I'm going to ramble and meander, but I don't think we really have a preexisting thread for historical baseball topics outside the realm of the majors. I thought this might be a starting point for such stories. I spend most of my free time researching local history and following baseball, so their paths are bound to cross. Of course, living in Ohio, my local history probably isn't yours, but sometimes there's a topic that might travel beyond the roads only I'm familiar with. Last week I had the opportunity to listen to stories from an 88-year-old former professional baseball player, and she – yes, she – could still light up a room with her love of the game.
The local library was hosting a program with Lois Youngen, former All-American Girls Professional Baseball League catcher. Most of their presentations draw an audience of 25-40, but due to popular demand, Lois agreed to a second time slot right after the first. I switched to the later time, which worked out great because with no need to clear the room, Lois gave us an additional 30 minutes of her time. She spoke for over 30 minutes about her personal history, over 30 minutes about the AAGPBL and over 30 minutes about the movie A League of Their Own and how it compared to reality. We filed out shortly before 10:00 PM and Lois was still just as chipper and chatty as she'd been before starting the two programs that totaled about three hours. However, Lois is only half of this story.
The odds of any professional ballplayer coming from the village of Ragersville would be slim. The population of the farming community in the rolling hills of eastern Ohio, 25 miles north of Cy Young's birthplace, never topped much more than a couple of hundred people. However, Ragersville can claim two professional baseball players – and they were both women.
In 1905, Dr. George Weiss organized Ragersville's first high school. It was a great benefit to the community, but he had his own personal reasons. Not only could his teen daughters Irma and Alta take advantage of the education, but this might be the only high school ever established in order to give a girl a venue to play baseball. Alta could throw a ball past the boys' bats, but finding competition for her was becoming increasingly difficult. However, it was a vacation on Lake Erie that allowed Alta her big break.
Playing catch with some boys in Vermilion one day in the summer of 1907, Alta caught the eye of town mayor H.P. Williams. He was so impressed, he urged the manager of the local semipro team to give Alta a tryout. When the manager insisted the idea was absurd, Williams himself set up two exhibition games to have her face off against male competition. She struck out 15 batters in one game and 9 in the second, and the Vermilion Independents had a new pitcher, one who wore a dress.
In the fall of 1907, Alta pitched eight games for the Vermilion Independents before returning to Ragersville for her final year of high school. The girl ballplayer had become such a sensation that the Cleveland newspapers were writing articles about the 17-year-old. By the time she came to the city to pitch against a strong Cleveland semipro team, interest was so high that excursion trains carried fans from 60 miles away in Sandusky, and the game was held at League Park, home of the major league Naps. Alta won the contest 7-6. She did so with a repertoire that included a fastball, outcurve and knuckler. She also chewed gum, so that when she needed something extra, she could unleash a spitball.
That winter Dr. Weiss built a training gym for his daughter off their barn back in Ragersville. After graduating in May of 1908 with sister Irma as the only other member of Ragersville's inaugural graduating class, Alta returned to Vermilion with her father, where the doctor purchased the semipro team and renamed them the Weiss All Stars.
Touring Ohio and Kentucky throughout 1908, the Weiss All Stars compiled a record of 21-19 with one tie. Because the paying public wanted to see Alta pitch, she always spent five innings on the mound, then shifted to first base to save her arm. Traveling with and playing against men left Alta secluded off the field, so Irma traveled with the club as well. Although the Weiss All Stars would continue for several seasons, Alta's focus moved away from the ball field and towards her college education. Coupled with Irma's death of endocarditis at age 22, Alta only pitched sporadically after 1910, but she further proved to be a pioneer in everything she did. Alta used her earnings from the Weiss All-Stars to pay her way through college in Wooster and Columbus and in 1914 she was the only female in her graduating class at Starling College of Medicine (now The Ohio State University Medical College).
After retiring from the diamond, Alta filled in for Dr. A H Syler in Sugarcreek, near Ragersville, during World War I and the influenza epidemic. In 1925 she established her own practice at Norwalk, and two years later married Ragersville native John Hisrich, a marriage which lasted 12 years. When her father died in 1946, Alta returned to Ragersville and phased out his practice. In retirement she was known for her eccentricities. Each day she read three newspapers while tending to her cats, which numbered in the double-digits.
