Muriel Eleanor Coben (February 17, 1921 – June 8, 1979) was a Canadian

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("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 attempts to e ...

who played 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' 3", 135 lb., she batted and threw right handed. Muriel Coben was one of the 68 players born in Canada to join the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in its twelve years history. She also became one of the original 60 founding members of the league in its 1943 inaugural season. Coben has been considered by researchers as the greatest softball pitcher of her era in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...

history. She led her teams to numerous regional, provincial and national championships in Canada in a career that lasted 18 years. In addition, she was a member of a Canadian women's curling champion team and has been enshrined in several Halls of Fame in recognition of her outstanding contribution to Canadian sport. Born in

Gelert Gelert () is a legendary wolfhound associated with the village of Beddgelert (whose name means "Gelert's Grave") in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. In the legend, Llywelyn the Great returns from hunting to find his baby missing, the cradle overturne ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Coben was raised on a farm in

Tessier, Saskatchewan Tessier ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316 and Census Division No. 12. The village is located approximately 60 km southwest of the City of Saskatoon on ...

.Saskatchewan Sports She started her pitching career in 1936, winning all her games as a member of the hometown Tessier Millionaires. She later played from 1938 to 1942 in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as ...

for the Pats team, where she aroused the attention of an AAGPBL

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 ...

who signed her to a contract to play in the new league during the opening 1943 season. Coben tried to make the adjustment to the AAGPBL's rules of play, but returned home after one year of struggling. Unfortunately, she suffered one of the worst pitching performances of the year, after posting a combined 4–16 record with 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 Fi ...

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 pl ...

, while leading the league for the most

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

s allowed (102). She returned to the Saskatoon Pats in 1944, pitching for them two years before joining the Saskatoon Grey Cab Rambler from 1946 through 1950. In this period, Coben helped the team win three successive Saskatchewan championships (1946–1948) and two Western Canadian championships (1946–1947). In 1950 she moved to

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anc ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, where she joined the Mortons ball club and aided them in winning the Canadian championship over a very strong

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

squad in 1952. She then returned to Saskatoon, and again starred with the Ramblers until her playing days were over in 1953. After retiring from softball, Coben took up

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...

with the Saskatchewan senior ladies, playing lead for the Joyce McKee's rink that won the 1960 national women's curling championship after defeating the

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

squad in two matches, 11–3 and 8–5. Besides McKee

kip Kip, KIP or kips may refer to: Athletics * Kip (artistic gymnastics), a basic skill on the women's uneven bars * Kip (trampolining), a coaching skill used in trampolining * Kip-up, an acrobatic manoeuvre used in martial arts and gymnastics Peo ...

and Coben ead the team included Sylvia Fedoruk

hird The hird (also named "Håndgangne Menn" in Norwegian), in Scandinavian history, was originally an informal retinue of personal armed companions, hirdmen or housecarls, but came to mean not only the nucleus ('Guards') of the royal army, but also ...

an
Donna (Paton) Belding
econd The quartet would be inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame in 1987.Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame – 1960 Joyce McKee Team: 1987 Induction Class
/ref> Coben also earned individual inductions to multiple Halls of Fame: Saskatchewan Sports (athlete, 1979), Saskatoon Sports (softball, 1986), Saskatchewan Baseball (1991), and Canadian Baseball (1998). In 1988 she received further recognition when she joined a group of Canadian ballplayers at ''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 private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball- ...

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 ...

, which was unveiled to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, though the acknowledgment came much later after her death in 1979, in Saskatoon, at the age of 58.

AAGPBL career statistics

Pitching Batting Fielding ''All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book''

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coben, Muriel 1921 births 1979 deaths All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Rockford Peaches players South Bend Blue Sox players Baseball people from Saskatchewan Canadian baseball players Canadian women curlers Canadian women's curling champions Curlers from Saskatoon People from Haliburton County Canadian expatriates in the United States 20th-century American women