Shirley Burkovich (February 4, 1933 – March 31, 2022) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

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 cat ...

and

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 ...

who played from 1949 through 1951 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 and , she batted and threw right-handed. Burkovich was one of forty players from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

who played on the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League clubs. She was nicknamed "Hustle" for her boundless intensity on the field, and filled in at every position except

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

during her three seasons in the league.

Career

Burkovich was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Pennsylvania, and raised in Swissvale. Burkovich started playing

sandlot baseball Sandlot ball or sandlot baseball is a competitive and athletic sports game that follows the basic rules and procedures of baseball. It is often less organized and structured, as the name alludes to a makeshift field or an empty lot. History and ...

with the boys of her neighborhood when she was a little girl, but never played organized

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 ...

. Though she attended three different high schools, Burkovich played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

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 ci ...

in all of them, and also played in the Westinghouse Girls Basketball League. At age 16, she was signed to a contract by the

(AAGPBL) after attending a tryout in Pittsburgh. Because she was still in high school, she needed permission from her parents and the school district to leave school in March for

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. Burkovich played for 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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

from 1949 to 1951, collecting a .229

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and a .325

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

in 37 games. She also made three

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

appearances and did not have a decision.The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Some greats of women's professional baseball of that era include

Jaynne Bittner Jaynne Berrier Bittner B(March 17, 1926 – April 23, 2017) was a starting pitcher who played from through for four teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 140 lb, she batted and threw right-handed. B ...

Ann Cindric Ann Cindrić sindrich(September 5, 1922 – December 18, 2010) was a pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 6", 135 lb., Cindrić batted and threw right-handed. She was nicknamed ...

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 ...

Jean Geissinger Jean Louise Geissinger (later Harding; June 25, 1934 – June 8, 2014) was an infielder and outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League with the Fort Wayne Daisies (1951-1952 'start'' 1953–1 ...

Jean Marlowe Jean Marlowe ��Mal″ or ″Jeanie″(December 28, 1929 – April 16, 2007) was a pitcher and utility who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League between the and seasons. Listed a , 135 lb., she batted and threw right-ha ...

, Marguerite Pearson,

Ruth Richard Ruth Richard '' ichie' (September 20, 1928 – May 6, 2018) was an American baseball player who played as a catcher from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 4", 134 lb., she batted left-handed and t ...

, Sarah Jane Sands, Fern Shollenberger and Jane Stoll, among others. After baseball, Burkovich went to work for Pacific Bell Telephone for 30 years and retired in 1983. She also was an active collaborator in different projects of the AAGPBL Players Association since its founding in 1982. The association helped bring the league's stories to the public eye and was largely responsible for the opening of ''Women in Baseball'', a permanent display at the

Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-re ...

, which was unveiled in 1988 to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League rather than any individual personality. Burkovich made her film acting debut playing the role of older Alice "Skeeter" Gaspers in the 1992 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 Dav ...

'', which was a

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

alized account of activities in the AAGPBL. This film, 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 ...

, brought a returned celebrity to many of the former AAGPBL players.

Personal life

After baseball Burkovich lived in

Cathedral City, California Cathedral City, colloquially known as "Cat City", is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. Situated between Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, the city has the second larg ...

, where she worked as a member of the AAGPBL Players Association Board of Directors. She died at her home in

Rancho Mirage, California Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal (part-time) population can exceed 20,000. Incorporated in 1973 and located ...

, on March 31, 2022, at the age of 89. She is interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cathedral City.

Batting statistics

Note: Statistics were incomplete for the touring teams in 1949 and 1950.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burkovich, Shirley 1933 births 2022 deaths All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Chicago Colleens players Springfield Sallies players Rockford Peaches players Baseball_players_from_Pittsburgh People from Pittsburgh People from Swissvale, Pennsylvania Baseball players from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania People from Rancho Mirage, California 20th-century American sportswomen