Jul 27, 2021
In this episode of “The Journey of My Mother’s Son” podcast, I sit down to talk with another former player of the AAGPBL, Gloria Rogers.
As I continue with the series of podcasts that I conducted during our week in Aberdeen, MD attending the Baseball for All Nationals, I met a little firestick of a women in Gloria Rogers. She was a treasure to hang out with and she made Sandy and I smile every time that we were around her.
As with every podcast that I do, I’m honored to help tell her story.
As stated from the AAGPBL website:
As a 17-year-old high school student, Gloria saw a story in the newspaper about the AAGPBL holding a tryout. She wrote a letter to Carl Gaines, a scout, asking about the tryouts and received a letter inviting her to one of their tryouts in Rockford. Illinois. Her mother and sister drove the 150 miles for the chance of a lifetime.
During the tryout Rogers threw the ball 179 feet which made her an excellent candidate for the outfield. She also had the best time for running from the batter’s box to first base. The scouts were impressed and Rogers was one of 6 players out of about 30 players chosen to be a Peach!
Her stent as a Peach was short lived. She got a uniform and her name was in the program for one game. Her father decided Rockford was too far from home and she had been accepted at Christian College. Rogers was disappointed but she went on to have a great college career.
Gloria played for Goetz Country Club, a softball team in St. Joseph, Mo., that played in the nationals. While at Christian College (now Columbia College in Columbia, MO), she participated in the horsemanship program, tennis, field hockey, and the synchronized swimming team. At that time the college did not have a softball team. Gloria was voted Christian College’s Athletic Queen in 1955. She later attended Northeast Missouri State University, earning a degree in physical education and dramatics. She attended the 2003 induction of the AAGPBL into the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2005 she became a member of the Columbia College Sports Hall of Fame.
Her story is so much bigger than just one game in the league. She loves interacting with and sharing her story with the next generation.