However, when Dr. George Weiss was still practicing in Ragersville in 1933, one of the children he delivered was Lois Youngen.
When Lois was still a young child, her father, who was a superintendent of schools, moved the family north to Leroy, west of Akron. They still spent time in Ragersville during the summer, where Lois was playing catch one day in her early teens with her mother. Across the street, reading her newspapers from her porch above the town square, was Alta Weiss. Spying the girl with a good arm, Alta invited Lois over to talk about baseball. Lois said she regrets to this day that as a girl who just wanted to be outside playing, she didn't ask Alta any of the endless questions she's thought of over the past 70+ years, but she drank lemonade, ate cookies and answered Alta's questions while sitting on her uncomfortable couch. Before Lois left, Alta asked her if she would like a baseball signed by Babe Ruth. Of course, she said yes. Alta walked to another room and returned with a ball and then asked if she'd like her to autograph it herself. Lois nodded yes again, and Alta dipped her fountain pen and signed the other side of the ball. About a decade ago, Lois donated this prized possession to the Ragersville Historical Society and it was decided to finally have it appraised. The Babe's signature cannot be authenticated – it may have been autopenned – but it is still the only known ball signed by Alta Weiss. You can also find Alta's Weiss All-Stars uniform on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame museum.
Twelve years ago, Lois gave a lengthy interview at a reunion of the AAGPBL. This appears to be the basis for the presentations she now gives, so if anyone is interested in hearing more about her, I'll leave you to the link. I wanted to share the Alta Weiss connection though, since it only came up when we asked her about it last week. She also spoke more about her life after baseball when asked, which included 30+ years as a physical education professor and coach at the University of Oregon before and after Title IX, reaching the level of PhD and Director of Physical Activities and Recreation – made possible through an eduction paid for by her baseball career. I will share a few highlights though:
When Lois moved to a neighborhood in Leroy that was mostly boys, playing ball in the adjacent field was what they did. They told her she could play catcher or right field, but she knew enough to choose catcher so she would be involved in the action. When they started walking to other towns to find competition, they temporarily kicked her off the team, because other kids were making fun of them. After a couple of losses, they asked her to rejoin the team.
During a visit to relatives in Fort Wayne, she was taken to a Daisies ballgame and told her cousin she could do that. The cousin knew someone and had a tryout lined up for her the following morning. This earned her a chance to travel to the AAGPBL spring training in Alexandria, Virginia for an additional tryout during her high school senior trip. Many years later, she learned Peanut Johnson and another African-American female player had been outside the stadium asking for tryouts, but they were refused. The AAGPBL never did integrate, but after finding out about the tryout refusal they invited Johnson to any reunions and celebrations of women's baseball.
Finding equipment that worked well for women was difficult. When they could find a smaller bat, everyone wanted to use it, so it would break before long. Because women had more experience playing softball, their game started out as sort of softball modified for baseball. They pitched underhand for the first several years and things like moving the mound and base distances were sometimes changed during the season with no time to practice at those measurements beforehand. They reached 87 feet between the bases, but never 90 because the concensus was that the shorter limbs of women wouldn't make for as interesting of a game at men's distances. In the league's final season, they went from a 10" ball to 9" like men used and moved the mound back a couple feet. Louis raised her batting average 20 points that season since she could see the ball a little longer. She couldn't recall the fence distances, but was proud to say in her four seasons she hit one home run over the fence.
Lois holds the distinction of being just one of two players to catch a perfect game after the AAGPBL switched to overhand pitching in 1948 (of course, Jean Faut holds the distinction of being the only player to pitch one). Lois called her own pitches, and aside from a great catch by the right fielder, her only memory of it was that no one mentioned what was happening during the game).
The studio paid the AAGPBL union $100,000 upfront. They've never received any other profits from A League of Their Own.
Penny Marshall took the authenticity of the action very seriously and everyone beyond the top billed actresses had to train for a year.
Lois played for Jimmie Foxx and as far as the Jimmy Dugan character being based on him, it's not accurate. They were aware he had a drinking problem, but he was a highly functioning alcoholic who never drank around them, even on the bus. He also never yelled at any of them. The players admired him and thought he was a "big teddybear".
The Rockford Peaches were the Yankees of women's baseball – everyone who didn't play for them despised them.
