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Lizzie “Spike” Murphy, Professional Baseball’s First Woman Star
A New England woman took the baseball world by storm in the 1920s and 1930s
Women have been long kept at bay in professional baseball. Despite a continued absence of representation, it has only been recently that there have been occasional instances of women assuming roles in broadcasting, coaching, front offices and the like. The major leagues have still never had a female player, and professional baseball in general has seen very few. However, Lizzie “Spike” Murphy was the first woman to play professionally and became a big star, known for her small stature and big talent.
Murphy was born in 1894 in Rhode Island. Her father was a fine athlete who played semi-professional baseball and passed along his passion for the game to his daughter. She grew up as an avid and skilled participant in a variety of sports, especially excelling in running, skating and swimming, in addition of course to baseball.
Quitting school when she was just 12, she began working in a wool mill, starting to play baseball for local and factory teams on the side when she was 15.
At the age of 17, Murphy began demanding payment for teams wishing to utilize her services. A pitcher and first baseman, she not only gave teams a marketable…
