Description
Book SynopsisTells the story of Ila Jane Borders, who despite formidable obstacles became a Little League prodigy, MVP of her all-male middle school and high school teams, the first woman awarded a college baseball scholarship, the first to win a complete men's collegiate game, and the first woman in the modern era to win a professional ball game.
Trade Review"A welcome contribution to women's sports biographies."—
Booklist Starred Review
"An inspiring and important account, told with grace and self-awareness that will appeal to baseball and sports fans along with readers interested in LGBTQ memoirs."—Janet Davis,
Library Journal“At last! The moving story of Ila Borders, as told to the gifted author and researcher Jean Ardell, will make readers wonder how much longer the baseball establishment can afford to disregard the skilled women players who should long ago have been recruited for the Minors and the Majors.”—Dorothy Seymour Mills, baseball historian and author of
Drawing Card: A Baseball Novel “As a girl, Ila Borders had a dream. That dream became a desire, and that desire blossomed into a crusade: she would play baseball. Not softball. Baseball. She would throw the hard stuff past brawny male sluggers. Jean Hastings Ardell tells the story of this twilight figure coming out of the shadows to join a not always receptive mainstream. You may laugh. You may shed a tear. But surely you will applaud.”—Arnold Hano, author of
A Day in the Bleachers“Ila Borders pitched her way through the special hell reserved for women who play baseball in America and has returned with enough inside baseball knowledge to please the most passionate fan. . . . [
Making My Pitch is] a riveting, deeply personal story and a compelling addition to the fast-growing literature on American women in baseball.”—Jennifer Ring, author of
A Game of Their Own: Voices of Contemporary Women in Baseball “This book is a walk through baseball history as Ila brings the reader with her on her journey from Little League to independent ball and beyond. Ila’s story is not a typical baseball story, and everyone needs to read this book.”—Leslie Heaphy, associate professor of history at Kent State University at Stark and coeditor of
The Encyclopedia of Women and Baseball “This book is a must-read for understanding what it’s like to be a baseball first. Ila’s courage to keep going forward against all odds is both inspiring and meaningful.”—Justine Siegal, founder of Baseball For All
“The best baseball books are about more than the game. In this evocative memoir, lefthander Ila Borders recounts her struggles in the male world of professional baseball.”—George Gmelch, author of
Playing with Tigers: A Minor League Chronicle of the Sixties “Ila Borders is a role model. As the father of two daughters, both of whom have played, watched, and read about sports for as long as they have been able to do so, I have long awaited her memoir.”—Steve Gietschier, associate professor of history at Lindenwood University
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Note to the Reader
Prologue
1. Beginnings: Little League
2. Lipstick Adolescence
3. College: Pitching through Adversity
4. Mike Veeck and the St. Paul Saints
5. Duluth-Superior Dukes: Being “Babe”
6. The Dukes: Nailing a Win
7. Another Team, Another Town
8. Out of the Game
9. Loss
Epilogue
Notes
