April 2, 1931 - Miami Daily News-Record, OK - Jackie Mitchell Story
The act that gave Class A baseball its first woman hurler is shown above, inset, as Miss Jack Mitchell, 17-year-old. girl southpaw: signed her name to a contract tendered by Joe Engel, right, president of the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Southern! Association. The girl's father, Dr. Joe Mitchell, and the team manager, Bert .Niehoff, witnessed the signlng. Miss Mitchell is shown in pitching and batting shots to the right and left.
Telegraphic dispatched received this morning stated that the first woman to enter professional baseball as a player would pitch against. the New York Yankees today in an exhibition game.
ATLANTA; • Ga:, April 2—Professional baseball now may boast of its first lady pitcher, Miss Jack Mitchell, age 17 years, of Chattanooga; Tenn., has taken the first step toward this unusual career for women by signing a contract with the Chattanooga Lookouts after completing the course at Kid Elberfeld's baseball school held here this spring.
The Kid's school is the world's only educational institution devoted entirely to baseball, and it includes students of all types. But not until this year did it become co-eductional.
Two days after the 1931 session opened, with 50 students in attendance, the school enrolled its'first co-ed. Miss Jack Mitchell, accompanied by her father and mother, Dr. and Mrs. Joe S. Mitchell, arrived to take up the study of baseball. She brought her own uniform, shoes, cap and glove, and started work in earnest,
She's Good Looker.
Jack is tall, muscular, rather good-looking and left-handed.
When she was a child, her parents lived in Memphis, where one of their neighbors was Dazzy Vance, now Brooklyn's pitching ace, but then a member of the Memphis team. He took a fancy to the little girl next door who seemed more interested in boys' games than in dolls, and taught her to throw a baseball.
Then and there she decided to be baseball's greatest "lady pitcher," and only once has she wavered in this determination. When Amelia Ehrhart made her ocean flight, Jack felt for a time that she must become an aviatrix and fly over seas and continents and set speed records. But this was a fleeting ambition.
Played With Dad
When her parents moved from Memphis to Chattanooga, Jack was one of the first members of the "Engelettes," a girls' baseball team managed by her father, who once played professional ball himself. The. "Engelettes" planned at first to first to limit their opponents to girls' teams, but easy victories spurred their ambition until finally they met
semi-professional aggregation of men. The game was played at Coppelhill, Tenn., and the men won by a slim margin. Jack pitched and held her opponents to a few scattered hits.
She uses an odd, side-armed delivery, and puts both speed and curve on the ball. Her greatest asset, however, is control. She can place the ball where she pleases, and her knack at guessing the weakness of a batter is uncanny. The fact that she had a good pitching arm is proved by the ease with which she recently threw a baseball 218 feet. by actual measurement. She also hits well and during the past season had a batting percentage of .400.
During the two weeks she spent here at Kid Elberfeld's baseball school, she pitched frequently at batting practice, and the Kid's pupils found the "lady pitcher" one of the most puzzling southpaws they had ever faced. She doesn't
hope to enter the big show this season, but she believes that with carefull training she may soon be the first woman to pitch in the big leagues. In that event she sees no reason why she shouldn't command as great a salary as Babe Ruth now draws,
Went to School
Kid Elberfeld's baseball school held its opening session in Atlanta three years ago. The Kid, who is a veteran both of the minor and the major leagues and probably knows as much about baseball as any man alive, started his baseball kindergarten teaching small boys fundamentals of the game. At the close of three weeks' session, several of the older boys were hired by minor league teams, The next year the school developed into a high school institution, and this spring it expanded into a full-fledged university, with several professional league players enrolled as students.
Among these was Luke Appling, formerly of the Atlanta team, who wanted to do a little post-graduate work before reporting to the Chicago White Sox, and Jonah White of Beaumont, in the Texas league, who spent several days at the school before starting spring practice.Assisting the Kid was a faculty composed of Tim Kelleher, Frankie Zoeller and Bernie McCay, all baseball veterans. Instead of diplomas, contracts with various minor leagues awaited the most succesful students at the close of school.
BASEBALL
Bambino Faces Test In Chattanooga Game
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., April 2.—(AP)—Babe Ruth's chivalry faced a severe test today.
