ACROSS THE
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Runs, hits, & errors: Kammie on First Editor’s note: Each edition of Ohio Today covers a recent Ohio University Press book.
Photo courtsey of The New York Times/Redux
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he initial installment of the Ohio University Press series Biographies for Young Adults adeptly retells two interrelated stories. Veteran young-reader author Michelle Houts honors Dorothy Kamenshek, first-base standout for the Rockford Peaches in the short-lived AllAmerican Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1940s and ’50s. Houts simultaneously puts her into societal context long before Title IX, the 1972 legislation that partly leveled the playing field for female athletes of all ages. Kamenshek, a child of immigrant parents, grew up in Cincinnati during the Great Depression, Houts recounts accessibly. Originally a softball center fielder, Kamenshek switched to professional baseball at age 17. Feats include seven all-star appearances, four league championships, and two batting titles. She struck out only 81 times in 3,736 career at-bats; her lifetime batting average was an impressive .293. In 1946, Kamenshek stole 109 bases in 107 games. Also a defensive stalwart, the all-around player is said to be a model for the Geena Davis character in A League of Their Own, the 1992 Hollywood movie about the Peaches. After injuries forced her retirement from baseball, Kamenshek earned a bachelor’s degree
A chapter from Kammie on First, an author Q&A, related videos, and other features appear online at: ohio.edu/ohiotoday/extras
in physical therapy, worked as a physical therapist in Ohio, and then headed therapy services for a Los Angeles County children’s services agency. She died in 2010 at age 84. Houts ably intersperses this narrative with sidebars and insets that offer perspective on and off the diamond. Philip K. Wrigley, the chewing gum magnate who owned the Chicago Cubs from men’s Major League
Baseball, created the women’s counterpart to help keep the sport in the public eye when the World War II draft depleted male ballplayers. Kamenshek and colleagues faced dress codes: “No one will be allowed to appear off the [team] bus in slacks, shorts, or dungarees,” Houts summarizes, and conduct clauses: “Your appearance at public bars is prohibited.” Beyond Wrigley’s maverick exception, few opportunities existed for women athletes (in any organized sport); without high school teams to join, they honed their baseball talents in factory leagues. Though relatively popular at the time, women players and leagues were forgotten for decades before rediscovery. So, Kammie on First doubles as a biography of a trailblazer in American women’s athletics and as gender studies of problems and progress therein. Houts accordingly makes well-rounded use of resources: newspaper clippings, archival photographs, player interviews. The content and the design should inspire youngsters, whether baseball fans or history buffs. “To those who never had the opportunity to know Kammie,” Houts writes, “her legacy is an inspiration—a reminder that with determination, we can do more than the world expects us to do.” » CHRISTOPHER GUDER is a reference and instruction librarian at Alden Library, Ohio University, specializing in education and children’s literature and in recreation and sports pedagogy, among other areas. PHD ’13
OHIO alumni books Ohio University alumni publish books across subjects and genres. Here are releases within the last year. Following the Light: New and Collected Poems, faith-based verse (Kaufmann Publishing), by Kevin Bezner, PhD ’91 • The Shadow Broker, a crime thriller and debut novel (CreateSpace), by Trace Conger, BA ’98 • Moments of Time, a collection of poems (Mercury HeartLink), by Mark Fleisher, BSJ ’64 • Ball or Bands: Football vs. Music as an Educational and Community Investment, comparative analysis (Archway Publishing), by John R. Gerdy, MSA ’83, PhD ’86 • A Place for Humility: Whitman, Dickinson, and the Natural World, a study of two of America’s leading nature poets (University of Iowa Press), by Christine Gerhardt, MA ’98 • The History of Soccer in Greater Cleveland
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from 1906 until 1981, how the sport evolved over the decades in that region (Outskirts Press), by Thomas Hatfield, AB ’59 • A Comedian Sees the World, Charlie Chaplin’s travel memoir of Europe in the early 1930s (University of Missouri Press), edited by Lisa Stein Haven, PhD ’05 • What’s Important: Understanding and Working with Values Perspectives, an interpretation of and handbook about values (Integral Publishers), by Kenton Hyatt, PhD ’86, and Cheryl De Ciantis • Reading Lincoln: an Annotated Bibliography, notated reviews of more than 275 books on Abraham Lincoln’s legacy (CreateSpace), by David Keck, BSED ’69, MED ’71, and Tom Peet • Counteract, the first in a trilogy of young-adult dystopian novels (Buddhapuss Ink), by Tracy Lawson, BSC ’88 • The Marketing Performance Blueprint, a guide on marketing strategies (Wiley), by Paul Roetzer, BSJ ’00 — Compiled by Sara Jerde BSJ ’15