Alliance: People
Colors: Black and Gray or Black and Light Blue
Ethnicity: mostly Caucasian
Symbols: Maltese Cross surrounded by Flames with 2 slashes, Five pointed-star
Alias(es): Almighty Gaylords, GLN, 7-12
Previously known as: Gaylords
Factions/Renegade Offshoots: none
Estimated Membership: 300
Founder: Anthony Anarina a.k.a. “Johnny Boy”
Current Leader: Jimmie Dye

Historical Development: At one time, the Gaylords were easily the largest Caucasian street gang in Chicago; a powerhouse whose organizational doctrine was based on American patriotism, "greaser" gang legacy and "protecting" the neighborhood. Today the gang is a shell of it's former self but it's existence and actions are a testament to Chicago gang life. The Gaylords (GLN) originated in the East Ukranian Village neighborhood on Chicago's west side in the mid 1950's. The group initially formed as an informal social club, who often partook in parties and softball games and frequented the intersection of Grand & Ogden. In 1956, their year of origin, they had about 37 members. The group had not conceived a title until 1958, when they formed a clubhouse on the corner of Huron & Noble; at the time their leader was Anthony "Johnny Boy" Anarina. His "right hand," Bobby Shipball, was the one who came up with the group's moniker. He researched the word "Gaylord" to have traced it's origin to an mideval European term, meaning "strength." Also, at the time, the term was in common usage and equated to "cheerfull;" it had no homosexual connotation.

The gang mostly comprised of Italians, as their neighborhood was also colloquially known as Little Italy. They also had a few Irish and Polish members. Throughout the 1950's, they mainly hung, drank, and partied, though there were fellow "clubs" in the area such as Simon City, Aristocrats, C-Notes, and Lazy Gents. As the 1960's were ushered in, the gang began to spread to many corners within East Village and also Humboldt Park and Austin. They also opened up shop on south side in the Bridgeport, Marquete Park, New City and Pilsen neighborhoods. By 1965, the Gaylords were the largest Caucasian street gang in the city and numbered at about 1,000 members. The 1960's would bring turmoil to the gang, for their greatest challenge was Latino migration into their turf. On the south side, Mexican immigrants quickly poured into Pilsen, forcing many members' families to flee. In fact, many Pilsen Gaylords had initially been members of the Satan Disciples, but as that gang recruited more Latinos, a GL by name of "Kingfish" flipped many of them into the GLN. In New City, the gang faced opposition from the Latin Souls, who along with an African American influx, forced the gang to leave the area.

In 1965, they made inroads into the north side, first by getting a group called the Palmer Heads, who had the corner of Palmer & California, to flip Gaylords. The leader of this section was Bobby "Mace" Mason. In 1969, they added two more important, strong, and enduring sets: Kilbourn Park and Lawndale & Altgeld. The members of these sets had previously been Lawndale Lords and Insane Stooges and their leaders' were Steve Magoon and Steve Bates, respectively.

As the 1970's were ushered in the Gaylords would further increase in number and began to brutally battle rival gangs. Chapters were opened up in Logan Square, Ravenswood, Belmont-Cragin, Old Irving Park, Uptown, Bucktown, Kelvyn Park, Albany Park, Hermosa, Mountclare, and Galewood. These sets were formally controlled by dozens of other independent white street gangs who joined the Gaylords based on their reputation. During this time, the GLs adopted a "white supremacist" doctrine, adopting the klansmen and swastika, establishing themselves as what would come to be known as a "white power organization (WPO)." This was done in part as a reprisal tactic to scare off mainly Latino opposition gangs. In Logan Square in particular, the GLs fought a vicious war with the Imperial Gangsters, who occupied territory south of Fullerton and also the Orchestra Albany and later, Latin Lovers and Spanish Cobras, who frequently engaged in battle with the Palmer Gaylords as well. Shootings were not rare, as many members would lose their lives on both sides. Also during this time, the Gaylords formed a coalition of white street gangs called the United Five Organization, or United Fighting Organization (UFO), which consisted of gangs such as the Freaks, Taylor Jousters, Playboys, and C-Notes. The C-Notes would later drop out of the organization due to a disagreement with the GLs, and become their enemies. They were able to wrestle territory (Smith Park) away from the GLs in East Village but also lost a section (Belden & Normandy) to the GLN. It should be stated that though the gang adopted a white power philosophy, some members were in fact of Latin or Asian ethnicity. A predominantly African American GL set even existed in Uptown for a time.

