| Notes |
According to the 1940 Census, Beatrice had graduated from high school.
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Perhaps this is our Beatrice:
Directories: Bridgeport, Fairfield, Southport, Stratford, CT (1944)
ARBOUR
M Beatrice emp 993 Main St r 82 Court Street #207 Bridgeport Yellow Mill Village
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During WWII, Beatrice played short stop with the Racine Belles. Here are some Racine Belle facts, extracted from wikipedia on 05 May 2011:
The Racine Belles were one of the original teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing from 1943 through 1950 out of Racine, Wisconsin. The team played its home games at Horlick Field. In 1943, the Belles claimed the first Championship Title in the league's history. This team was characterized by strong pitching, solid defense, timely hitting, and speed on the bases. Facts: The Belles wore yellow dress uniforms with knee-high brown woolen socks and brown caps. The Belle Panda was the team's unofficial mascot. In 1945 the team won the attendance trophy for having the largest audience on opening night, 23 May, with 4,019 fans.
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Herald News (Fall River, MA) -- 12 Jul 1992 -- by William Corey
IT REALLY WAS A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN -- GIRLS OF SUMMER -- GOING TO BAT FOR HISTORY
Bea Arbour Parrott grew up playing catch with the boy next door. The Somerset native saidthere weren't many girls in her neighborhood in the 1930s, so she spent much of her time throwing a baseball around like most of the boys. Her interest in the game led her to play softball for the local St Patrick's girls team, and in 1946, landed her in Racine, Wisconsin, playing professional baseball for the Racine Belles. "We were just playing baseball. We didn't realize that we were making history," Parrott said. She and longtime friend Lillian (DeCambra) Kelley, also ofSomerset, were one of a select group of women who cansay they played professional baseball. Kelley and Parrott each spent a summer playing for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, the brainchild of former Chicago Cubs owner Philip Wrigley. The league, which competed from 1943 to 1954,kept baseball as a national pastime during WWII, whenthe men were away and Major League Baseball came to a halt. Wrigley began a league of four teams in the Midwestern states of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The league grew to 10 teams, and in 1948, 1million fans turned out to watch the ladies take their swings. Kelley's late sister Alice was theone who recruited Bea and Lilly to play. Alice had a long career in the league with the Fort Wayne Daisies -- the team Lilly also played for. Players earned anywhere from $55 a week to $150 -- the average wage at the time was $20. Parrott, a shortstop who played with the Belles in 1946, recalled life onthe road. There would bea game almost every night and the girls stayed witha family who charged $5 a week rent. The small town stadiums would draw impressive crowds,sometimes as many as 10,000 people. The AAGBPL is once again gaining recognition with the release of Penny Marshall's film "A League of TheirOwn," with Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, and Madonna. Parrott and Kelley both saw and enjoyed the film, but did point out that none of the managerswould be as harsh as the one portrayed by Hanks. Most managers at the time were former big leaguers and acted like "father figures," the women said. Though discipline was a must, yeling at players was hardly heard, they said. Almost as important as the game itself was acting"ladylike." The players were made to wear dresses for uniforms and could only wear skirts whenout on the town. Some players were sent to charm school.Those who dared to wear pants were sent home, Parrott said. "Those were the rules," Parrott said. "If you didn't like it, you could go home and work for a living." The feminine touch was acarefully orchestrated part of the game -- one that Wrigley believed made the game popular. Butdespite wearing dresses, which made leg abrasions a common occurrence when the women had to slide into a base, the players were hardly the typical 1940s woman. "In those days, women were supposed to learn how to sew, knit, and embroider, but these things weren't much fun. I'd ratherbechasing fly balls," Parrott said. Both Kelley and Parrott returned home after their year of baseball to marry andraise a family. The leaguewas nearly forgotten until 1988, when the names of all the women who played professional baseball fortheAAGBPLwere engraved on a plaque thathangs in the Baseball Hall fo Fame in Cooperstown, NY. As far as the baseballplayers of today, Parrott and Kelley aren't too impressed -- especially with the Boston Red Sox. "They get paid millions andthey can't even bunt to get a guy to second," Parrott noted. She had 4 children
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1920 - après 2011 (> 91 ans)