Glenna Sue Kidd (September 2, 1933 – May 4, 2017) was an American
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
Glenna Sue Kidd turned into a superb pitcher after a slow start in her rookie season, being instrumental in the South Bend Blue Sox run to the championship titles in
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
and
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...
. A fine control pitcher, Kidd posted a career 0.96 Strikeout-to-walk ratio (270-to-185) and a 1.46 WHIP in 857 innings, and never had an
ERA
An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth.
Comp ...
above 2.94 during her five years in the league. When not pitching, she was often the best defensive player at first base.
Born in Choctaw, Arkansas, Glenna Sue was one of six children born to William Marvin and Julia ( née Duncan) Kidd, local farmers and merchants. An avid baseball fan, her father managed and played in a semi-professional town team in addition to running a store which contained the local
US Post Office
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...
, which he also operated. The Kidd children took care of chores at home and duties at the store, but mainly the three boys played baseball on their father's team. Glenna Sue, who began playing with a rubber ball as a toddler, showed enough skill to play with her brothers by the time she was a teenager.
While studying at Clinton High School, Kidd pitched so well that she was allowed to play on the boys' baseball team in 1949 at the age of fifteen. She also excelled in
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
and
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...
, and was voted Outstanding Female Athlete all four years of high school.
Kidd gained notoriety while playing on and against all-male baseball teams in Van Buren County and surrounding areas, being backed up by a pick-up team of male amateur baseball players from Choctaw, Bee Branch and Morganton, which had been put together by her father. She had a hard
fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...
and an assortment of breaking balls, including a deceptive curveball, which used to defeat the all-male Heber Springs' All-Stars in a nine-inning complete game, a feat that became part of local legend.
In 1949, when the
Chicago Colleens
The Chicago Colleens were a women's professional baseball team who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1948 to 1951, evolving into a development team. The team was based Chicago, Illinois and played their home gam ...
and
Springfield Sallies
The Springfield Sallies were a women's professional baseball team who were members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1948 season and became a development team. The Sallies were based in Springfield, Illinois and played ...
AAGPBL travelling teams stopped in Arkansas, Kidd attended a tryout and was taken. She hurled a no-hitter for the Sallies during the exhibition tour, and joined the league as soon as graduated in 1950.The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
As a 16-year-old, Kidd opened 1950 with the
Muskegon Lassies
The Muskegon Lassies were one of the expansion teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1946 season, representing Muskegon, Michigan. The team played their home games at Marsh Field.
History
The 1946 Muskegon Lassies ...
. She was traded to the
Peoria Redwings
The Peoria Redwings was a women's professional baseball team who joined the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1946 season and remained in the league through 1951. The team represented Peoria, Illinois, playing home games a ...
in the midseason and ended the year with South Bend, but not with much success, as her record was 1–10 despite a 2.94 ERA in 141 innings. In 1951, the Blue Sox hired a new manager,
Karl Winsch
Karl Edgar Winsch (February 10, 1915 – December 21, 2001) was a pitcher and manager in Minor League Baseball. Listed at , 180 lb., Winsch batted and threw right-handed.
A native of Allentown, Pennsylvania, Karl Winsch spent two decades i ...
Jean Faut
Jean Anna Faut ''Winsch/Eastman(born November 17, 1925) is an American retired starting pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 137 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.
Jean F ...
, the team's ace pitcher. South Bend also had a surplus of pitching talent, which included Dorothy Mueller,
Lillian Faralla
Lillian "Lil" Faralla (July 29, 1924 – July 26, 2019) was a female pitcher and utility who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She batted and threw right-handed.Janet Rumsey, so Kidd was loaned briefly to the Battle Creek Belles. Still, she earned respect in its own right, helping South Bend win the regular season title and the championship. She went 11–7 with a 2.51 ERA in 19 games, and eventually was credited with a loss in the postseason.All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book
Her most productive season came in 1952, when she received more
run support
Run support is a baseball statistic
Baseball statistics play an important role in evaluating the progress of a player or team.
Since the flow of a baseball game has natural breaks to it, and normally players act individually rather than performi ...
. Kidd collected a 13–7 record and a 2.00 ERA in 29 pitching appearances, ending seventh in the league for the best ERA, eight in wins and
winning percentage
In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...
(.650), ninth in innings pitched (189), and tenth in strikeouts (64). She was almost untouchable during the postseason, going 1–0 in two games, while allowing only two earned runs in 17 innings of work. South Bend, which went into the playoffs with only 11 players on the roster due to a late-season walkout, claimed the championship for the second year in a row. On strong pitching by Faut and Kidd, the Blue Sox defeated the
Fort Wayne Daisies
The Fort Wayne Daisies were a women's professional baseball team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana that played from through as members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
History
The Daisies represented Fort Wayne, Indiana, and ...
in the first round, 2-to-1 games, and finished off the
Rockford Peaches
The Rockford Peaches were a women's professional baseball team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A founding member, the team represented Rockford, Illinois.
The Peaches were one of two teams to pla ...
, 3-to-2 games, to complete the feat.
In 1953, Kidd pitched both games of a doubleheader and won both, yet she ended the season with a losing record of 13–15. Nevertheless, she led all pitchers in innings pitched (25) and tied for the most games started (29), while ending second in complete games (25).
Kidd went 9–6 with a 2.91 ERA in 1954, during what turned out to be the last season in league history. She also posted the fourth best ERA, and finished fourth in winning percentage (.600) and tenth in strikeouts (50).
After the league folded, Kidd played from 1953 to 1960 for the South Bend Rockettes, a women's basketball team, winning with them three national championships. She then went to school as a promise to her father and attended Arkansas State Teachers College in Conway, now the
University of Central Arkansas
The University of Central Arkansas (Central Arkansas or UCA) is a public university in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1907 as the Arkansas State Normal School, the university is one of the oldest in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As the state's only ...
, from which she received a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
degree in
physical education
Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...
Master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
in physical education in 1966.
Kidd began her coaching career and taught physical education for twenty-five years in Onward and Logansport in
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, twelve years of which were spent coaching
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
,
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...
, and
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...
. She continued playing
softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
until 1975. After retiring, she was involved in
dog grooming
Dog grooming refers to both the hygienic care and cleaning of a dog, as well as a process by which a dog's physical appearance is enhanced for showing or other types of competition. A dog groomer (or simply "groomer") is a person who earns t ...
business in Arkansas and Indiana.
In 1988, Kidd was present during the opening ceremony of Women in Baseball, a permanent display based at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, which was unveiled to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She also had a bit part in the
1992 film
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...
''
A League of Their Own
''A League of Their Own'' is a 1992 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Penny Marshall that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). The film stars Tom Hanks, Geena ...
'', directed by
Penny Marshall
Carole Penny MarshallBorn Carole Penny Marshall in 1943, as per ''My Mother Was Nuts, a Memoir'', p. 10; . Copyright 2012 (October 15, 1943 – December 17, 2018) was an American actress, director and producer. She is known for her role as ...
, which was a fictionalized account of activities in the AAGPBL. Starring
Geena Davis
Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis (born January 21, 1956) is an American actor
,
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
Lori Petty
Lori Petty (born October 14, 1963) is an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She is noted for her roles in the films ''Point Break'' (1991), ''A League of Their Own'' (1992), '' Free Willy '' (1993), and the title role in '' Tank Girl' ...
and
Rosie O'Donnell
Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series '' Star Search'' ...