While initially the Gaylords were friends with what would become the next white powerhouse gang, the Simon City Royals, they later engaged in a bloody and hated rivalry with them. This was due to animosity that GLN had with the Insane Popes. In the 70s, several "white greaser gangs" had initially tried to form a bit of an alliance called Lenny's Storm Troopers. However it failed to due to internal friction. The Royals decided to ride with the Popes, which created enmity between them and the GLs. The Gaylords are in fact credited with killing the leader of the Insane Popes, Larry "Larkin" Morris in the 1970's.

As the 1980's rolled around, the gang reached it's height at about 2,500 members. In 1979, it was even cited as the third largest gang in Chicago, though in reality, they were probably about the fifth largest (behind the Black Gangster Disciples, El Rukns/Blackstones, Vice Lords, Latin Kings). The gang, large and powerful, would face hardship however, because they experienced a rash of losses from gang wars and a large group of enemies. Many of the opposition Latino gangs had recently joined the Folks alliance, and the Royals and Popes followed suit. In the early 80's, the Gaylords decided the join the People alliance; members would have to officially abandon their white power stance to do so since the People consisted of minorities. This angered a few sets, not only because of the racial consideration but also because they had been engaged in war with the Kings and lost lives to them. Nevertheless, the Gaylords joined the People, and formed a working relationship with the Kings (in some areas of the city) as well as the Insane Deuces, Insane Unknowns, Spanish Lords, P.R. Stones, and El Rukns. Despite this, further ethnic changes came along and "white flight" ensued. The sets that were formed on the south side and west side were long gone. Also, some of the sets started in the 70's in neighborhoods such as Belmont-Cragin and Logan Sqaure were abandoned. Nevertheless, the gang was able to open new sections in Portage Park, Dunning and Rosehill.

As the 1990's came, the Gaylords began to decline severely. The leaders from previous decades had retired and the gang faced recruitment difficulty because of the nature of ethnic change, the lack of strong leadership, and the fact that their moniker was now perceived to be of a different meaning. Drug addiction also plagued many members within the nation as well as incarceration of key members. By 1995, the gang was left with about eight to ten sets within the city and a few suburban and out of state chapters. Membership was reduced to about 400 active bangers. The group did however establish a tighter alliance with the Stoned Freaks and Taylor Jousters, known as "GFJ" (though the Jousters were basically extinct on the streets). As the 2000's rolled around the Portage Park sets were abandoned due to police pressure --these communities were still majority white---and the last two Logan Square major sets of Lawndale & Altgeld and Palmer & California were finally closed for good; there were far too many Latino opposition members, no new blood for recruitment, and morale was low. Today, the gang claims four sections within the city and operates as more of a social club with little criminal interest.

Method of Operation/Culture: When the Gaylords started, they were a classic 1950's humbugging gang, but more of a social network. As the years progressed, they came to look at themsevles as somewhat of a spectacular anamoly, being a white "class 3" super gang. The gang prided itself on it's American patriotism and even today, the younger members don't adopt the typical look and culture of black and Latino gangs. As stated, the 70's brought about a white power doctrine, although certainly not to the extent of the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazi political parties, or racist prison gangs. They looked at their stance as a cultural hegemony being threatened by "outsiders." The moniker was even acronized to mean "Great American Youth Leading Our Right Destroying Spics." When they joined the People alliance and dropped the WPO stance, the last two identifiers became "Demanding Strength." Nevertheless, the group accepted minorites if they abided by the basic princpals of the gang. The Gaylords were able to gain fame because of their fearlessness of propensity for violence. Shootings, beatings, and intimidation, along with grafitti were common in gang life. Throughout the 80's while most gangs operated larged open air drug trafficking, the Gaylords never fully engaged in the drug trade. Some members sold a small quantity of narcotics, ranging from "tick" to lsd, but nothing on the scale of larger street gangs today. Members did however engage in vandalism, theft, robbery, and assault, as well of course shootings and murder. Their motivation for criminal behavior was not profit but pride, respect and fame.

