Jul 23, 2021
In this episode of “The Journey of My Mother’s Son” podcast, I sit down to talk with Maybelle Blair and Shirley Burkovich.
Maybelle and Shirley were former players in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), the league in which the movie, A League of Their Own was based on.
I originally met them back in 2016, when I was still with the BIG Vision Foundation. We partnered with the International Women’s Baseball Center (IWBC), in which Maybelle and Shirley serve as board members, to conduct the Ruth Hartman Memorial Girl’s Baseball Festival.
I was able to reconnect with Maybelle and Shirley because we were fortunate to be able get to the Ripken Experience in Aberdeen, MD for the 6th Annual Baseball for All National Tournament. The tournament, which took place from July 18-22, 2021, featured 42 girl’s baseball teams from all across the United States and Canada.
Maybelle and Shirley love getting out to watch some baseball, but even more importantly, they love interacting and inspiring the next generation of young female ballplayers.
This podcast is the first in a series of podcasts that I was able to do on location at the Baseball for All Nationals in Aberdeen. I was fortunate to interview other former AAGPBL players, current coaches and some young players who had attended the event. All of their stories are inspiring and I’m sure that you will enjoy hearing them in the coming weeks.