The Popes would not let Two Sixs come to Kool City and Vittum Park area in peace. Since 1977, Two Six and Popes have been at war.

When the war started with Two Six, the Popes considered Two Six bigger enemies and changed their meaning to the name to “Protection of our People Eliminating Spi*s.”

War with Satan Disciples

In the later 1970s, the first Hispanic families began migrating to Archer Heights and Garfield Ridge for the first time. These families were settling in the Sleepy Hallow area between 43^rd Street to Archer Avenue and from Cicero Avenue to Knox Avenue. The Hispanic families were also moving to Archer Heights between 43^rd to 47^th and from Kolin to Pulaski. In these areas Popes had small numbers but had ambitions of eventually growing into those areas but Hispanic migration put a stop to that. Among these Hispanic families, mostly from Little Village area, were three brothers that were all members of the Satan Disciples from 24^th Street & Rockwell. The main brother was “Tank,” who was the one that formed an official chapter of the Satan Disciples in Sleepy Hallow, then the gang quickly recruited in Archer Heights between 43^rd and 47^th, this all happened in 1978 when the Popes had swelled to close to or over 200 members. The Satan Disciples claimed they recruited because Popes were beating up Hispanic boys all over the neighborhood just for being Hispanic. I don’t doubt that some of that is true but the Disciples and others from those areas also harassed youths in the neighborhood as well and Popes. A war quickly erupted that became violent very fast as the Satan Disciples became arch enemies of the Popes. At that time, Two Six and Satan Disciples were allies and could come together against the Popes; however, Popes could call upon Latin Kings and Latin Counts for assistance if needed but this was not really needed very often, the Popes handled the Satan Disciples themselves. Popes and SDs had legendary wars for generations and neither gang could remove the other.

Mike “Lord Conan” Hamilton

The Hamilton brothers were perhaps some of the biggest names in the Popes. Russell Hamilton, the oldest brother was an original junior member of the Popes and Chris “Thee Kid” Hamilton, the youngest of the boys joined sometime in the later 70s and was one of the craziest members of the gang as was Mike Hamilton. Even though the Hamiltons were brothers, Mike Hamilton lived in Little Village while his brothers lived in Pope hood and became Popes. Mike Hamilton ended up joining the Two Sixs at 26^th & Kolin on the streets of K-Town. In a piece written by Mike Hamilton himself on the Stone Greaser site, Hamilton recalled being a Two Six for 3 years from age 13-16. Hamilton did not recall being a Two Six as a positive experience as he stated, “I was an unfortunate member of their evil killing gang of murderers. At age 13 -16 I was stuck in their hands and took orders.”

In the year 1980, Mike Hamilton moved to the Midway area now living with his brothers and soon forgot about being a Two Six, he would then turn against the gang. Mike Hamilton was not afraid of anything at all and was tough as nails, even as a teenager. While Hamilton’s friends partied all night drinking heavily Hamilton chose to not partake in drugs and/or alcohol but instead became highly disciplined in fitness and training and learning how to fight. Mike Hamilton was also known for standing around on the street corner with a big jug of milk. Hamilton won over the respect of the older original Popes due to his straight edge discipline, therefore, in 1981, Hamilton was granted a leadership position. Hamilton would later become the top leader of the Popes in 1983 as Buffalo headed into semi-retirement. Mike Hamilton was also crazy and suffered from some mental issues that caused him to snap into violent rages where he would become highly destructive and be able to fight several men at one time. Hamilton was also known to move in the direction of danger instead of away from it, even if rival gang members were shooting at him he still kept at them which scared the shit out of them. I didn’t hear this stuff from Popes as much as a I did from former Folk gang members that tried to team up to take him down but they could not and this was just one man!

