Bethany Joan "Beth" Goldsmith (October 6, 1927 – October 24, 2004) was a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who played from 1948 through 1950 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 , 160 lb, she batted and threw right-handed.Bethany Goldsmith – Profile / Obituary
''

''. Retrieved 2019-04-10. Born in

Elgin, Illinois Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Cook and Kane County, Illinois, Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located northwest of Chicago along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River. As of the 2020 United Stat ...

, Goldsmith started playing

sandlot ball Sandlot ball or sandlot baseball is a competitive and athletic sports game that follows the basic rules and procedures of baseball. It is less organized and structured, as the name alludes to a makeshift field or an empty lot. In the 20th centu ...

with the boys of her neighborhood at age 12 and organized softball for the McGraw Electric team when she was a teenager. Charlene Barnett, a former teammate on the McGraw team who had joined the AAGPBL the previous year, advised Goldsmith to attend the next

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

of the league in

Opa-locka, Florida Opa-locka () is a Municipality, city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. Spanning roughly , it is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population was 16,463, up fro ...

. Primarily 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 catch ...

, she attended the tryout and was converted into a pitcher on the strength of her arm and her quick overhand delivery. She then was assigned to the

Kenosha Comets The Kenosha Comets were a women's professional baseball team based in Kenosha, Wisconsin that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team played their home games at Kenosha's Lake Front Stadium, but l ...

to start the 1948 season. In her rookie year Goldsmith posted a 14–14 record and a 1.68

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in 31 pitching appearances,

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117 batters in 245 innings of work. During the season, she hurled both games of a doubleheader against 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 ...

. She limited them to one hit in the opener but lost the game. Then she had better luck in the second game and was credited with the victory.The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League In addition, she finished 11th in innings pitched and tied for 10th for the most strikeouts with Muskegon Lassies' Doris Sams.''All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book'' Before the 1949 season, Goldsmith enjoyed a memorable experience during an AAGPBL tour of Central America, as the teams were feted by both government officials and the common people. In

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

, she visited the presidential palace and was greeted by the then President Anastasio Somoza. That year, she went 8–11 with a 3.09 ERA in 29 games. Fourth place Kenosha advanced to the postseason, but lost to Muskegon in the best-of-three first round. In her only career playoff game, Goldsmith pitched two perfect innings of

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while striking out three. Goldsmith improved to 12–9 with a .368 ERA in 1950, her last season in the league.1950 Kenosha Comets
Retrieved 2019-04-10. In all, she finished with 34–34 record and a 2.72 ERA in 87 games. Following her baseball career, she worked for

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

company for 30 years. After retiring in 1984, she attended AAGPBL Players Association reunions and enjoyed playing golf in her home of

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

. Goldsmith forms part of ''Women in Baseball'', a permanent display based 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 a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and the 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 ...

, which was unveiled in 1988 to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

Career statistics

Pitching Batting Fielding

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldsmith, Bethany All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Kenosha Comets players Baseball players from Elgin, Illinois Baseball players from Orlando, Florida 1927 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American sportswomen 21st-century American women