A gold watch has been offered for the first homer hit at Engel Stadium, and the Bambino would like to have it.
But, Miss Jackie Mitchell was scheduled to pitch for the Lookouts, and her heart's desire is to fan the Babe and make enough money to buy a roadster.
Telegraphic dispatched received this morning stated that the first woman to enter professional baseball as a player would pitch against. the New York Yankees today in an exhibition game.
ATLANTA; • Ga:, April 2—Professional baseball now may boast of its first lady pitcher, Miss Jack Mitchell, age 17 years, of Chattanooga; Tenn., has taken the first step toward this unusual career for women by signing a contract with the Chattanooga Lookouts after completing the course at Kid Elberfeld's baseball school held here this spring.
The Kid's school is the world's only educational institution devoted entirely to baseball, and it includes students of all types. But not until this year did it become co-eductional.
Two days after the 1931 session opened, with 50 students in attendance, the school enrolled its'first co-ed. Miss Jack Mitchell, accompanied by her father and mother, Dr. and Mrs. Joe S. Mitchell, arrived to take up the study of baseball. She brought her own uniform, shoes, cap and glove, and started work in earnest,
She's Good Looker.
Jack is tall, muscular, rather good-looking and left-handed.
When she was a child, her parents lived in Memphis, where one of their neighbors was Dazzy Vance, now Brooklyn's pitching ace, but then a member of the Memphis team. He took a fancy to the little girl next door who seemed more interested in boys' games than in dolls, and taught her to throw a baseball.
Then and there she decided to be baseball's greatest "lady pitcher," and only once has she wavered in this determination. When Amelia Ehrhart made her ocean flight, Jack felt for a time that she must become an aviatrix and fly over seas and continents and set speed records. But this was a fleeting ambition.
Played With Dad
When her parents moved from Memphis to Chattanooga, Jack was one of the first members of the "Engelettes," a girls' baseball team managed by her father, who once played professional ball himself. The. "Engelettes" planned at first to first to limit their opponents to girls' teams, but easy victories spurred their ambition until finally they met
semi-professional aggregation of men. The game was played at Coppelhill, Tenn., and the men won by a slim margin. Jack pitched and held her opponents to a few scattered hits.
She uses an odd, side-armed delivery, and puts both speed and curve on the ball. Her greatest asset, however, is control. She can place the ball where she pleases, and her knack at guessing the weakness of a batter is uncanny. The fact that she had a good pitching arm is proved by the ease with which she recently threw a baseball 218 feet. by actual measurement. She also hits well and during the past season had a batting percentage of .400.
During the two weeks she spent here at Kid Elberfeld's baseball school, she pitched frequently at batting practice, and the Kid's pupils found the "lady pitcher" one of the most puzzling southpaws they had ever faced. She doesn't
hope to enter the big show this season, but she believes that with carefull training she may soon be the first woman to pitch in the big leagues. In that event she sees no reason why she shouldn't command as great a salary as Babe Ruth now draws,
Went to School
Kid Elberfeld's baseball school held its opening session in Atlanta three years ago. The Kid, who is a veteran both of the minor and the major leagues and probably knows as much about baseball as any man alive, started his baseball kindergarten teaching small boys fundamentals of the game. At the close of three weeks' session, several of the older boys were hired by minor league teams, The next year the school developed into a high school institution, and this spring it expanded into a full-fledged university, with several professional league players enrolled as students.
Among these was Luke Appling, formerly of the Atlanta team, who wanted to do a little post-graduate work before reporting to the Chicago White Sox, and Jonah White of Beaumont, in the Texas league, who spent several days at the school before starting spring practice.Assisting the Kid was a faculty composed of Tim Kelleher, Frankie Zoeller and Bernie McCay, all baseball veterans. Instead of diplomas, contracts with various minor leagues awaited the most succesful students at the close of school.
BASEBALL
Bambino Faces Test In Chattanooga Game
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., April 2.—(AP)—Babe Ruth's chivalry faced a severe test today.
A gold watch has been offered for the first homer hit at Engel Stadium, and the Bambino would like to have it.
But, Miss Jackie Mitchell was scheduled to pitch for the Lookouts, and her heart's desire is to fan the Babe and make enough money to buy a roadster.
