Betty "Moe" Trezza (August 4, 1925 – January 16, 2007) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player. An

infield Infield is a sports term whose definition depends on the sport in whose context it is used. Baseball In baseball, the baseball field, diamond, as well as the area immediately beyond it, has both grass and dirt, in contrast to the more distant, ...

and

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In bat and ball games ...

utility In economics, utility is a measure of a certain person's satisfaction from a certain state of the world. Over time, the term has been used with at least two meanings. * In a normative context, utility refers to a goal or objective that we wish ...

, she played from through for four different teams of 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 ...

. Trezza was one of 25 players who made the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League clubs hailed from New York City and State, including Muriel Bevis,

Gloria Cordes Gloria Cordes Elliott (September 21, 1931 – March 13, 2018) was an American starting pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 8", 138 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. Ov ...

Mildred Deegan Mildred Eleanor Deegan (December 11, 1919 – July 21, 2002) was an American pitcher, outfielder and second basewoman who played ten seasons in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, from to . Background Deegan was one of 25 playe ...

, Nancy Mudge and Margaret Wigiser. Born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

parents, she was a versatile defensive player with a light bat, being able to play all positions except

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, ...

and

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

. She entered the league in 1944 with the expansion

Minneapolis Millerettes The Minneapolis Millerettes were an expansion All-American Girls Professional Baseball League team that played for one season in 1944 based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Millerettes played home games at Nicollet Park, home of the men's minor lea ...

, playing for them one year before joining 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 ...

(1945),

South Bend Blue Sox The South Bend Blue Sox was a women's professional baseball team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A founding member, the team represented South Bend, Indiana, and played their home games at Bendix F ...

(1946) and

Racine Belles The Racine Belles were one of the original teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing from through out of Racine, Wisconsin. The Belles won the league's first championship. The team played its home games at Horlick F ...

(1946–50). Her most productive season came in the 1946 Series for Racine, when she hit a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

to drove in

Sophie Kurys Sophie Kurys (May 14, 1925 – February 17, 2013) was a former second basewoman who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , , Kurys batted and threw right-handed. Career A native of Flint, Michig ...

with the winning run to give the Belles their second Championship Title. Through the eyes of a fictional young girl, the children's book ''Dirt on Their Skirts'' tells the experiences of watching the 1946 championship game of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League as it goes into extra innings. Following her baseball career, Trezza worked as a supervisor for data entry at Pfizer, Inc. she was one of the female baseball players popularized 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). It stars Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Ma ...

''. Trezza, who never married, died of a heart attack in her native

, aged 81.

References

Sources

*''Dirt on Their Skirts: The Story of the Young Women who Won the World Championship'' – Doreen Rappaport, Lyndall Callan, E. B. Lewis. Publisher: Penguin Group, 2000. Format: Hardcover, 32pp. Language: English. *''Superwomen: 100 Women-100 Sports'' – Jodi Buren, Donna A. Lopiano, Billie Jean King. Publisher: Bulfinch Press, 2004. Format: Paperback, 192pp. Language: English. *''The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: A Biographical Dictionary'' - W. C. Madden. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2005. Format: Paperback, 295pp. Language: English.

External links

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League entryAn Anthropological Inquiry: Betty "Moe" Trezza
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trezza, Betty All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players American people of Italian descent Baseball players from Brooklyn 1925 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American sportswomen 21st-century American women