Mary Froning (later O'Meara; August 26, 1934 – November 2, 2014) was 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 ...
who played from through 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 , 118 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.
[Mary O'Meara – Biography / Obituary]
''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 ...
''. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
A strong-armed outfielder and speedy base runner, Mary Froning played on two championship teams during the last four years of that league.
Early life
Froning was born in
Minster, Ohio
Minster is a village in Auglaize and Shelby counties, in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 3,046 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Wapakoneta, Ohio Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is adjacent to the village of New Breme ...
, a tiny village located 54 miles (87 km) from
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...
. At age 16, she enjoyed the life outdoors swimming, riding her bike, and eventually playing a Sunday softball game for a
Catholic Youth Organization
Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) is an international Catholic youth movement founded by Bishop Bernard Sheil in Chicago in 1930. It became a major factor in the development of race relations in the US Catholic Church following World War II.
...
team, where she played at
shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...
. An AAGPBL talent
scout
Scout may refer to:
Youth movement
*Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement
** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom
** Scouts BSA, sect ...
spotted Froning when she was playing an afternoon softball game. He saw that she had speed and a strong throwing arm and invited her to a tryout. Her parents took her to her first tryout, in
South Bend, Indiana
South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...
, because of her age. There were over 100 girls trying out for five roster spots in the local team, and Froning got one of them. A short time later, she received a contract offer from the
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 ...
. The offer was $50 a month and expenses. ''My dad and I looked at it''," she explained in an interview, ''and saw that it was for baseball, not softball''. She joined the team and her parents arranged for a room for her in a private home in South Bend. It was 1951, and the young girl was on her way to what she later called ''the most enjoyable four years of my life''.
AAGPBL career
In 1951, the Blue Sox hired a new manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
, Karl Winsch
Karl Edgar Winsch (February 10, 1915 – December 21, 2001) was a pitcher and manager in Minor League Baseball. Listed at , 180 lb., Winsch batted and threw right-handed.
A native of Allentown, Pennsylvania, Karl Winsch spent two decades in ...
, a former pitching prospect of the Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
and husband of Jean Faut
Jean Anna Faut ''Winsch/Eastman(January 17, 1925 – February 28, 2023) was an American starting pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 137 lb., she batted and threw right-hande ...
, the team's ace pitcher. South Bend also had a surplus of talent, so Froning did not see much action and was loaned briefly to the Battle Creek Belles.[The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League]
In 1952 Froning finally had a chance to play regularly after six players left the team in a dispute with Winsch. Just before the regular season ended, he suspended the flashy Charlene Pryer for not going in to pinch-run quickly when asked, which created an uproar after the game. That night at the team's hotel, several Blue Sox veterans talked the situation over. As a result, Barbara Hoffman
Barbara Hoffman (born January 18, 1931) is a former infielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 6" .68 m/small>, 133 lb. 0 k/small>, she batted and threw right-handed.
Born in Belle ...
, Elizabeth Mahon, Jane Stoll and Shirley Stovroff, among others, quit the team in support of Pryer. Then, Froning was one of only 11 players who helped South Bend clinch their second consecutive championship title.
The Blue Sox broke up in 1953. ''They traded a bunch of players'', Froning recalled. She became an everyday outfielder during the last two seasons before the league folded in 1954, splitting duties at center field and right field
A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...
. Eventually, she was used as an emergency 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, ...
.
Froning appeared in a career-high 108 games in 1953, collecting a .108 average
In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
and a .295 on-base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...
. She also posted career numbers in runs scored
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted bal ...
(50) and RBI (26), while her 32 stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...
s ranked for the tenth best in the league.
In 1954 Froning hit .234 with three home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...
s and 44 RBI, tying for fifth in stolen bases (26), while managing to place second for the most outfield assists (20), being surpassed only by Kalamazoo Lassies
The Kalamazoo Lassies were a team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team represented Kalamazoo, Michigan. Home games were initially played at Lindstrom Field, but later games were played at the ...
' Jenny Romatowski (24).[All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book]
Bill Allington All-Stars
Once the league disbanded in 1954, Mary Froning was one of the players selected by former 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 ...
manager Bill Allington
William Baird Allington (October 26, 1903 – August 17, 1966) was an American minor league baseball player and manager. Listed at 5' 9" and 160 pounds, Allington batted and threw right-handed. He was born in St. Clair County, Michigan. ...
to play in the national touring team known as the All-Americans. The Allington All-Stars played 100 games between 1954 and 1958, each booked in a different town, against male teams, while traveling over 10,000 miles in the manager's station wagon
A station wagon (American English, US, also wagon) or estate car (British English, UK, also estate) is an automotive Car body style, body-style variant of a Sedan (automobile), sedan with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo ...
and a Ford Country Sedan
The Ford Country Sedan is a full-size station wagon that was built by Ford in the United States from 1952 until 1974. It was part of the U.S. Ford full-size car line available in each year.Odin, L.C. ''A concise guide to the Ford and Mercury full ...
. Besides Froning, the All-Americans included Joan Berger
Joan Berger ''Knebl(October 9, 1933 – September 11, 2021) was a infielder and outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 132 lb, she batted and threw right-handed. She was born ...
, 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 ...
, Jeanie Descombes
Jeneane Descombes Lesko (born March 28, 1935) is a former pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 135 lb., she batted and threw left-handed. She played under the name of Jeanie (or ...
, Gertrude Dunn, Betty Foss, Jean Geissinger, Katie Horstman, Maxine Kline, Dolores Lee, Magdalen Redman
Magdalen "Mamie" Redman (July 2, 1930 – August 22, 2020) was a catcher and utility infielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 150 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.
Early ...
, Ruth Richard, Jean Smith, Dorothy Schroeder, Dolly Vanderlip and Joanne Weaver, among others.[''Women in Baseball: The Forgotten History'' – Gai Ingham Berlage, Charley Gerard. Publisher: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1994. Format: Hardcover, 224pp. Language: English. ]
Life after baseball
In 1956, Froning became a stewardess for American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...
along with her twin sister, Martha, until she married Tom O'Meara in 1958 and moved to Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
. They raised four children, Kathy, Susan, John and Patricia, and had six grand children, all boys.
She is 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 ...
in 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.
Besides this, in 2003 she was invited to throw the ceremonial first pitch
The ceremonial first pitch is a longstanding ritual of baseball in which a guest of honor throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Originally, the guest threw a ball from their seat in the grandstand to ...
at a Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...
home game against the Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
. After the ceremony, she was honored by having her name added to the Wall of Honor inside Miller Park
American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Located southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 in Wisconsin, Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard, it is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Brewe ...
, home of the Brewers.[
Mary never lost her love of sports and played softball and coached in Madison until 1998. Staying active after retirement, she enjoyed being with her family and playing tennis and golf in her spare time. She died in November 2014 at the age of 80.][
]
Career statistics
Batting
Fielding
Pitching
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Froning, Mary
1934 births
2014 deaths
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players
South Bend Blue Sox players
Battle Creek Belles players
Baseball players from Ohio
People from Minster, Ohio
Baseball players from Madison, Wisconsin
21st-century American women