I never met Mike Hamilton but I did communicate with him via email back in the mid-2000s. Hamilton was great to talk to and decent guy from my interactions and he assisted me with some Pope history when I used to work for Chicagogangs.org when I was building the Pope history for that site. I don’t believe for a minute that Hamilton purposefully fabricated the founding story of the Popes, I just think he misunderstood or was misinformed when he wrote that Larkin started the south side Popes too. Even though I didn’t know Mike personally, I heard all the stories of how tough and bad ass he was and how he could tear apart groups of 10 or more men at once in a fight and this is according to many sources. Hamilton was described as looking like a pro wrestler with enormous muscles. Hamilton worked as a bouncer and was a major protector of those that gave him respect. Mike Hamilton and Tank of the Satan Disciples had mutual respect for each other and were able to bring about peace at times. Both men were unstoppable on the streets because they were smart, strong and brave, hence, why the two gangs could not eradicate each other. Hamilton was able to charm people but not with malicious intent, he was naturally nice to people in nature but when crossed he would become dangerous and violent.

The People alliance and the “Insane” Popes

In the year 1981, it became all the craze for Chicago gangs on the streets to identify with either the Folk alliance or the People alliance. These alliances developed during the late 70s in the Illinois prison systems. The earliest evidence of the Folks alliance on the streets on the south side developed between Satan Disciples, Two Six, Ambrose and Two Two Boys. When the Folk alliance hit the streets in 1981 Two Six, Satan Disciples, Ambrose and Two Two Boys became the masters and decision makers of the south side Folk alliance. All four of these gangs roved the Midway area, Brighton Park, Gage Park, Marquette Park and the Back of the Yards as strong allies helping each other fight a mostly racial battle against mostly white gangs from the south side, primarily Insane Popes and the South Side Heads. Even though these Folks mobs did not all reside in these neighborhoods they still came in to attack, harass and cause trouble on these streets and they brought drug trafficking and crime to the area to spite the areas. Two Sixs and Satan Disciples were aggressively settling nearby Brighton Park by the early 80s on the east side of the neighborhood and were trying to advance west toward Kedzie Avenue. Kelly High School was full of gang fights by the early 80s as Satan Disciples, Two Six, Ambrose, Insane Popes and South Side Heads were all attending this Brighton Park school located in the developing Satan Disciple’s neighborhood.

There was no doubt that Insane Popes, Latin Kings, Latin Counts and South Side Heads were not in favor of becoming Folks, in fact, they were ready to kill all Folks. Latin Kings were a co-founder of the People alliance and were in attendance at “The Fort” which was the headquarters of the El Rukns. El Rukns, Vice Lords and Latin Kings drafted the People alliance bylaws and became the rulers and masters of the alliance. The Latin Counts became members of the People alliance in 1981 and soon told the Popes all about it. The Counts did not have the authority to directly invite the Popes into People but they were able to bring the Popes to meet the Count’s “cousin” gang and People sponsor the Conservative Vice Lords.

A faction of Conservative Vice Lords had recently moved into the Leclaire Courts projects in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood which was just north of the Vittum Park Popes north of 47^th Street. These projects had been in the neighborhood since 1950 and were often treated like a no man’s land by the long time mostly white residents. The projects were peaceful in the 50s, 60s and 70s and were low crime and almost no gang activity during these decades. The Black Gents party crew ran these projects in the 70s until a new section 8 housing program and prison release program started in 1979 in these projects. Many south side and west side African American families moved into these projects in the late 70s and early 80s, but these families blended in well with the African American families already there since the 50s as these projects remained mostly safe. Old school, older Vice Lords, Four Corner Hustlers and Black P Stones moved into these projects joining their family members after being released from prison. All these African American mobs were in the People alliance which made them peaceful allies. Even though the Popes were being brought to these mostly peaceful projects in a less hostile area it was still something they were reluctant to do at first. Mike Hamilton was the rising star in the Popes and was granted permission to arrange a meetup with the Conservative Vice Lords at the Pope main hood at Archer & Pulaski in front of a hot dog stand. Hamilton brought “Wizard” with him to this meeting. The Popes discovered the Vice Lords were cool guys and had no issue joining the People alliance after meeting the Vice Lords. There is an old black and white picture from the day of that meeting with Mike Hamilton, Wizard and four members of the Vice Lords.

