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Ursuline College exhibit scores with girls of summer
(by Sali McSherry - August 25, 2010)
Ursuline College exhibit scores with girls of summer
By SALI McSHERRY
Voted out of all-male press boxes in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., New York City and Boston, Doris O'Donnell was one of the few woman sports reporters in the 1950s when she worked at the old Cleveland News.
Along with Mamie "Peanut" Johnson, who was one of three women playing alongside men in the Negro baseball leagues, she will be a guest speaker at a scholarship benefit Sept. 16 for Ursuline College in Pepper Pike.
The gala, to be held at Landerhaven in Mayfield Heights, is being held in conjunction with an exhibit at the college's Wasmer Gallery beginning Sept. 1 through Oct. 20. The exhibit is called, "Line drives and Lipstick: The Untold Story of Women's Baseball." A special screening of the new documentary, "Girls of Summer: the WBL Sparks in Cooperstown, NY" will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Oct. 3.
In contrast to the depiction of women's baseball as a short-lived phenomenon of the 1940s, America's national pastime has included women players from baseball's beginning in the 1860s, according to John Kovach, curator of the exhibit, who will speak about the show Sept. 1.
Although American society in general may have looked at women's involvement in baseball as a curiosity, the exhibit brings to life the images of women who loved the crack of the bat and the thrill of a running one-handed catch with two outs in the ninth, he said.
Exhibit visitors will get to know Jackie Mitchell, who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in an exhibition game in 1931 and Sophie Kurys, of the South Bend Blue Sox, who still holds the record for the most stolen bases in one season in any league -- 201 steals in 203 attempts in 1946.
The Line Drives and Lipstick exhibition features more than 60 items, ranging from picture postcards, game programs, photographs, posters and in-depth articles from magazines such as Colliers, Liberty and the Saturday Evening Post. Additional items will be on loan from the Baseball Heritage Museum of Cleveland, Associated Press photographer Amy Sancetta and the National Museum of Sport.
"The exhibition goes beyond the story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League of the 1940s, tracing women's love of the sport going back to the mid-1800s," Dee Harris, director of visual arts and humanities at Mid-America Arts Alliance, said. "It's much more than a history lesson. It's a message about determination and achievement in which everyone, especially young women, will discover encouragement for their hopes and dreams."
In the documentary to be screened, director Max Tash focuses on the struggle of one women's baseball team in a world where most people think that girls don't belong. Included in the film is Justine Siegal, a longtime women's baseball player and the first female to coach a men's professional team. She will speak about her experiences.
At the scholarship gala, Barbara Gregorich, Cleveland native and best-selling author of books, including, "Women at Play: The Story of Women in Baseball," will serve as moderator for the panel. Ms. O'Donnell, who is 89 years old, traveled with the Cleveland Indians in the spring of 1956, and wrote about organized crime. She wrote a book called "Front Page Girl," published by Kent State University about her 63 years as a newspaper reporter. Ms. Johnson was a pitcher and second baseman for the Indianapolis Clowns from 1953 through 1955.
For more information about the scholarship gala, which includes dinner and an auction, or to register to see the documentary, call Kellie Mayle at (440) 646-8375.
Tickets for the gala benefit are $250 per person or $1,800 for a table of eight. Tickets to the film screening are $10.
Wasmer Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Ursuline College is 2550 Lander Road. The Wasmer Gallery is on the west end of the campus.
The exhibition is organized and toured by Mid-America Arts Alliance through its Exhibits USA national program. Exhibits USA sends more than 20 exhibitions on tour to more than 100 small- and mid-sized communities every year. Mid-America among the oldest nonprofit regional arts organization in the United States.
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