Since March is Women's History Month, I want to do something different and shine light on some of the amazing women who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). When I started researching, I went into many rabbit holes and realized how many avenues I could go down regarding the history of the league, statistics, and the life of the women during that era.
My goal for these posts is to write short stories about some of the women, but focusing on their family and their life before and after playing in the AAGPBL. The stories may seem short and vague in parts but I could spend days researching each woman and I want to go through as many of them as I can.
For a detailed history on the league, the AAGPBL website is the best source. In summary, WWII started and in 1942 Philip K. Wrigley (yes, that same Wrigley of Wrigley chewing gum and owner of the Chicago Cubs) was afraid that Major League Baseball (MLB) would cancel seasons since most young men were being drafted into the war. Many minor league baseball teams had already shut down due to lack of available players (men). Wrigley, along with other MLB executives, discovered that over 1 million women were playing softball throughout the US and Canada and decided that was the key to saving MLB.
The AAGPBL lasted from 1943 until 1954. More than 600 women played during those 11 years and there were 15 teams (not all at once). Those teams were:
Battle Creek Belles
Chicago Colleens
Fort Wayne Daisies
Grand Rapids Chicks
Kalamazoo Lassies
Kenosha Comets
Milwaukee Chicks
Minneapolis Millerettes
Muskegon Belles
Muskegon Lassies
Peoria Red Wings
Racine Belles
Rockford Peaches
South Bend Blue Sox
Springfield Sallies
Of those 15 teams, 5 were in Michigan (blue); 5 were in Illinois (red); 2 in Indiana (orange); 2 in Wisconsin (green); and 1 in Minnesota (purple).
Since I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan, I want to start with some of the women who played for their team, the Grand Rapids Chicks, during its inaugural year, 1945. Again, please note these are just short stories of the women. My intention is to explore their family and life before and after the league. If you're looking for more details, there are many sources online and many libraries that have a plethora of information.
The Grand Rapids Chicks was formed in 1945 when the Milwaukee Chicks team moved their franchise there after only two years in Wisconsin. From 1945-1949 and 1953-1954 the GR Chicks played their home games at South High School on their football field turned baseball diamond; From 1950-1952 they played their home games at Bigelow Field in Wyoming, MI.
Below: Collection of GR Chicks photos and newspaper articles
Player #1:
Catherine "Kay" "Swish" Elizabeth Blumetta
AAGPBL Years: 1944-1954
AAGPBL Games: 303
*One of four women to play in the league for at least 10 years
GR Chicks Year(s): 1945
GR Chicks Games: 23
Position(s): pitcher, first, and outfield
Championships: 1; 1954- Kalamazoo Lassies
Teams: Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, Peoria, Fort Wayne, and Kalamazoo.
Honors: Inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
Catherine Elizabeth Blumetta was born on May 1, 1923 in North Plainfield, New Jersey to James and Edna (Ryan). Catherine was the only child of James and Edna, and other than those 10 summers playing baseball, she lived in North Plainfield her entire life. North Plainfield is a suburb 32 miles southwest of New York City.
Catherine's paternal grandparents, Augustus (Gustav) and Susanna (Ofnato), immigrated to New York City from Italy in 1875 and 1883 respectively. Their surname was originally Blumetti but was changed after they settled in the United States. Augustus and Susanna had seven children, however only 5 lived to adolescence - Catherine's father, James was their third.
James Blumetta was born in 1889 in Brooklyn, New York but by 1900, his family had moved to North Plainfield, NJ. On the 1900 US Census, the Blumetta family lived at 67 Somerset St and Augustus was a day laborer. Based on who lived in their household at that time, I'd assume it was a very lively place to have been. In addition to Augustus and Susanna and their five children, they also had eight boarders - all immigrants from Italy and one from Austria.
As soon as he was done with school around 1910, James, Catherine's father, worked as an ice wagon driver delivering ice to houses and businesses. The companies he worked for were Plainfield Ice Co, Superior Ice & Coal Co and then later in his life was a manager at the Morton Ice Company - all in North Plainfield.