There were some conditions to joining the People alliance. Back in the 70s and early 80s “Pope” often was said to stand for “Protection of our People Eliminating Spi*s” because of the racial wars they fought. Now that they were joining People they would have to change that to “Protect our People Eliminating Scum” or “Protect our people Establish Strength.” Also, the “Royal” part of the name needed to go away and instead they would become “Almighty Insane Popes.” The “Royal” part needed to be dropped because of the Simon City Royals who were one of the main founding gangs of the Folk alliance while Insane Popes on the north side were only partially Folks so that name was up for grabs. I am not sure on the accuracy but I heard Mike Hamilton was half Mexican and did not want “Spi*s” in their motto at all anymore, plus Hamilton wanted to allow more Hispanics to join the Popes, after all, some of the original Popes were Hispanic. Ever since joining the People alliance Popes seldom had wars with other People alliance gangs.

Brighton Park

I don’t know too much about the section of Popes from Brighton Park. All I know is where they were located and the period of time they resided here. I had heard many stories about Popes in this neighborhood in the 80s but no details. The Popes in Brighton Park were just east of the Archer & Pulaski Popes as they were just east of 47^th & Archer.

The Popes were growing significantly after Lord Conan began gradually taking over in the early 80s. Brighton Park and Gage Park were new areas for the Popes in the early 80s. The Two Six gang opened in the Brighton Park in 1977 and this group was a mean and violent group of Two Sixs. Two Sixs lived among the earliest Hispanic migration wave to Brighton Park. Satan Disciples formed in Brighton Park in the early 80s after Latin Kings left the area. The South Side Heads were the main white gang in the community and they did not take kindly to the new Hispanic migration or the gangs that moved in alongside this migration. Popes related to the Heads and the two clubs teamed up against Satan Disciples and Two Six.

The Popes would survive in Brighton Park until the mid-late 90s when they left alongside white flight as these Popes were from some of the last white families in the neighborhood.

Gage Park

In the early 80s, the Popes were growing beyond their usual boundaries in Archer Heights and Garfield Ridge. Not only did the Popes spread just northeast of 47^th and Archer, they also expanded south east into the Gage Park community. The Popes formed at 53^rd & Kedzie and spread all around the Senka Park area from 51^st to 57^th and from Central Park Avenue to Kedzie. The South Side Heads from Brighton Park were once the main gang of Gage Park as they ruled the east side of the community and by the early 80s the Popes ran the west side. The main enemy the Popes and Heads faced was Satan Disciples, Two Six and Ambrose from Gage Park/Marquette Park area. Ambrose was located just south of the Popes between 57^th to 59^th between Homan to California. The Two Sixs were located just south of the Heads between 57^th to 59^th and from California to Western. The Satan Disciples were located in Brighton Park and Marquette Park but came to the aid of Two Six and Ambrose all the time. Ambrose, Two Six and Satan Disciples had a strong alliance called the “ATSD.” Popes and Heads needed to stick together.

Satan Disciples moved out of Marquette Park in 1987 while Two Six and Ambrose went to war around that same time; therefore, Popes and Heads did not need to be as close. Heads and Popes went into a brief war until many of the Heads flipped to Insane Popes making the Gage Park Popes bigger.

In the year 1988, the older brother of Mike Hamilton, Russell Hamilton bought a house in the middle of Pope hood at 3427 west 54th which is between Homan and St. Louis along 54^th Street. Hamilton lived in that house for 10 years and he stored several firearms and illegal drugs in his home. Hamilton was also involved in murder for hire business. Russell Hamilton and Mike Hamilton’s father was a Chicago police officer named Lee Hamilton who was said to be good cop.

In the year 1990, the Latin Kings invaded Gage Park and flipped the rest of the south side Heads into Latin Kings absorbing them into “Crown Town.” White flight ran rampant in Gage Park and the Insane Pope numbers dissolved fast. Heads, Popes, Ambrose and Two Six all died out of the neighborhood shortly after Latin Kings got real deep. Some will say the Latin Kings “ran the Popes out,” they did not, the Popes left alongside racial migration. Russell Hamilton stayed in the neighborhood even after being arrested in 1994, according to Redfin, his house was sold in 1998.

