Baseball - Women’s Baseball Pioneer Passes Away

Betty Trezza, who played in the All American Girls Professional Baseball Leagues, has died at the age of 81.

According to her sister-in-law Sally Trezza, Trezza died of a heart attack at her Brooklyn home.
Trezza was born in Brooklyn and was one of the 12 children. She played in the women’s baseball league for 7 seasons. She was 17 years old when she was recruited to play as a shortstop in 1994. She was assigned to a team named Minneapolis Millerettes.
In 1945, when Minneapolis was replaced by the Fort Wayne Daisies, Trezza spend half the year with Daisies and the other half with the South Bend Blue Sox.
In 1946, Trezza moved to Racine Belles. This team was highlighted in the 1992 hit film “A League of Their Own” starring Rosie O’Donnell, Madonna and Tom Hanks.
It was in the sixth game in 1946 when Trezza played a key role. This was in the championship series against the Peaches of Rockford, Illinois. Sophie Kurys, one of Racine’s best players, got a hit in the 16th inning and stole second base. It was the single taken by Trezza that scored Kurys with the winning run.
The women’s baseball leagues was started by Chicago Cubs owner Philip Wrigley in 1943 as a way of keeping interest in baseball alive during World War II. The league was stopped in 1954.
After her baseball career ended, Trezza went on to work for Pfizer Inc. as a supervisor.
Trezza never married and lived with two of her sisters. Trezza is survived by four sisters and a brother.