Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Baseball's First Ladies

Last night as I was watching the Antique Roadshow, an attendee had brought in memorabilia of Jackie Mitchell. Not being a baseball fan, much less a sports fan, I was surprised to hear she was the first woman to have a contract with an all male minor league. My curiosity was stirred so much I had to google her. This is what my quick research uncovered.

As a child, Virne (Jackie) Beatrice Mitchell, was taught how to pitch by her neighbor, Dazzy Vance, who later pitched for some major leagues and was inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1931, at the age of seventeen, Jackie signed a contract with the Chattanooga Lookouts, a Class AA minor league team.

A few days later on April 2, 1931, the Chattanooga Lookouts played an exhibition game against the New York Yankees. It was suppose to be played on April 1st but postponed because of rain. In front of 4,000 fans, Jackie was brought in during the first inning to pitch against Babe Ruth. (No pressure there, right?) She struck him out in four pitches. Next came Lou Gehrig. She got him out in three. Some said it was a practical joke since the game was originally to be played on April Fool’s Day. Even I have heard of the tremendous egos of Ruth and Gehrig and feel they wouldn’t let a woman beat them even as a joke. I could be wrong but hey, think about it, am I?

A few days later after that game, baseball commissioner, Landis, voided her contract, stating women unfit to play baseball, as the game was “too strenuous”. She continued to play with The House of David, an all male team. She retired in 1937 at the ripe old age of twenty-three and refused to come out of that retirement when the All-American Girls Professional league was formed in 1943. She died in 1987 and is buried in Forrest Hills Cemetery in Chattanooga.

But Virne wasn’t the first to play with a minor all male league, according to the Baseball Hall of Fame website. In 1898, Elizabeth Stroud a.k.a. Lizzie Arlington pitched a game in the Class A Atlantic league. Atlantic League President, Ed Burrow, spotted her when she pitched in an unorganized professional game for the Philadelphia Reserves against Richmond. She also played second base for the rest of the game. “For four or five innings, she had plenty of stuff and control,” said Burrow.

In 1907, the mayor of Vermillion, Ohio arranged a game among the local sandlot teams to watch seventeen-year-old Alta Weiss pitch. She later signed on with a local semi-pro team. After her high school graduation, her father purchased interest in a semi-pro team. She played with them as they barnstormed around northern Ohio, continuing to do so during the summers while she advanced her education attending Starling College of Medicine. She was the only girl in her class to receive a Doctor of Medicine degree.

The first woman to play with big leaguers was Lizzy Murphy. On August 22,1922, she played first base in a charity game of the American League All-Stars versus the Boston Red Sox.

These women had guts to challenge the norms of society and social etiquette of their time. Were you ever in a similar position? Did your actions go against what was socially expected? I was in a slightly comparable situation when I was one of three female mechanics hired for all of Nassau and Suffolk counties by AT&T. I was always in all-male garages. Even though many years had passed between these ladies and myself and those years brought significant changes in thought, it was not always fun because for a few men some things stayed the same – a woman doesn’t belong in certain places.

18 comments:

  1. Nice post, Donna. I am a huge sports fan and as far as women have come in professional sports, they still have a long way to go. I love how so many of them were more than just athletes, becoming accomplished in other fields.

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  2. Cool post, Donna. The only thing I can think of is my first college years. St. Mary's College in Moraga, CA, had been an all-male college forever and they let the first several hundred women in, in 1970, and I was one of them! In reality, it wasn't that weird at all. It was a small college of about 2,500 or 4,000 (can't recall) and we were integrated perfectly.
    Patti
    By the way, I NEVER knew this about female baseball players! That is amazing...

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  3. Great history, Donna, but wait -- women belong any place they have the determination to be! It must have been a fantastic feeling for Jackie Mitchell to strike out two of baseball's greats, no matter what they said about April Fool's.

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  4. What a great post. I also saw that episode of Antique Roadshow was quite intrigued by the history of those autographs and photos. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Great post, Donna! I think it's sad that, even in the 21st century, there are still places women aren't welcome. And that's a damn shame.

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  6. This was a great post, Donna, and compliments another post I read recently about female role models. In that post, a comparison was made between the chutzpah of Belle from Beauty and the Beast and the timid Snow White. Bell was clearly the trend-setter there. At the end of that post, the author compared Belle to Hermione from Harry Potter and Hermione certainly came out as cooler, tougher, smarter, more daring... and yet still a feminine. Sadly, as you experienced, women have 'their place' in this man's world. One day we'll be appreciated for ALL we can do - like the women you talked about here. Until then, we have to keep trying, keep pushing the envelope, and accept the baby steps as they come.

    Loved this post. Really got me thinking.

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  7. Loved this post. A League of their Own is one of my all time favorite movies. (Even though I think critics panned it) I've never challenged gender roles, but I've always done what I wanted to without apology.

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  8. Awesome! I didn't know you knew your way around a garage. How cool is that?! Yeah, I'm pretty used to being the only one in many situations and have gotten quite used to it. Nice to know I'm not alone :)

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  9. Tuere, you're not alone. Hope you don't get too much slack for being the only women.

    It's been about 27 years since I worked for AT&T and have forgotten more than I knew. lol I can still do basic stuff though.

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  10. I love that movie too, Catie. BTW- I think your music and movie trivia blogs are great.

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  11. I know what you mean, Maggie. But we'll keep on fighting!!

    Debbie, those comparisons interesting. I wouldn't have thought to do that. Thanks

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  12. Thanks Angelique. I love the Antiques Roadshow. It has such neat stuff.

    Lynne, I'm sure after she calmed her nerves, she felt fantasitic and probably in a slight state of shock. :)

    Hi Patti. Hmmm 1970 - things were shaken' around then. I'm glad things went smoothly for you.

    Thanks Jeannie. I know you're a big sports fan and was hoping I had all my facts straight. :)

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  13. Hi Donna,

    Great post! I've never been in a position to challenge gender roles, but I wouldn't hesitate if there were something I wanted to do that women normally don't. I love the movie "A League of their Own," too if you haven't checked that out.

    Jolyse
    jolysebarnett.wordpress.com

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  14. Thanks Jolyse. That's the spirit - never let things hold you back!

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  15. Very interesting! I'm a baseball fan and watched "A League of Their Own" a few times. Someday I'd like to get the the Baseball Hall of Fame and view everything...including women who've played baseball.

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  16. Thanks, Marianne. I'd like to go there too. Cooperstown isn't really that far from me, a few hours drive. And there's other things relatively close such as the Herkimer diamond mines. They're not diamonds but clear cyrstals that you can excavate yourself. I'd like to try that also.

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  17. Very interesting post, Donna. Today things are considerably easier for women because those women fought to get their just due -- not that they always got it.

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  18. Hi Marilyn. True, they might not have gotten what they wanted but they cleared a path making it easier for future generations. Unfortunately in some areas it's still hard.

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