60^th & Central Park Ave

In the early 80s, a new Pope section was formed by Dan O’Connor and his brothers at 60^th & Central Park Avenue which is on the border of the West Lawn community and Marquette Park. These Popes battled Two Six from Marquette Park and Ambrose from Gage Park. These Popes were located on the West Lawn side of the viaduct and the White Knights were on the other side. These Popes lasted all through the 80s and left the area at the same time the Gage Park Popes folded. Dan O’ Connor eventually passed away in 1998.

63^rd Street

In the year 1986, a branch of Insane Popes took formation in the Clearing neighborhood on Chicago’s far south west side. This has been a major Chicago police neighborhood for decades as Chicago cops would buy homes in this community to return to after a long hard day. Many of these police officers had sons that would join gangs in Clearing, especially Insane Popes and Twelfth Street Players. The Twelfth Street Players are a Cicero gang but moved to the same neighborhood into the same area of Clearing in 1986. Players and Popes could be found between 62^nd Street to 64^th Street and from Knox to Nottingham which comprised of the entire south side of the Clearing neighborhood. At the time the Popes were big at 63^rd & Central Avenue and coincidentally, there was a bowling alley near 63^rd & Central owned by the same Marzano family that owned Miami Bowl from Archer & Pulaski. This bowling alley was called “Clearing Bowl” at address 5525 W. 63rd Street near the corner of 63^rd & Linder. Just like Miami Bowl, the Popes were always at Clearing Bowl as the Popes were in good with the Marzano family.

The beef between Players and Popes from the 70s would not be carried over, instead Mike Hamilton met with Twelfth Street Players for a unity to claim the neighborhood together. This agreement would become the “Player Popes.” Once the Player Pope pact was established the Twelfth Street Players were declared “cousins” of the Insane Popes. One of the young Pope leaders was 16-year-old William (Billy) English who resided in an apartment at 5859 W 63rd St which is at 63^rd & Mayfield. These Popes branched off from the Ashburn area Popes and would get involved in 83^rd Street Pope affairs. This led to a fire bombing of an African American family’s home at 79^th & Fairfield in February of 1987. Billy English was arrested and charged with the crime along with other Popes after they threw a bomb into the window of the home. This story made the news as a racially motivated hate crime. I don’t know why they targeted this home because the home was not in Pope hood. The police learned of the Player Pope pact and initially arrested Mike Hamilton for involvement but Hamilton was cleared of the charges. In the aftermath, the Player Pope pact was ended because the issues with this bombing that Mike Hamilton did not agree with and the two gangs attempted to control that area as weaker allies until Two Sixs and Satan Disciples moved into the community alongside Hispanic migration into Clearing in the late 80s and early 90s. By 1990, Players and Popes were battling Satan Disciples from Minuteman Park and Two Six from 63^rd & Central. Popes lost their territory in the early 90s because of racial migration in the 63^rd & Central to Knox area but Popes became strong along 63^rd between Normandy to Nottingham in an area known as “Grim Town.”

There was racial conflict in Clearing that Popes and Players were involved in but they mostly targeted Satan Disciples, Two Six and any Hispanic or even white kid that hung out with them. Players and Popes may have had racial conflicts but they did take in several Hispanic members in Clearing as this section ended up with some of the highest numbers of Hispanic members in the Insane Pope nation.

Gangbanging became wild in the Clearing community in the early and mid-90s between Popes, Two Six, Players and Satan Disciples. In the year 1994, the Popes of Clearing flipped to Almighty Popes until the APs left the area in the late 90s, then most of the gang activity left the area. Billy English was killed in 1996.

Hoyne Park

In the year 1987, the city of Chicago began construction of the infamous orange line EL train line. This construction would continue until the grand opening on October 31, 1993. During the late 80s and early 90s the construction became especially appealing to south side teenagers in the Midway area as they found several walls and electrical vault rooms to party in at night. The best spot was right alongside Hoyne Park in the McKinley Park neighborhood at 34^th & Hoyne to 34^th & Hamilton area. This area was a party paradise for underage kids because of the cul de sac on Hamilton that lead to a hidden trail and the backwall drop behind Hoyne Park alongside the tracks that was perfect for graffiti. The viaduct along Hoyne was an ideal tagging area too. The Insane Popes ventured to this park in 1989 for a slice of party, graffiti and meeting heaven as this park was absolutely perfect. Walls protected the Popes from sight and sound from neighbors and authorities as they could meet and party all night. The backdrop behind the park was saturated with Pope graffiti as was the viaduct along Hoyne.

