92-year-old Maybelle Blair gave young players in the Trailblazer Series a thrill with a game of catch
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Maybelle Blair carries a glove with her -- a Joe Torre model, signed by Joe Torre -- just in case a game of catch suddenly breaks out. It¡¯s good to be prepared, after all.
The glove came in handy on Saturday at the MLB Youth Academy in Compton, Calif., host site to the annual Trailblazer Series.
The 92-year-old Blair is a slice of living history, as an alum of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League that was made famous by the 1992 hit movie ¡°A League of Their Own.¡± Blair, along with Shirley ¡°Hustle¡± Burkovich and Jeneane ¡°Lefty¡± Lesko, are regular guests at the Trailblazer Series every year. They¡¯re also celebrities among the many 11, 12 and 13-year-old girls participating in the tournament, judging from the number of photos they pose for every year.
So when Blair asked young Trailblazer Emma Chudzick, ¡°Can I play catch with you?¡± Emma readily replied, ¡°Sure!¡±
The two played catch on the grassy area near one of the fields. The session attracted some attention, and soon there was a small line of players waiting their turn, either for a quick game of catch or to pose for a picture with Blair -- who can still bring it, by the way.
Think these kids are too young to understand the legacy of the All-American Girls? Think again.
¡°I know the men went off to war, so the women played baseball for a while,¡± Chudzick said. ¡°I know it was really historical. And really cool.¡±
And really accurate.