Toni Ann Palermo (February 15, 1933 – April 5, 2024) was an American baseball player with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). She began playing as a child with neighborhood teams, eventually being recruited into the higher leagues.[1] When she was twenty, she joined the School Sisters of St. Francis in Milwaukee Wisconsin. She taught in Wisconsin grade and high schools before eventually attaining a PhD in interdisciplinary studies from the University of Wisconsin Madison.
Toni Ann Palermo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | February 5, 1933 |
| Died | April 5, 2024 |
| Burial place | Mt. Olivet Cemetery Milwaukee Wisconsin |
| Alma mater | Alverno College Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin Madison |
| Occupation(s) | Professional Baseball Player, Teacher |
| Years active | 1945-2004 |
| Known for | Inducted into the National Women's Baseball Hall of Fame, 1982 honored at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY |
| Television | Palermo's team was featured in the film "A League of Their Own." |
Early life
editToni Ann Palermo was born in Forest Park, Illinois, in February 1933 to Fred and Elvira Palermo, both of Italian descent. Since the family spoke only Italian, Palermo began to learn English when she went to school at the age of five.[2] Palermo began to play baseball as a child. When she was eleven, she was recruited into the Parichy Bloomer Girls, a farm team known as the National Girls Baseball League, organized by Mr. Parichy, a construction worker from the area.[3] The following year, 1945, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) invited her to go with them to Cuba for spring training. She refused the invitation, not knowing all that it would entail. However, three years later, at age fourteen, she was asked to go on tour with the AAGPBL to play shortstop.[3] In the summers of 1949 and 1950, two of the teams barnstormed for the league, traveling throughout the United States. These were the Chicago Colleens and the Springfield Sallies. The two teams traveled together on busses and trains, playing each evening in a different city, to show their ability as women to play baseball. She describes how it was to sleep on a crowded bus without air conditioning. "There was no complaining, moaning, groaning, and no gossiping."[4] In August 1950 they were quoted as saying that "We were the Only Girls to Play at Yankee Stadium."[5]
Education
editPalermo's grade school years were spent in her hometown of Forest Park Illinois. She then went to Proviso East High School in Maywood Illinois.[6] It was during the summers of these years that she played shortstop for the AAGPBL. In her oral interview she talks about learning different techniques of the game, how to slide onto a base and how to "reach out" to a ball.[7] She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in English, history and math from Alverno College.[8] She then earned three master's degrees and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.[8] She taught in the Physical Education Department and the School of Social Work at the University. Her doctorate was interdisciplinary, that is, it included six program areas: counseling, adult education, administration, supervision, educational policy studies, and communication arts.[8]
| Year | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 33 | 117 | 30 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 39 | 13 | .376 |
Life after baseball
editPalermo had decided that when she graduated from high school she would join the School Sisters of St. Francis in Milwaukee Wisconsin. She had been earning $75 a week which she always sent home to her father in an effort to help him financially. Even though she "ate, drank and slept baseball," she felt committed to keep her promise to join the School Sisters.[2] In 1956 she was assigned to teach first grade at St. Therese School in Kankakee IL.[9] In 1962 Palermo taught at St. Walter School in Roselle IL. In 1967 she moved to SS. Peter and Paul School in Naperville IL where she taught Physical Education. She had completed 13 years of teaching in the Diocese of Joliet.[10] In 1970 she began her studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Palermo taught in Madison at the University of Wisconsin (1970-1980) and Sacred Heart School (1975-1979), and at Immaculate Heart of Mary School, Monona, and St. Francis School, Cross Plains (1981-1983). In 1976 she directed a seminar at the Fox valley Technical Institute on "The Joy of Being a Woman."[11] Sister also served as associate director of the Marriage and Family Life Center in Madison (1979-1981). Since 1983, Sister Toni Ann ministered in Madison as a psychotherapist, and since 2004, she also served as a sales director for Mary Kay Cosmetics.[12] Later, Palermo took up the game of tennis. In 1993 she played in the U.S Women's 45 and over Grass Court Tennis Championship .[13] In 2019 she spent time coaching students at Walden Middle School in Racine Wisconsin.[14]
Palermo died on April 5, 2024, at the age of 91.[15][16][17][18][12]
Awards
edit- She was recognized by the Baseball Association of Chicago for "Excellence as an AAGPBL Player, Educator and Leader."
- August 5, 2013, Alverno College honored her in an historic baseball game as one of three alums who played for the Chicago Colleens and the Springfield Sallies.[19]
- October 27, 2016, At the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee's Values in Action award ceremony. "Part of our thinking was to honor her for her long career as a vowed woman religious living out the charism of the School Sisters of St. Francis through her various teaching assignments. Part of it was to honor her for work with the poor and for her work supporting and empowering women."[8]
- Palermo was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York in 1982.[8]
References
edit- ^ "All American Girls Professional Baseball League". AAGPBL. All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association, INC. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ a b Hirschenberger, Elaine (April 18, 2024). "Words of Remembrance". School Sisters of St. Francis, sssf.org. Archived from the original on May 13, 2024. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ a b "Palermo, Toni (Interview transcript and video), 2009 · Digital Collections". digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
- ^ Orrock, Anika (2020). The Incredible Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. San Francisco California: Chronical Books LLC. pp. 91, 149, 155. ISBN 978-1-4521-7364-1.
- ^ "We were the only girls to play in Yankee stadium".
- ^ "Antoinette Palermo".
- ^ "Palermo, Toni (Interview Transcript and Video)". September 26, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e "Sister, doctor, baseball star". The Catholic Herald. November 3, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
- ^ "Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet, Blanchette Catholic Center,16555 Weber Road, Crest Hill, IL 60403-8719". Diocesan Records, Diocese of Joliet IL. May 7, 2024.
- ^ School Sisters of St. Francis archives
- ^ "Women's Life in Full Perspective". The Oshkosh Northwestern. February 9, 1976.
- ^ a b Catholic Herald, Staff (April 29, 2024). "Sister Toni Ann Palermo dies". Diocese of Madison Catholic Herald. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
- ^ Brandschain, Mayer (July 27, 1993). "Four Top Seeds breeze to victory". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 27. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ Torres, Ricardo (October 21, 2019). "A game of their own". The Journal Times, Racine Wisconsin. pp. A1. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ^ "We learned last night that dearly loved player and board member of the AAGPBL, Sr. Toni Palermo, passed away after a long illness". All American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association on Facebook. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
- ^ "Toni Ann Palermo". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. April 11, 2024. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
- ^ "Obituary for Toni Ann Palermo". Wisconsin State Journal. April 14, 2024. pp. A23. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
- ^ Gabelt, B’Ann. "In Remembrance of Toni Ann Palermo".
- ^ Strong, Wendy (August 5, 2013). "Alverno College hosting historic baseball game". Milwaukee Business Journal. Archived from the original on August 11, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
Further reading
edit- Cohen, Marilyn. 2009. No Girls in the Clubhouse: The Exclusion of Women from Baseball. Jefferson North Carolina: McFarland & Co. Inc., pp. 28–44.
- Guttmann, Allen. 1991. Women's Sports: A History. New York: Columbia University Press.
- Madden, W. C. (1997). The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: A Biographical Dictionary (2nd 2005 ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. p. 187. ISBN 0786422637.
- Ring, Jennifer. A Game of their Own: Voices of Contemporary Women.
- Woolum, Janet. 1998. Outstanding Women Athletes, Who They Are and How They Influenced Sports in America. Phoenix, AZ : Oryx Press, 1992.
- A Whole Other Ball Game: Women's literature on Women's Sport. New York: Noonday Press, 1997.