It was here at Hoyne Park where the Popes met a teenager named Steve Boggs who was a fearless tough kid with lots of heart. It became fate that Steve Boggs would join the Popes in 1989 and became known as “Reaper.” Reaper would eventually become one of the big names in the Popes and he would obtain leadership positions during his tenure in the Popes. The McKinley Park community was being taken over by Hispanic based gangs like Spanish Cobras, Satan Disciples and Latin Counts. The Popes bonded with the Counts with the PCN pact while Spanish Cobras and Satan Disciples were the enemy. Mike Hamilton took a special liking to Reaper and spent lots of time in the Hoyne Park area. These Popes eventually took the area of 33^rd to 35^th, Damen to Claremont. Eventually the C-Notes moved into the neighborhood and conflict brewed with them as well. This section became known as “Ghost Town” and was one of the harder sections of the Popes. In this section, the Popes took in so many Hispanic youths they considered giving a “Latin Popes” section a try closer to Western Avenue in 1990 but that never came into fruition. Hoyne Park was also nicknamed “Hamburger Hill” because it was laborious to walk the uphill streets when drunk unless you found the hidden path at the cul de sac along Hamilton.

The White Power Organization

When the Popes first formed in 1973, their initials “P.O.P.E” stood for “Protection of our People Eliminating Spooks” because of battles with the Black Gangster Disciples, an all African American street gang. When war started with the Two Six in 1977, the end of the motto was changed from “Spooks” to “Spi*s” because of the war with Two Six and the conflict Popes had with Sleepy Hallow area Hispanic youths. This motto was brought about because Popes were battling Hispanic gangs from outside of their neighborhood. Even though the Popes had this motto they were still tight with two mostly Hispanic gangs the Latin Kings and Latin Counts. Popes and Kings were so tight they were declared “cousins” while Popes and Counts created the P.C.N. This proves the Pope racism was not deep in the 70s. Not only were the Popes unified with the Counts and Kings they also were founded by some Hispanics like “Elvis,” “Rican,” “Lil Rican” and “Lil Elvis.” When the Popes joined the People alliance, “Spook” and “Spi*” motto terms were put to bed forever. Since the early 80s several Hispanic youths and even some African American youths joined the Popes and became respected members. There were still many Popes that were racist in the 80s but their organization was no longer about racism, in fact, many times groups of Popes disagreed about minorities. When the Hoyne Park chapter was started in 1989, the Popes became very racially mixed with Hispanics and whites.

Mike Hamilton was the leader of the Popes throughout the 80s and he was the one that put the “Spi*s” part of the motto to bed for good. Back in the year 1992, Mike Hamilton began spending a lot of time with “Crazy Eddy” after Eddy moved to the south side. Crazy Eddy was a big time north side Insane Pope in the 70s and 80s, at one time Eddy was the leader of the North Mayfair area Popes. After Eddy’s time in the Popes he joined the Ku Klux Klan in the 80s then became a 1%er Hells Angel biker. Crazy Eddy will always be a Pope and is still proud of it today. When Crazy Eddy moved to the south side in the Hoyne Park area, Eddy and Mike Hamilton became friends as being a Pope was something they had in common.

When south side Popes joined the People alliance in 1981, the north side Popes would join Folks when the south side ones joined People. Crazy Eddy’s group in North Mayfair refused to join Folks or People while all the other north side Pope sections turned Folks. Crazy Eddy did not believe in being part of the Folks and People paradigm. Since Crazy Eddy moved to the south side, Mike Hamilton’s view point of being part of the People alliance began to change. The old concept that Crazy Eddy and the North Mayfair Popes lived by was called “White Power Organization” or “WPO.” WPO was an early 70s to mid-70s unity between white gangs on the north side of Chicago that banded together to go against mostly African American and Hispanic gangs that were taking over their neighborhoods during white flight frenzys. The WPO was mostly killed off in 1975 when north side Insane Popes went to war with Gaylords and Simon City Royals went to war with Gaylords. Crazy Eddy now brought this old greaser belief system to Mike Hamilton and a good amount of the south side Popes. Mike Hamilton then felt righteous and wanted his Popes to stop dealing drugs and to accept the WPO and perhaps restore it to its former glory. As the year 1993 progressed, Hamilton continued to draft plans to break the Popes from the People alliance and develop a “renegade” status. Favoritism began to spread beyond Hoyne Park especially the Popes on 83^rd Street (Ashburn) and in the Archer Park area became supporters of WPO. By the later part of 1993, the renegade ways were gaining enough momentum so that Hamilton could declare law.

