Take me back to the Oral History landing page.
Shirley Burkovich - Baseball
Shirley Burkovich played in the All-American Professional Baseball League from 1949 to 1951, beginning her baseball career when she was only sixteen years old and still in high school. She spent her first year with the Muskegon Lassies, and the 1950 season with the Springfield Sallies and Chicago Colleens, a pair of teams that played throughout the east, introducing new audiences to the league. For her final season, Burkovich played on the Rockford Peaches. By the end of the 1951 season she could see that the league was slowly dying, so she left the sport she loved for a full time job with Pacific Bell. Many years later, Shirley had a small cameo role in the classic film, "A League of Their Own."
Interview Links
Feature Excerpt
Chaperon screened her dates
Abstract
Interview Session (Audio)
Videos
Photos
Caption
A Burkovich family gathering in Pittsburg, circa 1948. Shirley is second from the right, next to her brother Walt, holding the bat. They’re ready to play ball, reflecting their passion for the game.
Where:
Pittsburg
When:
circa 1948
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
A Burkovich family gathering in Pittsburg, circa 1948. Shirley is second from the right, next to her brother Walt, holding the bat. They’re ready to play ball, reflecting their passion for the game.
Where:
Pittsburg
When:
circa 1948
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Shirley Burkovich received this Western Union telegram in the spring of 1949 while she lived in Swissvale, Pennsylvania, a telegram that began her three-year baseball adventure.
Where:
Swissvale, Pennsylvania
When:
1949
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
The Muskegon Lassies 1949 spring training squad in West Baden Springs, Indiana. Shirley is in the back row, third from the right. The team manager was Carson Bigbee. Helen Hanna was the chaperon, and Micky McGuire, in front of Shirley, was the catcher.
Where:
West Baden Springs, Indiana
When:
1949
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
The Muskegan (Michigan) Lassies team photo from 1949, which was Shirley Burkovich’s first year in the league. Shirley is in the middle of the photo next to the player in the dark jacket.
Where:
Muskegan (Michigan)
When:
1949
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
Barbara Parks and Shirley Burkovich, were two of the young players with the Springfield Sallies in 1950. The team traveled the country playing for the AAGPBL.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1950
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
The Chicago Colleens wore green uniforms with white trim in this 1950 team photo. Shirley is the fourth from the right, holding the glove. Sitting in the front row, second from the right is Isabelle ‘Lefty’ Alvarez, a pitcher from Cuba.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1950
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
The Rockford Morning Star featured this photo of new prospects for the 1951 Rockford Peaches, including Shirley Burkovich on the left, along with Margaret Jurgensmeier and Marguerite Kerrigan. The article inaccurately referred to Shirley as a pitcher.
Where:
Rockford, Illinois
When:
1951
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.
Caption
Shirley Burkovich’s baseball card when she played for the Rockford Peaches in 1951.
Where:
Rockford, Illinois
When:
1951
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
Shirley Burkovich with Lori Petty, who played Kit Keller in the 1992 film A League of Their Own, at a AAGPBL reunion in Palm Springs, California.
Where:
Palm Springs, California
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
The New York Times featured this photo on June 24, 2003 with Shirley helping coach two young baseball players in Hawthorne, California.
Where:
Hawthorne, California
When:
June 24, 2003
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.
Caption
Shirley talks to a group of young girls at one of the many events she and Maybelle Blair visit to promote girls’ baseball around the country, circa 2017.
Where:
Unknown
When:
circa 2017
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.
Caption
Maybelle Blair and Shirley Burkovich relax in the dugout at Beyer Stadium in Rockford in late July, 2017. They were visiting the city during the annual national girls’ baseball tournament.
Where:
Rockford, Illinois
When:
July, 2017
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.
Caption
Shirley Burkovich (left) and Maybelle Blair (center) found time for a group photo with a group of Red Sox supporters during a 2017 Memorial weekend event at the Boston Red Sox’s famed Fenway Park.
Where:
Fenway Park, Boston
When:
2017
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.
Caption
Batter up! Shirley takes her stance during a May, 2017 visit to Boston’s Fenway Park.
Where:
Boston’s Fenway Park
When:
May, 2017
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.
Caption
Shirley Burkovich, at one of the many events she attends promoting the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She hopes to provide the spark for a new women’s baseball league.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.