Staples, Tobias receive scholarships in 2017 SABR Women in Baseball essay contest
SABR’s Women in Baseball Committee is pleased to award two scholarships to high school senior in its inaugural Women in Baseball Essay Contest in 2017.
Due to the generous donations of committee members, the Women in Baseball Committee has awarded a $500 scholarship to Josh Staples of Chandler, Arizona, and a $250 award to Sara Tobias of New York City.
Students were asked to write an essay of 1,500 words or less addressing the following question: “Choose one person or event in women’s baseball history that you believe has made a significant impact on the game and explain the importance.”
Click on a PDF link below to read the winning essays:
- “‘When the Person is Female’: MLB Officially Erases its ‘Gender Line’ after 75 Years (1931-2006),” by Josh Staples
- “One Out for Pakistan, One Win for Women’s Baseball,” by Sara Tobias
A Phoenix native, Joshua Henry Staples’s name was inspired by baseball legends Joshua Gibson and Henry Aaron. His great-great uncle, Robert Bailey (1895-1962), played in the Texas Negro Leagues with the Dallas Black Giants, Fort Worth Black Panthers, and the barnstorming 1917 Texas Colored All-Stars, and competed on the same field with Hall of Famers Biz Mackey, Andy Cooper, and Louis Santop. His great-great-great grandfather, Merritt Corbett (1893-1949), played pro ball in the Northeast in the 1910s. While Josh appreciates the game of baseball and the human-interest stories from its history, the arts and sciences are his true passions. He excelled in the arts during high school, in both music and writing. He is also passionate about exercise, nutrition, and helping others live healthier lives. After graduating from Corona del Sol High School in Tempe, Arizona, in 2017, he was accepted into the Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University, where he is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in health and wellness. His ultimate goal is to attend graduate school and pursue a career in nutrition and/or human movement science.
Sara Tobias was born and grew up in New York City. At 6 years old, she started playing recreational baseball in her local Little League. At 10, she joined the leagues’ competitive tournament team and has been playing travel baseball ever since. She is currently a senior at The Berkeley Carroll School in Brooklyn, where she joined the varsity baseball team as a freshman and racked up an impressive 6-1 pitching record as a sophomore. In 2016, she was the youngest member of the USA Baseball Women’s National Team that traveled to Gijang, South Korea, to compete in the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup. Sara has played baseball throughout the five boroughs of New York and up and down the East Coast. Not once has anyone ever said she did not belong on the field. Playing baseball has opened up many opportunities for her.
Eligible applicants for the Women in Baseball Scholarship were current high school seniors who were anticipating completion of their high school diploma at the time of application, planning to pursue a degree at an accredited U.S. post-secondary institution, and carrying a minimum 2.5 GPA at the end of their junior year.
For more information about the SABR Women in Baseball Research Committee, click here.
Originally published: October 2, 2017. Last Updated: October 2, 2017.