The Baseball Guru - Women in Baseball - April 2002 by Leslie Heaphy

The new baseball season is upon us and there is a lot to be excited about. There are a growing number of women’s teams playing and leagues developing for young girls to develop their skills. A Second Women in Baseball Conference took place this past February in Florida and exciting plans seem to be underway. Included as a part of the conference was a clinic to teach the fundamentals to girls ages 7-16.

Information is now available on the Disney World Tournament being played this June 12-16. For more information please contact info@baseballglory.com. This tournament is for girls 18 and under.

Give Back and Grow Tour, June 29-July 14 will be stopping in various cities to promote and educate the public about women’s baseball.

At the Annual SABR Convention this summer in Boston look for our committee meeting time and come hear about our work as a committee.

Please send me any and all articles, programs, citations etc that you find. It will be better for me to receive the information four times than not at all. You can either mail the materials to me or attach them as e-mails or even fax an article to me at 330-494-6121. Thanks in advance for your continued help in preserving the history of women in baseball.

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Committee Project Update: Guidelines are being finalized and prepared for authors. A beginning list of topics and people has been created with the committee input included. Letters will be going out to many of you asking you to write specific sections based on your interests you have shared with me previously. If you would like to be involved and have not let me know of your interest and are of expertise please do so soon. If you are not interested in writing but would be willing to do some research for the various entries please let me know that as well. There is lots of room for the entire committee’s participation. The general timeline we are looking at is to have the first round of articles turned in by October 2002.

Some of the topics will include: an historical overview, Little League integration, Bloomer Girls, female owners, etc.

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Recent books, articles, websites and other projects. Thanks to the following people for sending material.

Jim Glennie, Tom Griffin, Diane Hoffman, Arthur Schulman, Justine Warren, Laura Wulf

(**Denotes item available for a SASE, 1 stamp per 4 pages).

** “A New League of Their Own” from the Boston Globe, 12 May 1999

** Article from South Bend News Times about Jackie Mitchell

** “Girl Catcher is on Joplin Ball Club’s Payroll”

** short article on Emma Britton

** “Ball team of Negro Girls”

** “Women’s Baseball Team is Forming” in Akron, Ohio

** “Clowns Sell Toni Stone, Sign New Feamle Star.”

** “Replacement Players, circa 1883.” From Harper’s Magazine about a game in September 1883.

** “One of the League’s best pitchers, Janelle Freese-Khramov, delivers a fastball for the Los Angeles Legend.”

** “Lightning Strikes, Ocala Takes USWB Title.”

** “Lizzie is Mound Ace on Young Boys Nine”

** “Girls of Summer” by Carey L. Draeger

** “The ‘Belles of the Ball Game’ Were a hit with Their Fans” by Jack Fincher

Popular Science Monthly, 13 October 1896 has an article by Sophia Foster Richardson about baseball at Vassar

In addition to books and articles specifically on Women and baseball watch the increasing number of books coming out on women’s sports in general. Many of them include sections on baseball.

Research Requests

Anyone know anything about the Sooner State League that operated from 1947-1957? We are trying to find out if there might have been a woman’s team in the league, associated with Arthur Meyer. If you have any information about this at all please let me know and I’ll pass the details on.

One of our readers is looking for information about women playing baseball in NY in the 1920s—specifically her great grandmother Maggie Riley. Any help can be sent directly to Leslie Heaphy or to Rachel at msmet13@earthlink.net

Steven Smith is looking for any information that can be provided to him about women’s barnstorming teams of the 1940s and 1950s. Also, were the Springfield Sallies still together at all in 1951? Any information can be sent to Leslie Heaphy or to Steve Smith atgbbl@nevermail.net

Frank Fitzpatrick is looking for information about the Dolly Vardens who played in the 1860s. Any help you can offer him please send directly to Leslie Heaphy or to Frank at ffitzpatrick@phillynews.com

Maddie Johnston is a fan and player in London who is looking for information about teams in England. Anyone with any ideas can send them directly to me and I will forward them to her.

Suzanne Howarth is looking for information on women who have played professional softball. Ideas can be passed on through Leslie Heaphy. She is particularly interested in African-American women players.

What are you looking for? What are you currently working on? Let us know and we can help one another as we are doing our research.

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Trivia Questions

What was Alice Hohlmeyer’s nickname when she played?

Can you name the teams that played in the 2001 Women’s World Series in Toronto?

Last Newsletter

What positions did Faye Dancer play when she was in the AAGPBBL?

Answer: OF mainly but also 1b and pitcher

Have a good question to ask our members? Please send it in before the next newsletter for inclusion.

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Want to be published in our newsletter? I continue to look for reviews, player bios, short articles, poetry--anything that you are writing about women and baseball. Share your work with others who share your interests.

Allison Adams

Played for Team USA for the first time in 2001. An infielder who bats and throws righthanded, Alli coaches softball at Severna Park High School in Maryland. Before joining Team USA Adams played for the Baltimore Blues, a member of the Eastern Women’s Baseball Conference.

(information from her Team USA baseball card, put together by Jim Glennie)

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Interested in writing a review for our newsletter? How about writing up your thoughts on books about the Colorado Silver Bullets? Send your reviews to Leslie Heaphy for inclusion in the next newsletter. If you have another book you'd like to review write up your comments and send them in.

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Member News

Watch for the unveiling of a new website (www.HaroldSeymour.com) put together by Dorothy Mills. The site will have a variety of features including reviews of all the books that have won the Seymour Award, some baseball history and other sections.

Grand Rapids Reunion 2001

From the reports coming in on the annual AAGPBL Reunion it seems like the return trip to Grand Rapids was a big success. The Grand Rapids Chicks were inducted into the local Sports Hall of Fame as part of the festivities. Congratulations on this honor!

Congrats to Wilma Briggs on being elected to the New England Women’s Sports Hall of Fame in recognition of her career with the Daisies and the Blue Sox.

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Please send correspondence, questions, suggestions, ideas to Leslie Heaphy for future newsletters. Also, I heard from a number of you and am grateful for the responses. Those who did not respond please try to let me know whether you still wish to receive our newsletter. Please write or e-mail me as to whether you wish to continue to be on the mailing list. If I do not hear from you I will not be sending future issues of the newsletter. Our committee is only as active as you the members help to make it. Thanks for your help in keeping our list updated. Just a reminder that some of you have not paid your dues to SABR yet this year and should send that in if you also want to continue receiving other SABR publications.

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Thanks,

Leslie and Claudia