On November 3, 1920 at 31 years old, James Blumetta married 34 year old, Edna Ryan.
Edna Frances Ryan was born on July 17, 1886 in North Plainfield, New Jersey to Edward and Catherine (Harold). Edward and Catherine, Catherine's maternal grandparents, were born in Pennsylvania and New York respectively.
In the late 1890's through early 1900's, Edna's father worked as a coachman and the family lived at 340 E. 3rd St in North Plainfield.
During Edna's childhood, the Ryan family also lived at 91 Manning St in North Plainfield. Amazingly, these houses are still standing today!
Catherine's mother, Edna, started working at a young age. I found a newspaper article from 1905 of her employment at Hill & Shupp's Department Store - she would have been 19 years old. She worked at that department store for at least 15 more years but also worked in an insurance office in the mid 1900's.
She was very active in different social organizations and her church in North Plainfield. Edna lived with her mother, supported herself by working full-time and remained single until she married James Blumetta at 34 years old. Her self-sufficieny as a woman during that era was quite remarkable. I'm sure Catherine was greatly influenced by her mother - hence how and why Catherine traveled and played baseball for 10 years while her friends as well as society pressured her into marriage and motherhood.
James Blumetta and Edna Ryan married in 1920 in North Plainfield. Catherine was born in 1923 so Edna was 37 years old when Catherine was born. The new Blumetta family lived next door to James' parents at 300 Somerset St for their first 10 years. Today, that building is a Firemen's Hall.
By 1930, Catherine was 6 years old in the first grade. Her father was a manager at the ice supply company and the family rented 51 Jennings Lane for $55/mo.
The next year in 1931, Catherine's uncle committed suicide and her father was one of the family members who was called to the scene shortly after it happened. I'm sure that horrible experience had some impact on Catherine, who was 7 years old at that time.
In 1935, when Catherine (Kay) was only 13 years old, she already had amazing athletic skills.
In 1939, at 16 years old, she was a junior at North Plainfield High School. She was selected to be on the very first girls varsity tennis team - a very sought out team.
During her high school years, she also played softball and basketball. She was continually the best player on each of her teams as I read in the many newspaper articles that were written during that time.
The yearbooks for North Plainfield High School are all online, and I searched for Catherine in the year she would have graduated, and she wasn't listed. So I'm guessing that Catherine never graduated from high school. She spent summers playing on traveling softball teams and in the winter she played basketball.
To support herself as a young adult, she worked at the Cornell-Dubilier Plant in South Plainfield. She remained to live with her parents at 101 Belmont St in North Plainfield for many years as well.
In 1944, while she was playing softball for the Brooklyn Celtics team, the scouts for the AAGPBL were continually in the stands as they first started the recruitment process for the newly formed league.
At 21 years old, Catherine Blumetta officially signed a contract as she made history when she joined the AAGPBL.
Her first year in the league, she played 33 games on the Milwaukee Chicks and the Minneapolis Millerettes teams. She had 82 at-bat appearances with 9 hits, 9 stolen bases, 19 strikeouts - for an average of .110.
Catherine would return home to North Plainfield during the off-season, work in the factory, and play in various basketball leagues to keep in shape.
In 1954, the AAGPBL ceased operation, mostly due to low attendance since the post-war economy started to flourish again. Families were traveling in the summers, and men were home from war so the organization felt like the women should take a knee to Major League Baseball.
After the league ended, Catherine moved back in with her parents at 261 Jefferson Ave and continued to work in the factories - she was 32 years old.
In 1994, after the popular Tom Hanks movie, "A League of Their Own" was released, the local newspaper of North Plainfield wrote a feature article on AAGPBL and interviewed Catherine about her experience:
In 1996, Catherine was part of the second Hall of Fame class of the North Plainfield High School.
On April 25, 1997, at 74 years old, Catherine passed away in Plainfield, NJ - her forever hometown.
Catherine never married nor had children, and didn't have siblings. I hope this post about the history of her family and her time in the big leagues helps to continue the legacy of the AAGPBL and all she did for women sports.
