Shieber: Elizabeth Taylor goes to the ballgame
From SABR member Tom Shieber at Baseball Researcher on December 16, 2019:
I love watching baseball and I love watching Elizabeth Taylor. But how often does one get the chance to combine the two pastimes? Alas, not often.
I’ve long been aware of a couple of instances in which Liz and baseball have crossed paths. The first occurred on August 1, 1949, when a 17-year-old Liz participated in a celebrity ball game at Gilmore Field in Hollywood, California. In this case the game was softball, not baseball, and Liz didn’t actually play, but let’s not quibble over minutia. Liz was one of a dozen “bat girls” that cheered on Frank Sinatra’s “Swooners” and Andy Russell’s “Sprouts” in a benefit contest for the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce’s youth welfare fund. Players included stars such as Nat “King” Cole, Peter Lawford, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Robert Mitchum, Mickey Rooney, Phil Silvers, and Mel Torme. Other bat girls included Ava Gardner, Virginia Mayo, and Jane Russell.
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I thought these were the only notable instances in which Liz and baseball crossed paths, but thanks to a “head’s up” from my friend Mark Armour, it turns out that there’s another Liz-baseball connection. About 17 minutes into the forgettable (except for Liz, of course) 1952 movie “Love Is Better Than Ever,” Jud Parker (played by Larry Parks) takes Stacie Macaboy (played by Taylor) on a date to the Polo Grounds in New York.
Read the full article here: https://baseballresearcher.blogspot.com/2019/12/elizabeth-taylor-goes-to-ball-game.html
Originally published: December 16, 2019. Last Updated: December 16, 2019.