Mary Butcher ''Marsh(October 12, 1927 – October 2018) was an American baseball player who was a

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 ...

in the

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...

. Listed at 5' 7", 170 lb., Butch batted and threw right handed. She was nicknamed ''Butch''.All-American Girls Professional Baseball League – Mary Marsh
Retrieved 2019-03-27. Madden, W. C. (2005) ''The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: A Biographical Dictionary'' (2005). Born in

Berne, Indiana Berne (English: ɜːn is a city within Monroe and Wabash townships, Adams County, Indiana, United States, located south of Fort Wayne. The population was 4,173 at the 2020 Census. Berne is widely known for its Swiss heritage, architectur ...

, Butcher began pitching softball at age 13. Following her graduation from Jefferson High School, she acquired a bit of experience while playing for the General Electric team in

Decatur, Indiana Decatur is a city in Root Township, Adams County, Indiana, Root and Washington Township, Adams County, Indiana, Washington townships, Adams County, Indiana, Adams County, Indiana, United States. It is the county seat (and the largest community ...

.Heaphy, Leslie A.; May, Mel Anthony 2006). McFarland & Company. After a game, Butcher was approached by a AAGPBL scout and later had a tryout in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in front of league president

Max Carey Maximillian George Carnarius (January 11, 1890 – May 30, 1976), known as Max George Carey, was an American professional baseball center fielder and manager. Carey played in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1910 through 1 ...

. As a result, she signed a contract and was assigned to the

Kenosha Comets Based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Kenosha Comets were a women's professional baseball team that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team played their home games at List of defunct amusement parks#Wisc ...

in 1945. Nevertheless, most of her time spent in the league involved her pitching

batting practice B backdoor breaking ball :A breaking pitch, usually a slider, curveball, or cut fastball that, due to its lateral motion, passes through a small part of the strike zone on the outside edge of the plate after seeming as if it would miss the pla ...

. In 1946 Butcher joined the

Grand Rapids Chicks The Grand Rapids Chicks were a women's professional baseball team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1945 to 1954, winning championships in 1947 and 1953. History The franchise ...

, but she continued pitching batting practice and played only one game. Then she decided to quit the league. In a two-season career, Butcher appeared in four games and posted a 0–2 record with a 3.19

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 ...

in 17

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. After baseball, Butcher married Bill Marsh in 1955, and they raised three children. She ended playing softball in

Geneva, Indiana Geneva is a town in Wabash Township, Adams County, Indiana. The population was 1,293 at the time of the 2010 census. Geneva is the location of the Limberlost Cabin, the home of writer and naturalist Gene Stratton-Porter from 1895-1913. Histor ...

later. Then they moved to

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

in the 1960s, where she worked for a time as a medical records clerk in Carson Tahoe Hospital. At age 40, Butcher continued playing softball for the Sprout Ritz in Carson City. She retired from Carson Tahoe Hospital in 1994, after three decades of service. After retiring, she spent time with her three grandchildren and went

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

. In 1988, Butcher 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 Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...

, which was unveiled to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Mary died in October 2018.StarTiger: Mary Butcher Marsh profile
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butcher, Mary 1927 births 2018 deaths All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Baseball players from Indiana People from Berne, Indiana Baseball pitchers Kenosha Comets players Grand Rapids Chicks players People from Carson City, Nevada Softball players from Indiana 21st-century American women