Women In Sports

[billyb]

Just a quick story.
My wife's name is Cartha Lynn and she has always hated the name, Her mother, now deceased, always told her, she was named after a childhood friend of hers.
My wife, born in Knoxville, and Cartha being a very rare name, I decided to do a google search. Who was Cartha Lynn born about 1931 in Knoxville.
Only one name showed up, a Cartha Lynn Doyle, b: 1929 in Knoxville, just a two year difference from my mother-in-law. As I checked further, this Cartha Lynn Doyle, played one year for the Rockford Peaches. They called her "Duckey Doyle".
Well, I had to write her a letter with what information I had, and supplied our telephone number, without my wife knowing.
Tee Hee Hee.
A couple weeks later the phone rang and my wife answered, it was Duckey Doyle. We found out that Ms. Doyle and my mother-in-law both attended Young High school in Knoxville. However, she did not remember my mother in law, but my wife and Ms. Doyle had a great conversation mainly about how they both hated their first names.
She kept up her baseball involvement as an umpire in the Knoxville area, and has been inducted into the Knoxville Hall of Fame.
The called ended with Ms. Doyle giving us an open invitation to her home whenever we were in the Knoxville area. She was touched knowing a past childhood friend had named a child after her. And no, we are not in the will.
We have been in the area (Nashville) on a couple of occasions, but my wife is shy and said no to the visit. Too bad, it would have been a great visit.

[GaryPassamonte]

How about this?

WOW! Great images and stories. Interesting fan and Bloomer Girls photo. Any more information on those items, circa?

Loved the story about Ducky Doyle and your wife's name Bill. While there are thousands of children named after the "Mick", there are certainly very few named after AAGPBL players, though this was probably more popular during WW2.

Jewish Women in Ivy League Athletics, now that is a niche market Any examples in your research of particular interest?

Great contributions everyone.....

[seattlerainiers]

Here's one for you, Ty.

Babe Didrikson single signed PCL ball, 1934

Well Dave, that's just ridiculously cool! There has to be an awesome PCL story around that baseball. If so, please share.... Thank you.

[khkco4bls]

Original 1890 broadside for the young ladies baseball club. Sorry about sideways photo

[71buc]

Myrtle Rowe type 1 1910 photos

Beautiful Broadside.....

I did not realize there were so many women in semi-professional baseball, especially in Pennsylvania. Great image of Myrtle Rowe, who played first base with the boys for the Antler Athletic Club in New Kensington, PA. I had read of men (Smoky Joe Wood, Rogers Hornsby among them) dressing in drag to play with barnstorming Bloomer Girls teams, but seldom about women such as Lizzie Arlington or Jackie Mitchell who competed briefly on men's teams.

April 2, 1931 Mitchell, 17, supposedly strikes out Ruth and Gehrig in an exhibition game: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...-out-babe-ruth