Dolly Niemiec
Dolly Niemiec | |
---|---|
Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
Died: September 22, 2018 Caledonia, Michigan, U.S. | (aged 87)|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
Teams | |
Dolly Niemiec (May 27, 1931 – September 22, 2018)
Early baseball beginnings
Dolly learned how to play baseball—like a lot of her peers—from the boys with whom she grew up in her Chicago neighborhood, running around outside getting dirty and bruised just like all the boys were used to doing. She earned the nickname "Dolly Gopher" because when playing softball with her father, he would say "Dolly, go for this ball. Go for that ball."
She recalled how the neighborhood boys would "play in a huge lot behind a factory. We used sickles to cut the grass and cardboard boxes for the bases. Then we put big rocks on them so that they wouldn’t blow away.”.[2] Of the boys she played with she recalls, "their sisters had the most beautiful dolls.I had the most beautiful bats and balls."[3]
One day, when she was 15 years old, Dolly's father came across a newspaper article about tryouts in a women's baseball league. Her first reaction however was "girls don't play baseball." It wasn't that she believed that girls couldn't play baseball, she just wasn't aware of any who did.
Despite this, she came along to the field and was "amazed" at how many women she saw there. She said that she "thought [she] was the only girl in the city who played baseball."
Dolly's professional baseball career
Dolly played
After baseball
In 1952, an auto accident resulted in Dolly's early retirement. Following that, she became a professional bowler, coaching her sons'
games.A league of their own
When the movie was released in 1992, Dolly actually had a role in it. Regarding the movie that starred
Dolly died on September 22, 2018.[4]
Career statistics
Year | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1948 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | .000 |
1949 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | .000 |
1950 | 49 | 147 | 12 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 24 | .170 |
1951 | 29 | 65 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 7 | .092 |
1952 | -10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | .000 |
Sources
1. AAGPBL [5] 2. The St. Augustine Record [6] 3. YouTube [7]
- ^ Dolly Konwinski, Grand Rapids Chicks member and 'A League of Their Own' extra, dies
- ^ Lulgjuraj, Susan. "AT THE NATIONAL: Former AAGPBL player talks baseball, movies". Beckett News. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ^ Sheppard, Quinton. "Gloucester writer working with women's baseball pioneer". Gloucester Mathews Gazette Journal. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ^ Dolly Konwinski, Grand Rapids Chicks member and 'A League of Their Own' extra, dies
- ^ "Dolly Konwinski (Niemiec)". AAGPBL. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ^ Dematteo, Anthony. "Famous old women having fun". The St. Augustine Record. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ^ Harris, Elliott. "AAGPBL's Dolly Niemiec Konwinski at 2013 National Sports Collectors Convention". YouTube. Retrieved 31 July 2014.