Page 8 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020 WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH Madeline “Maddy” English “All-American Girls Professional Baseball League” W hen one speaks of the best athletes to come out of Everett, one name must be included: Madeline “Maddy” English. Born in Everett on February 22, 1925, to Ambrose T. English, a pipe-fitter and Everett city official who once served a term as acting Mayor, and Anna (Henneberry) English, Maddy grew up admiring her big brother, Edward, who was a high school star third baseman. Unlike Edward, Maddy did not enjoy the privilege of playing high school sports because there were no organized girls’ interscholastic sports. Not to be deterred, English, as young as 10 years old, would play pickup games of baseball with the boys or travel to the neighboring cities to play pickup softball games. In 1938, while playing for an Everett team called the Melly Club, she tried out for the Boston Olympets, a women’s softball team that played in the Boston Garden and was created by Boston Garden owner Walter Brown to draw crowds to the Garden during the summer “off season.” The 13-year-old Maddy did not make the team that was comprised of older players but was assigned to the Olympets’ major feeder team, the Gladiolas. The team played throughout New England and New York, and in 1943 a baseball scout – who remembered seeing Maddy play and was impressed with her skill at third base – invited her to a tryout at Wrigley Field in Chicago for the newly formed All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). The league was designed to maintain the public interest in baseball since World War II was taking so many of Major League Baseball’s top stars and totally emptying the minor leagues to fill the ranks of the armed services. The AAGBBL held tryouts throughout the United States and attracted women from all over the United States and Canada. The best 280 players were invited to Wrigley Field, where the final 60 would be chosen as the first women to ever play professional baseball and assigned to a team. Maddy English was one of the 60 and was assigned to the Racine Belles. The 1943 Racine Belles, managed by former Chicago Black Hawk and two-time Stanley Cup Champion Johnny Gottselig, had it all: timely hitting, outstanding defense and speed on the base paths. It is no wonder that they won the first AAGBBL Championship by sweeping the Kenosha Comets three games to none. The next two seasons saw the Belles finish in fourth place, but in 1946 the Belles were back on top. Under new manager Leo Murphy, a journeyman minor league catcher who had a cup of cofEverett Aluminum 10 Everett Ave., Everett 617-389-3839 Owned & operated by the Conti family since 1958 • 57 Years! “Same name, phone number & address for family since 1958 • 62 over half a century. We must be doing something right!” •Vinyl Siding •Free Estimates •Carpentry Work •Fully Licensed •Decks •Roof • Fully Insured • Replacement Windows www.everettaluminum.com •Roo ng Now’s the time to schedule those home improvement projects you’ve been dreaming about all winter! MADELINE ENGLISH fee with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1915, the Belles finished first in the league and won the playoff championship. In the first round in 1946, the Racine Belles won a best-of-five series over the South Bend Blue Sox, three games to one. It was Maddy’s heroics that made the difference in that series. In game one she drove in the winning run in extra innings by hitting a double in the bottom half of the 14th inning. Then, in the critical game four, she provided more extra-inning excitement by knocking in the winning run with a single in the bottom half of the 17th inning. Truly the MVP of the first round, she went 11-for-31 for a .353 average, including her two game-winning RBIs. Maddy was all business and didn’t like distractions. Maddy once told a sportswriter who wouldn't stop pestering her: “If you don’t leave me alone, I'm going to jump in Lake Michigan.” He didn’t. She did, and had to be fished out. Maddy was selected as the 1946 All-Star Team’s third baseman; a feat she would repeat in 1948 and 1949. Despite her low batting average (.171) – the AAGPBL was definitely a pitchers’ league (the 1945 AAGPBL batting championship was won with a .299 average) – Maddy made every hit count. In her career she scored 357 runs, stole 439 bases (including a MADELINE | SEE PAGE 18 Spring!
9 Publizr Home