Mike Hamilton’s brothers Chris “Thee Kid” Hamilton and Russell Hamilton did not agree with the WPO especially because Russell was heavily involved in firearms trafficking and drug distribution of heroin and cocaine. Russell Hamilton was Mike’s older brother and had been a Pope since at least 1975. Russell was heavily into martial arts and someone who was seen walking around with a karate outfit and he carried nun chucks. Chris Hamilton was known for being crazy and many times violent. Chris did time in prison especially for committing over 100 burglaries. The Hamilton brothers included Martin Lorenzen, a 20-year old member from the 83^rd Street area Popes who was formerly a protege of Mike Hamilton as a teen and into fitness. Lorenzen didn’t do drugs or drink either. Mike Hamilton even gave Lorenzen leadership of the 83^rd & Homan younger Popes in the early 90s, now Lorenzen would go against Hamilton. A murder for hire business began between these men and they began to conspire to kill Mike Hamilton. During this time, the Hamilton brothers got back together with the Twelfth Street Players and Billy English because English did not like Mike Hamilton and wanted his reign to end.

The transaction for the murder was a sum of $5,000 to kill Mike Hamilton. Lorenzen was meeting with the Twelfth Street Players in Cicero, James Satala was involved in this and was a Twelfth Street Player. The police found out about all this and went after Satala, Lorenzen and Russell Hamilton. Satala and Lorenzen were arrested together in Cicero. Russell Hamilton’s home at 3427 W 54th St was raided and police found 27 different firearms of all different types and calibers along with 31 grams of cocaine and $7,000 in cash (February 6, 1994 Chicago Tribune). Russell Hamilton, James Satala and Martin Lorenzen were originally charged with attempted murder and conspiracy but Marin Lorenzen was cleared of the charges then turned his life around to be successful right after and vanished from the gang scene. I don’t know what happened to Russell Hamilton but he flipped to a Latin King after this 1994 arrest. Billy English was shot to death at a hotel on 63^rd Street in an organized hit against him in 1996.

The Almighty Popes

At the same time that the plot began to kill Mike Hamilton, Martin Lorenzen was visiting Pope sections that were fed up with Hamilton and deeply opposed the WPO paradigm. Lorenzen was good with relating to the young Popes in Vittum Park and along 63^rd Street. The 62^nd & Normandy Popes were especially keen on overthrowing Hamilton and becoming renegade.

On one winter day in early 1994, Mike Hamilton informed all the Pope sections that they had to adopt WPO and drop the People alliance immediately or be killed by midnight. 62nd & Normandy and Vittum Park Popes were especially giving Hamilton the middle finger about it. At midnight, these Popes did not follow orders and instead created their own nation, the “Almighty Popes.” Some well known Popes flipped to Almighty Popes like Matt “Misfit” Sopron and Martin Lorenzen. Martin Lorenzen was the founder and Misfit was a respected member. This started a Pope versus Pope war that would never shed any blood on either side, it was a fist fighting war. Almighty Popes became a violent club but not against Insane Popes, instead they gunned at Folks and got real big as they mainly battled Two Six and Satan Disciples.