As with most north side clubs, the gang wore sweaters and made cards to represent their nation. The official colors for the group was black and light blue, though the Palmer Gaylords wore gray and black, as well as the chapters that were formed under the umbrella of the PGLs. The original GL hansign was a variation of the "universal love" symbol, with the thumb and pinker fingers stuck outwards as the remaining three fingers were cuffed. Later, the gang used th "L" symbol, formed with the thumb and index finger. Grafitti was a huge part of representing and the Gaylords made more "murals" and "walls" than perhaps any other gang during the 80's. They also made cards with symbols and names of members on them, many of which survive today. Popular slogans for the Gaylords were/are "God forgives, Gaylords don't," "Lords, Rulers, Masters," "Gangsters and Lovers," and "Cross is Boss." The Gaylords hold annual celebrations on July 12th, called "7-12 day," showing an alpha-numeric reference to their title.

Bases of Operation: Over the years the Gaylords had held over 70 "sets" (a.k.a. "chapters"). Had the gang even retained half of that today, they would be classified as a "class 3" organization and rank amongst the top 10 in Chicago. Today, the gang is probably a "class 2," with four known Chicagoland sets that operate as mainly "hangout spots." In their day, they controlled much of Logan Square, including the Altgeld Street corridor from Spaulding to Pulaski, Palmer Street, from California to Sacramento, and in Old Irving Park; Belmont to Addison, Pulaski to Cicero. Kilbourn Park, located in this neighborhood, was considered the headquarters from the early 70s to the present. Most members who congregate there today no longer live in the area. The gang also controlled turf in the Uptown neighborhood, a community noted for violence and poverty, and befriended fellow white clubs, the Kenmore Boys, Wilson Boys, and Uptown Rebels. Some of the other "main" sets throughout the years were/are: Sayre Park, Moffat & Campbell, and Seely & Ainsley. While most of their sets closed up due to ethnic change, some sets were abandoned for other reasons. On the south side, the Marquette Park and Bridgeport chapters were still largely Caucasian when they closed down in the 60s, and several sets in the Portage Park, Rosehill, and Dunning are still white blue-collar neighborhoods. Additionally, the Gaylords closed up their motherland branch in the Grand & Ogden area before it had completely transformed, racially. In fact, another noted white street gang, the Noble Knights, started in the area and might have engaged in hostility with the Gaylords in the 70's and possibly flipped some of their members.

Iconography: The cross is the main symbol for the Almighty Gaylord Nation, and was adopted in the the 50's for obvious religious reasons. Many members were Catholic and it fit into their culture. Usually, the gang represents with the "maltese cross", though sometimes, the wreathed "Catholic cross" is used. Flames around the cross are often used as well. The gang also used a five-pointed star, in accordance with the People alliance. The white supremacist symbols such as the swatiska and klansman were heavily used throughout the 70's, but are no longer indicators for the gang. They have also used shotguns and lightning bolts, though those are not "official" symbols.

