Dorothy Kamenshek

Dorothy Kamenshek
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
First base
Born:(1925-12-21)December 21, 1925 Norwood, Ohio,US
Died:May 17, 2010(2010-05-17)(aged 84) Palm Desert, California,US
Batted:Left Threw:Left
Teams
Rockford Peaches(1943–1951,1953)
Career highlights and awards
Seven-timeAll-Star Team(1943, 1946–1951) Two-time batting champion (1946–1947) All-time leaderin hits and total bases Women in Baseball – AAGPBL Permanent Display at Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (1988) National Women's Baseball Hall of FameInduction (2010)

Dorothy"Kammie"Kamenshek(December 21, 1925 – May 17, 2010) was an AmericanAll-American Girls Professional Baseball Leagueplayer.She batted and threw left-handed.

Early life

A native ofCincinnati, Ohio,Kamenshek played outfield for a localsoftballleague, and at the age of 17 she was spotted by a scout from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. After tryouts atWrigley FieldinChicago,she joined theRockford Peachesas anoutfielderwhen the league began in 1943, but was soon playingfirst base.She and short stopSnooky Harrellformed the league's best double-play combination.

Kamenshek played in the AAGPBL for 10 seasons, and was selected as anAll-Starall seven times the league established such a team. In 1946 she was the league's top batter with anaverageof.316 (a single point ahead ofAudrey Wagner), and won the distinction again in 1947 with an average of.306. Shestruck outonly 81 times in 3,736at-batappearances.

Considered one of the bestathletesof her time,southpawKamenshek was recruited by a men's team fromFort Lauderdale, Florida.She believed the team only wanted her forpublicityand turned down the offer. FormerNew York YankeeWally Pippsaid she was the most accomplished player he had ever seen among men or women.

In the off‑seasons, Kamenshek studiedphysical educationandhealth educationat theUniversity of Cincinnati.In 1951, back injuries reduced her playing time, and after the 1952 season she retired from the game with a career average of.292.

Education

In 1958, Kamenshek received adegreeinphysical therapyfromMarquette UniversityinMilwaukee.She returned to Ohio to serve as a physical therapist inHamilton Countyand later moved to Los Angeles to perform the same work at the Los Angeles Crippled Children's Services Department. In 1964, she was promoted to supervisor of physical andoccupational therapyfor Los Angeles County Children's Services, and later to chief of therapy services, the position she held when she retired in 1980.

Legacy

After her retirement, Kamenshek was honored byLos Angeles Countywith the Outstanding Management Award (1980). She is part of the AAGPBL permanent display, opened in 1988 at theBaseball Hall of Fame and MuseumatCooperstown, New York.

The 1992 filmA League of Their Ownintroduced a new generation to the history of women's baseball.Geena Davisplayed Dottie Hinson, the best ballplayer in the league, a character loosely based on Kamenshek.

In 1999,Sports Illustrated for Womenselected Kamenshek as the 100th-greatest female athlete of the 20th century.

She was inducted into the National Women's Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013.

Death

Kamenshek died on May 17, 2010, at the age of 84. She was buried atForest Lawn CemeteryinCathedral City, California.Her spouse and fellow Hall of Fame member,Margaret Wenzell,was buried next to her in 2014.

Biographies

• Kammie on First(2014, Ohio University Press), a biography for middle-school children byMichelle Houts.

Sources

• Gregorich, Barbara (1993).Women at Play: The Story of Women in Baseball.Harcourt Brace and Company. pp.90–95.ISBN9780156982979.
• A Whole New Ball Game: The Story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, by Sue Macy

See also

• Dorothy Ferguson

External links

• "Dorothy Kamenshek – Biography / Obituary".All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.Retrieved2019-05-29.
• Henry, Derrick (2010-05-21)."Dorothy Kamenshek, 'League of Their Own' Figure, Dies at 84".The New York Times.Retrieved2019-05-29.
• McLellan, Dennis (2010-05-22)."Dorothy Kamenshek dies at 84; women's baseball league star".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved2019-05-29.
• Wood, Robert (2008)."Sports Illustrated Top 100 Female athletes".Topend Sports Website.Retrieved2019-05-29.
• "Dorothy Kamenshek"Encyclopædia Britannica
• "Betty Whiting and Dorothy Kamenshek Action photograph, between 1945 and 1952".National Baseball Hall of Fame.Retrieved2019-05-29.
• "Dorothy Kamenshek Action photograph, between 1943 and 1953".National Baseball Hall of Fame.Retrieved2019-05-29.
• "Tops in Girls Sports, All-American Girls Baseball League brochure, 1948".National Baseball Hall of Fame.Retrieved2019-05-29.
• "Rockford Peaches program, 1951".National Baseball Hall of Fame.Retrieved2019-05-29.