A Secret Love

00:27:25,853 --> 00:27:28,021 and running for them and getting them. 466 00:27:29,356 --> 00:27:32,484 And then I had a dirty bounce that cut my eyebrow. 467 00:27:33,152 --> 00:27:35,863 So I went off to the side, and they said, "Take her for stitches." 468 00:27:35,946 --> 00:27:40,534 I said, "No. Put a Band-Aid on it. I'm going back out. I'm not finished." 469 00:27:41,577 --> 00:27:43,912 They brought me back and said, "Gutsy kid." 470 00:27:45,998 --> 00:27:48,709 And then came allocation day, 471 00:27:48,792 --> 00:27:49,960 and I'll never forget it. 472 00:27:50,043 --> 00:27:53,172 It was in this great big room with all the young girls 473 00:27:53,255 --> 00:27:55,132 who were all there trying to make it. 474 00:27:55,716 --> 00:27:57,718 My name wasn't being called, 475 00:27:57,801 --> 00:27:59,428 it wasn't being called, 476 00:27:59,511 --> 00:28:01,221 wasn't being called, and I thought to myself, 477 00:28:01,305 --> 00:28:04,850 "Well, I guess I'll have to go back home and say I wasn't good enough." 478 00:28:04,933 --> 00:28:08,729 And then my name was called for Peoria Redwings. 479 00:28:08,812 --> 00:28:11,815 I tell you, Chris, I was the happiest girl in that room. 480 00:28:16,403 --> 00:28:20,032 I stayed with them all four years, and they never traded me. 481 00:28:25,579 --> 00:28:29,625 These women had clearly laid down a foundation 482 00:28:29,708 --> 00:28:35,297 for women athletes of all kinds who were following them. 483 00:28:35,380 --> 00:28:37,424 Heads up. 484 00:28:38,467 --> 00:28:39,676 Back straight. 485 00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:41,220 And sit. 486 00:28:41,303 --> 00:28:45,766 Even though they had to jump through all kinds of hoops 487 00:28:45,849 --> 00:28:47,768 in order to get to play... 488 00:28:47,851 --> 00:28:48,685 And sip! 489 00:28:48,769 --> 00:28:51,480 ...they all had to go to charm school... 490 00:28:51,563 --> 00:28:52,564 Don't slurp! 491 00:28:52,648 --> 00:28:54,650 ...and learn how to put on makeup. 492 00:28:55,317 --> 00:28:57,694 They wanted us to look like ladies and play ball like men, 493 00:28:57,778 --> 00:28:59,071 and that's what we did. 494 00:29:00,072 --> 00:29:01,698 This is our uniform. 495 00:29:02,866 --> 00:29:06,161 It had to be six inches above the knee, and they were skirts. 496 00:29:06,787 --> 00:29:10,249 <i>"Tiby" Eisen slides home with a run and a nicely bruised leg.</i> 497 00:29:10,791 --> 00:29:13,710 <i>Better a bruise than long pants, hey, gals?</i> 498 00:29:14,211 --> 00:29:17,130 People thought, "Well, they're gonna go out and have a good laugh. 499 00:29:17,214 --> 00:29:19,925 Women playing in skirts playing baseball." 500 00:29:20,008 --> 00:29:22,511 But when they came out and saw how well we played, 501 00:29:23,095 --> 00:29:24,429 they came back every night. 502 00:29:25,430 --> 00:29:28,225 And in 1948, our league drew a million people. 503 00:29:33,563 --> 00:29:35,023 I think they were feminists. 504 00:29:35,107 --> 00:29:38,318 They were playing baseball, for goodness sake. 505 00:29:38,402 --> 00:29:39,861 Women didn't do that. 506 00:29:42,239 --> 00:29:47,160 They had the courage to do something so different 507 00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:53,041 in a time when "different" was not looked on as something good. 508 00:29:59,965 --> 00:30:01,842 We had a great group of gals. 509 00:30:02,718 --> 00:30:04,011 My good friend, Betty, 510 00:30:04,094 --> 00:30:05,804 we played on the same team. 511 00:30:05,887 --> 00:30:09,141 She said, "Terry, I don't know if you know anything about this. 512 00:30:09,224 --> 00:30:12,561 When these women get together, they like another woman." 513 00:30:12,644 --> 00:30:14,229 And I said, "No, I haven't." 514 00:30:15,022 --> 00:30:18,191 And she said, "I just wanted to let you know what goes on 515 00:30:18,275 --> 00:30:19,901 so you're aware of it." 516 00:30:20,694 --> 00:30:23,113 I'd never heard of those kind of girls. 517 00:30:24,448 --> 00:30:26,491 I mean, I didn't know which ones were which, 518 00:30:26,575 --> 00:30:28,785 but Betty and I weren't taking any chances. 519 00:30:29,494 --> 00:30:30,829 We'd lock our door. 520 00:30:30,912 --> 00:30:32,122 We'd move our dresser. 521 00:30:32,205 --> 00:30:34,708 We'd move our chairs. We'd put it at the door. 522 00:30:35,208 --> 00:30:37,461 Because we didn't want 'em in our room. 523 00:30:37,544 --> 00:30:40,505 I didn't know what to think until I met Pat. 524 00:30:41,631 --> 00:30:45,093 I don't know what happened, but that was it. 525 00:30:49,514 --> 00:30:51,725 It was one of the best days of my life 526 00:30:52,476 --> 00:30:57,856 when I met her on that Sunday morning in the hockey rink in Moose Jaw. 527 00:31:01,068 --> 00:31:02,861 I think I was 18. 528 00:31:03,779 --> 00:31:06,740 S