My final trip of that summer would not be to a Major League Baseball game or stadium, but to South Bend, Indiana where I would be meeting up with my friends from the All American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association. They hold an annual reunion (and have since the 1980s) for the players and associate members to gather and catch up. I had first gone in 2013 to their Chicago event, right after I had begun researching women’s baseball, and went again in 2014 to their Albuquerque event. Unfortunately, I have not been able to make it to another reunion since the 2015 one, but I do hope to go again one day. We are losing these wonderful women so quickly and I want to soak in their beautiful energy as much as I can.
This South Bend trip introduced me to a good friend and colleague, Ryan Woodward, who will tell our meet cute as the funny incident that it was. Following my trip to Detroit with my friend Carol, I had borrowed a book on Dachau to read before meeting up with her again in South Bend. I had found her at the hotel we were staying in with many of the other attendees in a conference room meant for us to relax, which is where Ryan had been sitting and taking in the ruckus of his first reunion. I mentioned my appreciation for the book, returned it to Carol, and made a comment about being glad to see her again. And, well, the Holocaust perked his interest and he started up a conversation that would last several hours and create a bond we still share. Horror movies, women’s baseball, and a love for history are some strong indicators of lifelong friendship and this is one of my favorite memories from that week.
The week also led to a minor league game watched from the boxes, a lot of time with some great ballplayers, and some shenanigans with other associate members that I wish I could spend more time with. Then, at the end of our time, I tipped my hat (metaphorically) to my friends and made the long drive back home to celebrate my sister’s birthday. Just a few weeks later, I would start graduate school and begin an entirely new path with a summer of memories that I think back on fondly to this day.
Raven K 