Hiearchy: The ranking structure has been pretty much the same and includes "presidents," "vice presidents," "enforcers", "soldiers", and "shorties" (aka "midgets and "pee wees"). Although "Johnny Boy" is the assumed founder of the Gaylord Nation, he was never idealized as other gang founders are in Chicago gang culture. In fact, many oldschool members of the group hadn't known about his existence until recently. The gang never established a centralized leadership; as each chapter was opened, they assigned their own leaders, but apparently issues affecting the entire nation were settled by a vote, such as the decision to join the People alliance. Nevertheless, there are Gaylord "legends" known as fierce leaders of their branches, such as the Magoon brothers, (Steve and Bob) from LAst, the Resas brothers from St Louis & Algteld, Bobby "Mace" Mason, "Happy," and "Dice" from Palmer Street, Steve Bates from Kilbourn Park, the Perez brothers ("Jaws" and "Mad Dog"), founders of Sayre Park, as well as later president and enforcer, "Chip" and "Ape." Other noted Gaylords include presidents, Eddie Radatz, Lester "Casper" Johnson, Jeff "Squirrel" Varney, "Lil Bandit", Brian "Bee" Lang, and William "Bubba" Giles. All of those aforementioned leaders have passed away or retired from gang life. In the 90's, it is possible that Darryl "Chief" Rowe had attained the most "respect" in gang matters. He was incarcerated in the mid-90's on drug charges and assigned as "institution leader" by the Illinois Department of Corrections. Other key leaders locked up at the time were Daniel "Red" O'Reilly, Howard "Joker" Butcher and Johnny "Professor" Springer. All have since been relseased from prison. It is said that Jimmie Dye, a leader from Uptown who was incarcerated on murder charges in 1993, currently holds most of the weight on the gang; When he was in prison, he basically called the shots for the 50 or so incarcerated Gaylords. He was recently released on parole. Sources also contend that Bob "Pollack" Majewski is the ranking president of Kilbourn Park, the gang's main base of operation on the streets. Additionally, a former set president, Michael "Rocker" Polk, established an official website for the gang and authored a book detailing his life; he serves as a spokesperson for the GLN.

known sets:
Seely & Ainsley
Berteau & Leavitt
Kilbourn Park (Addison & Kilbourn) (shared w/Latin Pachucos)
Mary Lyon School (George & McVicker)
Sayre Park (Grand & Harlem/Belden & Oak Park)
Newport & Karlov
Addison, IL
Alton, IL
Fox Lake, IL “Stateline”
Springfield, IL
Quad Cities?
Coral Springs, Florida
Indianapolis, Indiana
Paducah, Kentucky
Branson, Missouri


former sets:
Washtenaw & Northshore
Elston & Kolmar
Lawrence & Broadway
Leland & Melvina (Dunham Park)
Seely & Eastwood
Wilson & Dover
Wilson & Hamlin (Haugard School)
Sunnyside & Magnolia
Montrose & Narragansett
Central & Berteau (Portage Park)
Berteau & Leavitt
Berteau & Damen
Francisco & Cullom
Cullom & Campbell
Irving Park & Narraganset (Merrimac Park)
Irving Park & Central
Byron & Troy (Cleveland School)
Warwick & Kenton
Waveland & Whipple
Addison & Cumberland
Newport & Major (Reinberg School)
Cicero & School
Belmont & Cicero "20th Century Bowl"
Central & Barry "Manor Bowl"
Barry & Central Park
Long & Oakdale
George & McVicker (Mary Lyon School)
Kolmar & George
George & Troy
Austin & Diversy
Diversy & Rockwell
Wrightwood & Cicero
Altgeld & Cicero "St. Gen's"
Avers & Altgeld
Lawndale & Altgeld
St. Louis & Altgeld
Montana & Kilbourn
Fullerton & Monitor
Belden & Major
Belden & Levergne (Blackhawk Park)
Belden & Knox
Leavitt & Lyndale
Palmer & California
Tripp & Armitage
Moffat & Campbell
Keystone & Wabansia
Nagle & North
North & Lamon
Lemoyne & Springfield
Augusta & Monticello
Huron & Throop
Ohio & LeClaire
Ohio & Noble
Grand & Rockwell (Smith Park)
Grand & Armour (Otis Park)
Grand & Noble
Grand & Ogden
Jackson & Leamington
Archer & Throop
18th & Western
24th & Whipple
52nd & Throop (Sherman Park)
53rd & Wood
67th & Kedzie (Marquette Park)
Markham, IL (165th & Homan)