One last thing – I grew up in a slightly larger town near Ragersville, but because of class size and staffing, our elementary classes were combined. As a result, I spent more years attending Ragersville (1st through 5th) than any other school, although the town's high school had been reduced to an elementary school through consolidation about 30 years before my time.
The local library was hosting a program with Lois Youngen, former All-American Girls Professional Baseball League catcher. Most of their presentations draw an audience of 25-40, but due to popular demand, Lois agreed to a second time slot right after the first. I switched to the later time, which worked out great because with no need to clear the room, Lois gave us an additional 30 minutes of her time. She spoke for over 30 minutes about her personal history, over 30 minutes about the AAGPBL and over 30 minutes about the movie A League of Their Own and how it compared to reality. We filed out shortly before 10:00 PM and Lois was still just as chipper and chatty as she'd been before starting the two programs that totaled about three hours. However, Lois is only half of this story.
The odds of any professional ballplayer coming from the village of Ragersville would be slim. The population of the farming community in the rolling hills of eastern Ohio, 25 miles north of Cy Young's birthplace, never topped much more than a couple of hundred people. However, Ragersville can claim two professional baseball players – and they were both women.
In 1905, Dr. George Weiss organized Ragersville's first high school. It was a great benefit to the community, but he had his own personal reasons. Not only could his teen daughters Irma and Alta take advantage of the education, but this might be the only high school ever established in order to give a girl a venue to play baseball. Alta could throw a ball past the boys' bats, but finding competition for her was becoming increasingly difficult. However, it was a vacation on Lake Erie that allowed Alta her big break.
Playing catch with some boys in Vermilion one day in the summer of 1907, Alta caught the eye of town mayor H.P. Williams. He was so impressed, he urged the manager of the local semipro team to give Alta a tryout. When the manager insisted the idea was absurd, Williams himself set up two exhibition games to have her face off against male competition. She struck out 15 batters in one game and 9 in the second, and the Vermilion Independents had a new pitcher, one who wore a dress.
In the fall of 1907, Alta pitched eight games for the Vermilion Independents before returning to Ragersville for her final year of high school. The girl ballplayer had become such a sensation that the Cleveland newspapers were writing articles about the 17-year-old. By the time she came to the city to pitch against a strong Cleveland semipro team, interest was so high that excursion trains carried fans from 60 miles away in Sandusky, and the game was held at League Park, home of the major league Naps. Alta won the contest 7-6. She did so with a repertoire that included a fastball, outcurve and knuckler. She also chewed gum, so that when she needed something extra, she could unleash a spitball.
That winter Dr. Weiss built a training gym for his daughter off their barn back in Ragersville. After graduating in May of 1908 with sister Irma as the only other member of Ragersville's inaugural graduating class, Alta returned to Vermilion with her father, where the doctor purchased the semipro team and renamed them the Weiss All Stars.
Touring Ohio and Kentucky throughout 1908, the Weiss All Stars compiled a record of 21-19 with one tie. Because the paying public wanted to see Alta pitch, she always spent five innings on the mound, then shifted to first base to save her arm. Traveling with and playing against men left Alta secluded off the field, so Irma traveled with the club as well. Although the Weiss All Stars would continue for several seasons, Alta's focus moved away from the ball field and towards her college education. Coupled with Irma's death of endocarditis at age 22, Alta only pitched sporadically after 1910, but she further proved to be a pioneer in everything she did. Alta used her earnings from the Weiss All-Stars to pay her way through college in Wooster and Columbus and in 1914 she was the only female in her graduating class at Starling College of Medicine (now The Ohio State University Medical College).
After retiring from the diamond, Alta filled in for Dr. A H Syler in Sugarcreek, near Ragersville, during World War I and the influenza epidemic. In 1925 she established her own practice at Norwalk, and two years later married Ragersville native John Hisrich, a marriage which lasted 12 years. When her father died in 1946, Alta returned to Ragersville and phased out his practice. In retirement she was known for her eccentricities. Each day she read three newspapers while tending to her cats, which numbered in the double-digits.
However, when Dr. George Weiss was still practicing in Ragersville in 1933, one of the children he delivered was Lois Youngen.