In December of 1995, Brian Anderson, an Almighty Pope gang member acted alone when he shot two 13 year old girls to death because they were riding in the back of a van driven by either Ridgeway Lords or Insane Guess Boys. Whether it was the Guess Boys or the RLs, it was still a Folk allied gang moving in on Almighty Pope territory near Hale Park. The APs go so big that Grim Town no longer existed because they all flipped AP in the Clearing neighborhood. The APs got real deep in Vittum Park as well and took over this ancient Insane Pope territory. Even though multiple men and boys were arrested from the Almighty Popes for involvement in this shooting only one of them was actually guilty. Before the shooting there was a lot of talk about shooting these Folk gang members that were coming into the neighborhood but no one gave final orders to do so, it was just talk at best; however, some of the APs that got arrested saved themselves by giving out false testimony which caused three men to lose over 20 years of their lives in prison. Matt Sopron and Wayne Antusis were falsely convicted of giving the orders to shoot the van up. Nicholas Morphin was alongside Brian Anderson when Anderson unexpectedly shot up the van. It took Morphin nearly 25 years to prove his innocence but he was finally exonerated, Morphin was not even a Pope, he was a Latin Count. The shooting not only ruined these men’s lives that were falsely convicted it also ruined the Popes. Anderson was only 15 years old at the time and became a confused kid which led him to be overzealous. In later years Anderson’s sentence was reduced and I think he got out of prison recently. It needs to be understood that Anderson did no try to kill the girls or was even aware they were in the van, he meant to shoot Folks. The Almighty Popes relocated to the suburbs in the later 90s, made lots of noise, then got shut down by the police in 1998.

The downfall

When the shooting of the two teen girls happened in 1995, Chicago police went crazy busting Popes left and right which flushed the majority of each gang’s activities outside of Chicago city limits. The Police were tired of Popes stealing CPD guns from their houses in the Midway area and even sons of CPD officers were Popes that were up to no good. Mike Hamilton’s dad was Lee Hamilton, a Lieutenant in the Chicago police. When Mike would get in trouble with the law, Lee would show up in court wearing his uniform. Now CPD had enough of the both APs and IPs as did Popes themselves. Many Insane Popes flipped to the Midway Latin Kings of 49^th & Lotus. Even Steve “Reaper” Boggs, who was running the nation by the later 90s flipped to a Latin King. Many other Popes quit gangbanging entirely while others moved to the suburbs. When the Almighty Popes broke up they either flipped back to Insane Popes, flipped to Twelfth Street Players or became Latin Kings. In the late 90s the Popes kept at it in the city and Mike Hamilton kept gangbanging too until he got sick of it and moved to Texas in 2002 where he would pass away in 2012. The 2006 Chicago Crime Commisson handbook is wrong that Hamilton was still in charge, he was already long gone in Texas. In 2006, Steve Boggs was killed in a drug deal that went bad.

The suburban exodus

Beginning in 1989-1990, many south west side white families began packing their bags and making their way into the suburbs, especially the south suburbs. Many of these families were moving out as Hispanic families were becoming more abundant in their old neighborhoods. Many young Insane Popes were not old enough to be out on their own so they had to move alongside their parents especially if the police were after them or if rival gangs were looking to take them out. Most of these kids gave up the gang life when they moved but some of them wanted to bring the Popes to these suburbs and start their own sections.

When the two 13 year old girls were killed in mid-December of 1995, Chicago police went after all Popes in full force making 1996 a living hell for Popes in the city. Both Almighty Popes and Insane Popes heavily evacuated the city in favor of the suburbs. This gave both gangs new life as they discovered mostly white and Hispanic teens loved the idea of the Popes in the burbs. There were even Asian and Middle Eastern kids joining the Popes in the suburbs. This made the Popes seem like a suburban oufit. The suburban Pope thing was big in the late 90s and early 2000s but faded afterward but they had a hell of a legacy in the burbs and made lots of noise before their suburban exodus ended.

Summit

The bustling intersection of Archer Avenue & Harlem Avenue has always been full of life ever since I can remember. In the early 80s, north of this intersection and south of it developed Latin Kings, Orquestra Albanies and Albanian Gangsters and many times these gangs would clash at Archer & Harlem because that was the main shopping intersection for the village of Summit which attracted not only Summit residents but also Chicago residents because just east of Harlem was the city limits which was Pope neighborhood.

Sometime in the 80s, the Popes felt Summit should be theirs as did many youths that were frustrated with city gangs like Orquestra Albany and their allies the Albanian Gangsters. I don’t know how long the Popes lasted in Summit but they were strongest around 1990.

