Mary Elizabeth Murphy (April 13, 1894 – July 27, 1964), known as "The Queen of Baseball", was the first woman to play baseball against major league players, 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 All-Star teams.[1]
| 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 baseball against major league players; first person to play for both baseball's National League and American League All-Star teams |
Early life
editMurphy 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
editBy 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 [7] in 1918 she signed with Ed Carr's Traveling All-Stars, a semi-professional team out of Boston.[8] Carr's was a barnstorming team which traveled throughout Canada and New England playing up to 100 games a year.[6] She also played in the women's leagues, playing for the Bloomer Girls for 30 years.[8] When she began her professional career, she was a pitcher,[9] but she was also known as a hitter. Her career average upon retirement was .300.[6]
Queen of Baseball
editMurphy 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 first base and made history in 1922 as the first female player to play against major league players. The game was a charity exhibition pitting all-star players from the New England and American Leagues against the Boston Red Sox.[5][11] It was organized at Fenway Park to raise money for the family of Tommy McCarthy, who had recently died. McCarthy would later be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.[6] She came into the game in the fourth inning and scored an out at first base from a throw by third baseman Harvey McClellan.[5] Six years later, Murphy played in a National League All-Star game against the Boston Braves and she played in a Negro league game against one of the greatest pitchers in the Negro leagues, Satchel Paige. During the game, Murphy was able to get a base hit and after the game, Satchel was asked if he had pitched more gently because she was a lady. Josh Gibson the (catcher) refuted the claim, stating Page had treated her the same as any other player.[11] In addition to playing against the Negro league, Murphy played for them. When the Cleveland Giants toured in Rhode Island, she played first base for them.[7]
Death
editMurphy 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
editReferences
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c Dreifort, John E. (January 2001). Baseball History from Outside the Lines: A Reader. Lincoln Nebraska: U of Nebraska Press. p. 28. ISBN 0-8032-6665-0.
- ^ "Corn Cobs Play Fast Road Team". North Adams, Massachusetts: North Adams Transcript. June 26, 1926. p. 11. Retrieved May 12, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e Mills, Dorthy Jane (2016). "Murphy, Elizabeth "Lizzie"". In Heaphy, Leslie A.; May, Mel Anthony (eds.). Encyclopedia of Women and Baseball. Jefferrson, North Carolina: McFarland. pp. 201–203. 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.
- ^ a b Ardell, Jean Hastings (2005). Breaking Into Baseball: Women and the National Pastime. Carbondale, Illinois: SIU Press. pp. 106, 232. ISBN 978-0-8093-2627-3.
- ^ a b ""Spike" Murphy, Woman Baseball Wizard, Learned Game Throwing Stones---"Ty" and "Babe" Better Beware if "Liz" Breaks Into Game". Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Post. August 1, 1920. p. 36. Retrieved May 12, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Tyler Will Hurl Against Lizzie Murphys Tomorrow". Fitchburg, Massachusetts: Fitchburg Sentinel. August 12, 1922. p. 8. Retrieved May 12, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Steverson, Bryan (2014). Baseball: A Special Gift from God. Bloomington, Indiana: WestBow Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-1-4908-5297-3.