When Lois was still a young child, her father, who was a superintendent of schools, moved the family north to Leroy, west of Akron. They still spent time in Ragersville during the summer, where Lois was playing catch one day in her early teens with her mother. Across the street, reading her newspapers from her porch above the town square, was Alta Weiss. Spying the girl with a good arm, Alta invited Lois over to talk about baseball. Lois said she regrets to this day that as a girl who just wanted to be outside playing, she didn't ask Alta any of the endless questions she's thought of over the past 70+ years, but she drank lemonade, ate cookies and answered Alta's questions while sitting on her uncomfortable couch. Before Lois left, Alta asked her if she would like a baseball signed by Babe Ruth. Of course, she said yes. Alta walked to another room and returned with a ball and then asked if she'd like her to autograph it herself. Lois nodded yes again, and Alta dipped her fountain pen and signed the other side of the ball. About a decade ago, Lois donated this prized possession to the Ragersville Historical Society and it was decided to finally have it appraised. The Babe's signature cannot be authenticated – it may have been autopenned – but it is still the only known ball signed by Alta Weiss. You can also find Alta's Weiss All-Stars uniform on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame museum.
Twelve years ago, Lois gave a lengthy interview at a reunion of the AAGPBL. This appears to be the basis for the presentations she now gives, so if anyone is interested in hearing more about her, I'll leave you to the link. I wanted to share the Alta Weiss connection though, since it only came up when we asked her about it last week. She also spoke more about her life after baseball when asked, which included 30+ years as a physical education professor and coach at the University of Oregon before and after Title IX, reaching the level of PhD and Director of Physical Activities and Recreation – made possible through an eduction paid for by her baseball career. I will share a few highlights though:
When Lois moved to a neighborhood in Leroy that was mostly boys, playing ball in the adjacent field was what they did. They told her she could play catcher or right field, but she knew enough to choose catcher so she would be involved in the action. When they started walking to other towns to find competition, they temporarily kicked her off the team, because other kids were making fun of them. After a couple of losses, they asked her to rejoin the team.
During a visit to relatives in Fort Wayne, she was taken to a Daisies ballgame and told her cousin she could do that. The cousin knew someone and had a tryout lined up for her the following morning. This earned her a chance to travel to the AAGPBL spring training in Alexandria, Virginia for an additional tryout during her high school senior trip. Many years later, she learned Peanut Johnson and another African-American female player had been outside the stadium asking for tryouts, but they were refused. The AAGPBL never did integrate, but after finding out about the tryout refusal they invited Johnson to any reunions and celebrations of women's baseball.
Finding equipment that worked well for women was difficult. When they could find a smaller bat, everyone wanted to use it, so it would break before long. Because women had more experience playing softball, their game started out as sort of softball modified for baseball. They pitched underhand for the first several years and things like moving the mound and base distances were sometimes changed during the season with no time to practice at those measurements beforehand. They reached 87 feet between the bases, but never 90 because the concensus was that the shorter limbs of women wouldn't make for as interesting of a game at men's distances. In the league's final season, they went from a 10" ball to 9" like men used and moved the mound back a couple feet. Louis raised her batting average 20 points that season since she could see the ball a little longer. She couldn't recall the fence distances, but was proud to say in her four seasons she hit one home run over the fence.
Lois holds the distinction of being just one of two players to catch a perfect game after the AAGPBL switched to overhand pitching in 1948 (of course, Jean Faut holds the distinction of being the only player to pitch one). Lois called her own pitches, and aside from a great catch by the right fielder, her only memory of it was that no one mentioned what was happening during the game).
The studio paid the AAGPBL union $100,000 upfront. They've never received any other profits from A League of Their Own.
Penny Marshall took the authenticity of the action very seriously and everyone beyond the top billed actresses had to train for a year.
Lois played for Jimmie Foxx and as far as the Jimmy Dugan character being based on him, it's not accurate. They were aware he had a drinking problem, but he was a highly functioning alcoholic who never drank around them, even on the bus. He also never yelled at any of them. The players admired him and thought he was a "big teddybear".
The Rockford Peaches were the Yankees of women's baseball – everyone who didn't play for them despised them.
One last thing – I grew up in a slightly larger town near Ragersville, but because of class size and staffing, our elementary classes were combined. As a result, I spent more years attending Ragersville (1st through 5th) than any other school, although the town's high school had been reduced to an elementary school through consolidation about 30 years before my time.
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