Gloria McCloskey ''Rogers(born May 20, 1935) is a former All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player. She batted and threw right handed.Profile
''All-American Girls Professional Baseball League website Madden, W. C. (2000) ''All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book''. McFarland & Company. Born in

Edina, Missouri Edina is a city in Knox County, Missouri, United States, between the North and South Forks of the South Fabius River. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,012. It is the county seat of Knox County. Geography Edina is located in central ...

, Gloria McCloskey joined the All American League in its 1953 season. She was assigned as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

for 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 ...

club but did not have much of a chance to play during the season. Afterwards, Gloria moved to Columbia, Missouri and enrolled at Christian College, known now as Columbia College. While at college, she participated in

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

and

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

as well as in the

synchronised swimming Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming) or artistic swimming is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by FINA (the ''Fédératio ...

squad and the equestrianism program. As a result, in 1955 she was voted Christian College's Athletic Queen. At that time the college did not have a softball team. Therefore, she played for the Goetz Country Club, a

fastpitch softball Fastpitch softball, also known as fastpitch or fastball, is a form of softball played by both women and men. While the teams are most often segregated by sex, coed fast-pitch leagues also exist. Fast pitch is considered the most competitive for ...

team based in

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includ ...

, that won the national championship in that year. Following her college graduation, she attended

Northeast Missouri State University Truman State University (TSU or Truman) is a public university in Kirksville, Missouri Kirksville is the county seat and most populous city in Adair County, Missouri. Located in Benton Township, Adair County, Missouri, Benton Township, its ...

and earned a 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 ...

and theatrology. She then taught physical education and coached

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

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 ...

across Missouri. By this time Gloria married Kelly Rogers, a school district superintendent in

Macon, Missouri Macon is a city in and the county seat of Macon County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,457 at the 2020 census. History Macon was platted in 1856. Like the county, Macon was named for Nathaniel Macon. A post office called Macon Cit ...

. They had two children, a girl, Tracy, and a son, Trent. In her spare time, Gloria volunteered her assistance with the Macon High School softball team for several years. She also worked as the physical education teacher at Salisbury High School in Salisbury, Missouri, where her husband was Superintendent of Schools in the 1980s before their retirement. Gloria McCloskey Rogers received further recognition when she became part of ''Women in Baseball'', a permanent display based at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York which was unveiled in 1988 to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.Before A League of Their Own
''National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum'' After

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 ...

premiered her film ''

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 ...

'' in 1992, Gloria often spoke to school classes about her experience in the All American League.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCloskey, Gloria 1935 births Living people All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Columbia College (Missouri) alumni Baseball players from Missouri People from Edina, Missouri Sportspeople from Missouri Truman State University alumni People from Columbia, Missouri People from Macon, Missouri 21st-century American women