Bridgeview

In the early 90s, a group of Insane Popes were started in Bridgeview by Chris Newsome at the intersection of 71^st Street and Harlem Avenue. At this intersection, there were apartment buildings along 71^st Street that gang members lived in. This section of Popes was strong in the 90s but gone by the 2000s, I do not know much more about this section but hope to later.

Burbank

In the early 90s, Chicago gangs suddenly infiltrated the suburb of Burbank after many of the gang members left the east side of Cicero Avenue during white flight. The Insane Popes gathered at 85^th & Rutherford right down the street from Francis B. McCord Elementary School. Popes instantly clashed with Ambrose and Satan Disciples that became deep in Burbank. This Pope section was called “Cross Town.” I don’t know too much more about this section and like all other Burbank gangs they were mostly shut down in the early 2000s because of tightened police efforts.

111^th

In the 2000s decade the Popes of the Ashburn/83rd Street section began to decline as the white population entered the final stage of white flight. As this section was closing and members moved to Mount Greenwood, a section was blessed by 83^rd Street at 111^th & Whipple that became known as “Holy Land.” I don’t know much more about this section but it did not last long.

Tinley Park

When the 62^nd & Knox section of Popes closed in the mid-90s, this section branched into the Tinley Park community. Tinley Park is a more affluent community; therefore, many of the youths that were recruited in Tinley Park were from higher income families and they didn’t even dress like gang members. I don’t know much more about these Popes but this section lasted until at least the early 2000s.

Romeoville

When I was in high school in the later 90s, I hung out with a group of friends daily. We brought in one of my friend’s younger sister to hang out with us that was a freshman when we were juniors. We cruised the streets at night in either my car or the car of one of my two buddies. My friend’s sister somehow met this kid named Matt and started dating him. It turns out Matt was a kid from Romeoville that attended Plainfield High School instead of Romeoville High School like we all did. The kids on that side of Weber Road were sent to PHS instead of RHS. We later learned that Matt was a member of the Insane Popes but he sure did not look like a gang member. My friend’s sister took us to Weslake subdivision to meet Matt’s friends who were all Popes and some of them looked more like gang members. Some of these kids moved from the city and became Popes in the city, this was the year 1997. I later became taken back by seeing just how many Popes there were in this Weslake subdivision as they gathered in a group of 30-40 kids. These houses they lived in were less than 5 years old and rather large compared to my house so I was doubly shocked that gangs could dwell here. I had been living in Romeoville 3 years at that point and never heard of these guys and this would become the first time ever learning about Insane Popes because they started in 1997 in Romeoville. Me and my friends would sometimes drive 3 cars deep into Weslake to meet up with these guys but we never became close to them. I remember them having major beef with the Inner City Players that had formed in neighboring Lakewood Falls subdivision, another set of houses less than 5 years old. The Popes dominated the Weslake subdivision as I don’t recall any other gangs claiming that area. I once met a group of Latin Locos that came to hang with the Popes and they were under the five point star like the Popes. These Popes also made friends with Romeoville Latin Kings. I was shocked to later learn that Steve “Reaper” Boggs himself used to come to Romeoville to visit these Popes. I was also later surprised to be invited to meet Donnie “Buffalo” Tennant and other old school Popes to get the early history at a bowling alley in Tinley Park one day in the early 2020s, and no, I was not invited by the Romeoville ones. It is a small world, that is for sure. I think the Romeoville Popes lasted until the early 2000s at latest but they really had something going for a while. It is too bad I didn’t know much about the Popes back then or I would have had more to talk about with these kids.

Sections of the South Side Insane Popes past and present

Archer Heights neighborhood Established 1973-2010s

Sections of Archer Heights

47^th to Archer, Pulaski to Lawndale (Old Vatican City)

48^th to 50^th, Kilbourn to Kostner (Archer Park) Established 1973

Archer to 47^th, Cicero to Pulaski Established 1973 (Kool City)

Ashburn neighborhood 1975-2006

Sections of Ashburn

79^th to 83^rd, Homan to Kedzie (Vatican City)

83^rd & Lawndale

83rd & St Louis 90s, 2000s

Brighton Park neighborhood 80s