Maud Nelson | |
|---|---|
 in "Olsen's Cherokee Indian Base Ball Club" | |
| Born | Clementina Brida November 17, 1881 Italy |
| Died | February 15, 1944 (aged 62) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Baseball player, coach, team owner |
| Spouse | Joe Olsen |
Maud Nelson (born Clementina Brida, November 17, 1881 - February 15, 1944) was an early Italian-born American professional woman baseball pitcher, scout, manager, and team owner.
Nelson began pitching professionally at the age of 16, as a starting pitcher for the Boston Bloomer Girls. She played for several professional baseball teams, including the American Athletic Girls. She was a leading player of the Chicago Stars who were billed as "Champions of the World". She was their star pitcher during 1902 and 1903 when the team would tour by Pullman coach. [1] In addition to her starting pitching duties, she often played third base in the later innings of a game. Other skilful players in the Chicago team was Julie St Clair and Maggie Burke. [1]
In 1905 John B (Joe) Olsen and Nelson moved to Watervliet, Michigan where they established a new women's baseball team. The "Cherokee Indian Base Ball Team" set out in their Pullman car in the same year complete with an electric light facility, a grand stand and a 12 foot by 1200 foot fence. Nelson despite being born in Italy was on the team. She was billed by her husband, Olsen, as the undisputed women's champion pitcher of the world. [2]
In 1911, Maud Nelson became owner-manager of the Western Bloomer Girls, along with her first husband, Olsen. The "Bloomer Girl" style was well known with an easier game and the bloomer style of dress was strongly associated with women's baseball. [3] She also became a baseball scout in 1911, recruiting both male and female players for a number of professional teams. After John died in 1917, Maud again played for Boston, and managed a women's team for the Chicago Athletic Club.
In the early 1920s, Maud married Costante Dellacqua, with whom she later started the All Star Ranger Girls team. The team wore cowboys hats, skirts, shirts and cardigans with the initials A and R on the sleeve. [4] In 1934 she signed future star Rose Gacioch to her team. This was towards the end of the Bloomer Girls teams as softball became the more popular game. [5] Nelson retired to a house in the neighborhood of Wrigley Field, living there until her death in 1944. In 2001, Nelson became part of the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame as a posthumous inductee. [6]
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)| General | |
|---|---|
| National libraries | |
Watervliet is a city in northeastern Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,735 at the 2010 census, down from 1,843 at the 2000 census. Mostly a rural farming community, the name comes from the Dutch for "where the waters meet." The city is surrounded by Watervliet Charter Township but is administered autonomously.
A League of Their Own is a 1992 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Penny Marshall that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). The film stars Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna, Lori Petty, Rosie O'Donnell, Jon Lovitz, David Strathairn, Garry Marshall, and Bill Pullman. The screenplay was written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel from a story by Kelly Candaele and Kim Wilson.
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the United States. Over 600 women played in the league, which consisted of eventually 10 teams located in the American Midwest. In 1948, league attendance peaked at over 900,000 spectators. The most successful team, the Rockford Peaches, won a league-best four championships. The 1992 film A League of Their Own is a mostly fictionalized account of the early days of the league and its stars.
Dorothy Wiltse "Dottie" Collins was an American professional baseball pitcher for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1944 to 1948 and 1950. Collins played her rookie season (1944) for the Minneapolis Millerettes and spent the rest of her career with the Fort Wayne Daisies. Known as the "Strikeout Queen," she set multiple AAGPBL records throughout her career and led the league with her winning percentage, fielding percentage, and strikeouts. Collins helped form the All-American Girls Professional Baseball league Players Association in 1987 and held many different positions during her tenure with the association.
Women have a long history in American baseball and many women's teams have existed over the years. Baseball was played at women's colleges in New York and New England as early as the mid-nineteenth century; teams were formed at Vassar College, Smith College, Wellesley College, and Mount Holyoke College. An African American women's team, the Philadelphia Dolly Vardens, was formed in 1867.
Rose M. Gacioch was a right fielder and pitcher who played from 1944 through 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m), 160 lb, Gacioch batted and threw right-handed. She had one of the most successful careers in AAGPBL history and possibly the most well-rounded of any female player. She was of Polish descent.
Eleanor V. Wolf was a center fielder and pitcher who played from 1943 through 1950 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
Joanne Emily Winter[Jo] was a pitcher who played from 1943 through 1950 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m), 138 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.
Betsy "Sockum" Jochum is a former outfielder and pitcher who played from 1943 through 1948 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 7", 140 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.
Mary Nesbitt Wisham was an American baseball pitcher and first basewoman who played from 1943 through 1950 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m), 155 lb., Nesbitt batted and threw left-handed. She was born Marie Crews Nesbitt in Greenville, South Carolina. Before becoming married in 1946 she played under the name of Mary Nesbitt.
Beverly Armstrong [Steuert] is an American former female pitcher who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She batted and threw right-handed. Sometimes she is credited as Bev Steuert.
Jean Anna Faut [Winsch/Eastman] is an American retired starting pitcher who played from 1946 through 1953 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m), 137 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.
Anna May Hutchison ["Hutch"] was a female pitcher and catcher who played from 1944 through 1949 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m), 149 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. Sometimes she is credited as Anna Mae Hutchison.
Jean S. Cione [″Cy″] was a pitcher who played from 1945 through 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 8", 143 lb., She batted and threw left-handed.
Elizabeth Stride, known professionally as Lizzie Arlington, was an American baseball player. She was the first woman to play for a professional men's baseball team.
Charlene Barnett [″Barney″] was an infielder who played from 1947 through 1950 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She batted and threw right-handed.
Erma M. "Bergie" Bergmann was an American baseball pitcher and outfielder who played from 1946 through 1951 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m), 155 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.
Viola Thompson [Griffin] was a pitcher who played from 1944 through 1947 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Listed at 5 feet 5 inches (165 cm), 120 pounds (54 kg), she batted and threw left-handed.
The 1951 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season marked the ninth season of the circuit. The teams Battle Creek Belles, Fort Wayne Daisies, Grand Rapids Chicks, Kalamazoo Lassies, Kenosha Comets, Peoria Redwings, Rockford Peaches and South Bend Blue Sox competed through a 112-game schedule, while the Shaugnessy playoffs featured the top four teams from each half of the regular season.
The National Girls Baseball League (NGBL) was a professional women's baseball league which existed from 1944 to 1954, with teams based in Chicago, Illinois. The National Girls Baseball League started a year after the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), which was featured in the film A League of Their Own. The National Girls Baseball League differed from the AAGPLB in that the NGBL kept and allowed the traditional underhand softball pitching format. Football legend Red Grange served as commissioner of the National Girls Baseball League.
