Take Me Out To The Ball Game

                                                                                                
Do you remember the movie “A League of Their Own” starring Rosie O’Donnell, Madonna and Gena Davis? The movie was based on the true story of an American women’s professional ball league organized because major league baseball was postponed during World War II. The league was started by Chicago Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley.  I did not know that one of those players was a young woman from Regina.  Her name was Mary Baker, although she was more widely known as Bonnie Baker.  She was internationally renowned as an outstanding catcher, batter and base runner. She was also known for her beauty, having been a model prior to playing ball, and the media at that time often referred to her as “Pretty Bonnie Baker”.   Being beautiful didn’t stop her from being a great ball player – in 1946 she stole 94 bases and batted .286.  Although all the characters in  “A League of Their Own” were fictional, it is believed that Gena Davis’ character was based on Baker’s life.

Baker played in the league for nine seasons, taking one year off to have her only child. In 1950 she was traded to the Kalamazoo Lassies and became the first-ever player/manager. She was the only player to ever hold that position. After the 1950 season, the league passed a rule outlawing female managers.  In 1954, Baker returned to Regina and led Regina’s softball team to provincial, Western Canadian and World Ladies Softball championships. Baker broke into another male dominated career when she became the first female sports broadcaster in Canada in 1964.

I really didn’t know much about Mary Baker until I accidently came across her name on a web site about Saskatchewan women.  Thankfully someone has decided it is important that we remember Saskatchewan women who were not afraid to live their dreams and who made a difference.   I googled her name and found a clip of Baker’s appearance on the television program “What’s My Line” from the early 1950’s.  It’s an interesting clip in that it is obvious that no one quite knew how to interact with such a successful woman.  The bridge between dependent woman and independent career woman had not yet been crossed by many in the 1950’s. 

Baker did receive a great deal of recognition over the years. She was inducted into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and the American Baseball Hall of Fame.

Mary “Bonnie” Baker died in 2003. At her funeral, her career was celebrated and acknowledged by mourners who sang “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”.   Learning about and celebrating the lives of woman who paved the way for the rest of us . . .  it's a good thing!