Meet Our Members – Mary Shea
My relationship with baseball? It’s complicated. After my mother moved with her family from Mexico City to New York in 1930, they became big Yankees fans. But 27 World Series championships was too much winning for me, so I became a diehard Cubs fan for decades. Wrigley Field felt like a second home. I cherish time with my Cubby friends and still attend games here and there but became disenchanted with the ownership, so I’m somewhat of a non-practicing Cubs fan for now. My husband and I were also Brewers fans until the Crew moved to the National League in 1998. As my daughter and son-in-law have lived in Brooklyn for years, I find myself rooting for the Mets and really like their fans. And I’ll always root for whoever is playing the Cardinals. In general, my fandom has become very situational.
But I love baseball and pretty much think about some aspect of it every day. I played sporadically as a kid, as opportunities to play were limited when I was growing up during the 1960’s. If I wanted to play softball in a local park league, I had to ride my bike for miles to get to games and had to play with a crappy old glove, as my parents wouldn’t get me a new one. The support and coaching were minimal for girls back then.
As I got older, I loved being on a diamond but also became more interested in reading about baseball and was especially intrigued with its history. The idea that girls and women had played or been involved with the sport since its beginnings was a wonderful revelation. I couldn’t get enough of the writings of Barbara Gregorich, Jean Ardell, and Jennifer Ring, to name a few. That led to my involvement with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association, the Society for American Baseball Research, and the International Women’s Baseball Center. I’m also a member of the Milwaukee Braves Historical Association, the Old Time Ballplayers’ Association of Wisconsin, and a Baseball Memories group that works with baseball fans dealing with Alzheimer’s and other issues.
The AAGPBL and attending a few of their annual reunions gave me an opportunity to become friends with so many amazing people, including other associate members and a few of the players, who are an inspiration. I dearly miss the ones we’ve lost, including Joyce Hill Westerman, Jackie Mattson Baumgart, and Sr./Dr. Toni Ann Palermo, who was the subject of a SABR Bio Project article I wrote. We all share a love of the game and the role women have played in it. One of the associate members, Mary Kusmirek, recommended SABR, for which I’m very thankful. It allowed me to develop friendships with fellow baseball nerds from my hometown of Milwaukee and all over the U.S. and Canada. I’m often the only woman at meetings but haven’t experienced any mansplaining, thankfully.
Involvement with the IWBC was a natural progression, and I not only support their mission but enjoy the sense of community. We have so much in common, especially the interest in seeing girls and women being given more opportunities in baseball. We’re all so inspired by the stories of the trailblazers, especially the women who play for national teams. For me, the development of a viable women’s league would be the pinnacle, so support for girls and women playing the game is crucial. Obviously, I’ll be all charged up for the Women’s Pro Baseball League’s inaugural year in 2026.
From 2015-2022, I worked for the Milwaukee Brewers, mostly as a tour guide (initially, the only woman to do so) and as their front office receptionist (I hated all the sitting). My coworkers really enjoyed outing me as a Cubs fan, as the Brewers fans despise everything about the Cubs. It was all in good fun though.
Occasionally, I’ve been asked to be a gasbag about women’s baseball history, including a presentation for the Milwaukee County Historical Society, and my 15 seconds of fame discussing the 1944 Milwaukee Chicks with TMJ4, our local NBC station, for a report about the AAGPBL championship team.
Fun facts: I was in attendance to witness: Robin Yount’s 3,000th hit; the last game at Milwaukee County Stadium; and also the infamous Bartman game (Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS). One of the best games I ever saw was Game #13 of the 2024 Women’s Baseball World Cup in Thunder Bay, Canada, when the U.S. beat powerhouse Japan, 4-3.
Random fun fact: I can sing like Louis Armstrong.
So that’s my baseball story. I’m looking forward to reading those of other members and also hope our paths cross at future IWBC and other women’s baseball events!