The Queen of Baseball
On August 14, 1922, in an exhibition game between the Boston Red Sox and a team of barnstorming players, Lizzie "Spike" Murphy, the proclaimed “Queen of Baseball,” subbed in to play first base. Met with jeers and even louder cheers her entrance into the game made history. Murphy of Warren had become the first female to play in a baseball game against major league players. But that wasn’t and wouldn’t be the only time she would make baseball history. She made something of a habit of it. Early on she was so good that by the age of 15, she was playing with men on local business teams like the Warren Shoe Company. A few years later, she was signed by the Providence Independents and later by Ed Carr’s All-Stars of Boston. The All-Stars traveled across southern New England and Canada pulling in crowds wherever they went. It was estimated that they played upwards of 100 games during the season.
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The entrepreneurial Murphy entered the stands between innings and after games to sign autographs and sell postcards of herself in uniform for a dime. She donned a jersey with her own name on the front and back so fans could easily spot the star player they came to see. She liked to say whatever town bought the most postcards was her favorite town. Despite Murphy getting most of the attention, she never had any issues getting along with her teammates. She once told the Providence Journal that, she “didn’t have any trouble with the boys. Of course, they cursed and swore, but I knew all the words.”
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Lizzie would go on to have two more firsts. In 1928, she played on a National League all-star team (in a game against the Boston Braves), becoming the first person of any gender to play for all-star teams in both the American and National leagues. She also became the first woman to play in the Negro Leagues, when she played first base for the Cleveland Colored Giants when they came through Rhode Island. According to the Exploratorium, a museum in San Francisco, Lizzy actually got a hit off of legendary Negro League pitcher (and Baseball Hall of Famer) Satchel Paige.
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She also played in the women's leagues, playing for the Bloomer Girls for 30 years. Murphy usually played first base but when she began her professional career she was a pitcher. Her career average upon retirement was .300. Lizzie Murphy hung up her spikes and jersey for good in 1935 at the age of forty and settled in her hometown of Warren.
