[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 87 (Thursday, June 10, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4844-S4845]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REMEMBERING DOROTHY KAMENSHEK

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring 
the memory of Dorothy Kamenshek who passed away on May 17 at her home 
in Palm Desert, CA. She was 84 years old.
  Dorothy Kamenshek was born in Norwood, OH, on December 21, 1925. Her 
gifts on the diamond were evident from the time she attended the 
tryouts for an all women's baseball league in Cincinnati while she was 
a high school senior. Her performance at the tryouts earned her an 
invitation to participate in the final tryouts that were held at 
Wrigley Field in Chicago. From the Wrigley Field tryouts, Ms. Kamenshek 
would emerge as one of two women from Cincinnati who were selected to 
play in the fledgling All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
  The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was the 
brainchild of Chicago Cubs owner, Phillip Wrigley, who sought to fill 
the void that had been created by the disbanding of many minor league 
teams as a result of young men who were drafted into the armed services 
during World War II.

[[Page S4845]]

The existence of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League 
nearly paralleled the span of Ms. Kamenshek's playing career from 1943-
1954. During her career, Ms. Kamenshek all-around excellence on and off 
the field earned her the admiration of many fans and the respect of her 
peers.
  Ms. Kamenshek was undoubtedly one of the finest players in the All-
American Girls Professional Baseball League. The league's all-time 
batting leader with a .292 average, she had a smooth left-handed swing 
that earned her consecutive batting titles in 1946 and 1947. The 
leadoff hitter for the Rockford Peaches, she used her speed on the base 
paths to create havoc for her opponents as she compiled 657 stolen 
bases during her career. An all-around baseball player, Ms. Kamenshek's 
work with the glove once prompted former New York Yankees first baseman 
Wally Pipp to observe that she was ``the fanciest fielding first 
baseman that I've ever seen, man or woman.''
  Ms. Kamenshek would lead her team, the Rockford Peaches, to four 
championships before her career was curtailed by a back injury. A 
driven person who was not going to rest on her laurels, she earned a 
bachelor's degree in physical therapy from Marquette University after 
her baseball career. In 1961, she moved to California where she worked 
as a staff physical therapist, supervisor and chief of therapy services 
for the Los Angeles County disabled children's services agency. After 
her retirement from Los Angeles County in 1980, she continued to treat 
patients in acute care on a part-time basis for the next 6 years.
  In 1992, the story of Ms. Kamenshek and the other women who played in 
the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was introduced to a 
new generation of Americans by the popular movie ``A League of Their 
Own.'' In the movie, the character of Dottie Hinson, played by Geena 
Davis, was presented as the best player in the league and was named 
Dottie as a tribute to Ms. Kamenshek, who was affectionately known as 
Dottie to her friends. In 1999, Sports Illustrated named Ms. Kamenshek 
one of its top 100 female athletes of the 20th century.
  On the field, Dorothy Kamenshek is widely regarded as the greatest 
female baseball player ever. Off the field, her legacy will be one of a 
pioneer who, through sheer talent and determination, achieved 
excellence in a sport that was once deemed to be beyond the physical 
capacity of females. Dorothy Kamenshek inspired generations of 
Americans to chip away at the glass ceiling to follow their dreams and 
pursue endeavors and careers of their own choosing.
  She will be dearly missed.

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