“A League of Her Own,” Must-Read on Montana Woman’s 100th Bday

"There's no crying in baseball." That was one of my favorite Tom Hanks lines from the movie "A League of Their Own" back in 1992. Heck, I still use that quote on the radio randomly for all sorts of stories in the news.

That's why this story in The Flathead Beacon immediately caught my eye. Look at the resolve in this woman's face as she holds that bat even to this day at the age of 100. "A League of Her Own" is a must-read profile that published recently in the Beacon. (Big thanks to editor Kellyn Brown for giving us permission to share a couple photos here)

Women's sports has been a big topic in the news this week, and think about how we can typically take women's sports for granted. I mean Class C women's basketball is so popular in Montana it even led to a very popular Montana PBS program. But think about it- women's wrestling as its own sport really only kicked off very recently here in Montana.

Katie Bartlett wrote this for the Flathead Beacon:

Having celebrated her 100th birthday on New Year's Day, Swan Lake resident Donna Roberts is among the last survivors of the original All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, and the only documented player from Montana. As professional women’s baseball makes its long-awaited return, her story offers a rare glimpse into the lives of the pioneers who first proved that women could play on a national stage.

She was just 20 years old and living in Billings, Montana when an article about women's baseball first caught her eye roughly 80 years ago.

It was funny reading about how she had to have an escort if she went on a date with one of the sailors back then. Here's another great excerpt.

Male fans often dismissed the League at first, but their attitudes shifted as soon as the women started warming up. Their laughter faded, replaced by comments like: “Holy cow, she throws like a man!” or ‘I’m gonna go get my dad. He’s gotta see this.”

Click here for the full story.