Ethel Phoebe Boyce (June 27, 1917 – August 24, 1996) was a Canadian ballplayer who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 8", 130 lb., she batted and threw right handed.[1][2]

Ethel Boyce
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
Catcher / First base / Outfield
Born: (1917-06-27)June 27, 1917
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Died: August 24, 1996(1996-08-24) (aged 79)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Teams
Career highlights and awards
  • Women in Baseball – AAGPBL Permanent Display at Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (since 1988)
  • Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Honorary Induction (1988)

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Boyce was one of the 68 Canadians to join the AAGPBL in its twelve-year history. She appeared in five games for the Kenosha Comets in its 1946 season, and went hitless in three at-bats.[2] An avid professional softball player in her country, Boyce was recognized for her interest in people, being particularly interested in young people and helping them to succeed in life.[3]

The AAGPBL folded in 1954, but there is a permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, New York since November 5, 1988, that honors the entire league rather than any individual figure.[4]

Ethel Phoebe Boyce died in 1996, aged 79. In 1998, Boyce and all Canadian AAGPBL players gained honorary induction into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.[5]

That same year, Boyce's sister, Mrs. Ruth A. Laing, created the Ethel Boyce Achievement Award through a donation in the memory of her sister. The award is administered by Softball Canada and is awarded annually, to a female and a male recipient.[3]

Sources

edit
  1. ^ All-American Girls Professional Baseball League – Ethel Boyce; retrieved 2019-03-27.
  2. ^ a b Madden, W. C. (2005) The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: A Biographical Dictionary (2005); ISBN 9780786422630
  3. ^ a b Ethel Boyce Achievement Award, Softball Canada website; retrieved 2019-03-27.
  4. ^ Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Official Website, baseballhall.org; accessed July 3, 2020.
  5. ^ The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Official Website, baseballhalloffame.ca; accessed July 3, 2020.