Lizzie Murphy
| Lizzie Murphy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First base | |
| Born: April 13, 1894 Warren, Rhode Island | |
| Died: July 27, 1964 (aged 70) | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| First woman to play professional baseball |
Mary Elizabeth Murphy (April 13, 1894 – July 27, 1964), known as "The Queen of Baseball", was the first woman to play professional baseball, competing with male athletes in 1922. She played baseball for seventeen years as a first baseman; she also played on several all-star teams and was the first person of either sex to play on both American and National league baseball teams.[1]
Early life
Murphy was born April 13, 1894, probably in Warren, Rhode Island,[2][3] though some sources indicate that she was born in Canada.[4] Her parents were Mary (née Garan) and John Murphy;[5] her father was a mill hand and also a semi-pro baseball player. Lizzie was athletic and was a runner, skater, and swimmer, besides playing baseball. By age 12, she had quit school and gone to work at the Parker Woolen Mill as a ring spinner. In her spare time, she played baseball with the Warren Silk Hats and the Warren Baseball Club.[6] By age 15, she was playing on the local men's business amateur league teams, such as the Warren Shoe Company.[7]
Career
By the age of 17, Murphy was playing professionally and demanding to be paid when she played. She first signed with the Providence Independents and then
Queen of Baseball
Murphy was keen on self-promotion, selling photographs of herself between innings. She billed herself as the "Queen of Baseball" but was known as Spike Murphy.[6] Newspapers recognized her skill and rather than bill her as a woman player on the team, she was called by name, as a publicity draw in headlines like, "Lizzie Murphy in Game",[5] "Tyler Will Hurl Against Lizzie Murphys Tomorrow",[10] and "'Spike' Murphy, Woman Baseball Wizard, Learned Game Throwing Stones---'Ty' and 'Babe' Better Beware if "Liz" Breaks Into Game".[9]
Murphy usually played
Death
Murphy retired in 1935, went back home to Warren, and then married[3] Walter Larivee in 1937.[5] When her husband died a few years later, Murphy went back to work in the woolen mills and worked on oyster boats. She died on July 27, 1964.[3] Murphy was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 1994.[7]
See also
References
- ^ www.todayifoundout.com The first person to play for both baseball's National League and American League All-Star teams was a woman: Lizzie "Queen of baseball" Murphy
- ^ "Murphy, Lizzie (1894–1964)". Encyclopedia. Cengage Learning. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
- ^ ISBN 0-8032-6665-0.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4766-6594-8.
- ^ a b c d e "Rhode Island's Lizzie Murphy: First Woman to Play Major League Baseball". Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historical Society. August 4, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Elizabeth " Lizzie" Murphy". Riverside, Rhode Island: Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. 1994. Archived from the original on December 28, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8093-2627-3.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4908-5297-3.
