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March 23, 2012

Renowned female baseball player Dorothy Kovalchick Roark to speak at ULM on March 28

Batter up!

To further celebrate Women’s History Month, the ULM Diversity Committee is proud to welcome female baseball player and West Monroe resident Dorothy Kovalchick Roark, who will speak on Wednesday, March 28, at 7 p.m. in the ULM Conference Center, located on the seventh floor of the ULM Library.

She played professional baseball during WWII.

According to http://sagamorepa.webs.com/, “Mighty Dottie,” as she was known, grew up in Sagamore, Armstrong County, Penn. She took to baseball easily and played first base.

Roark’s baseball skills were enough in the 1940s to earn her a spot on the Fort Wayne Daisies roster in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League - the first professional baseball league in history for women made famous by the movie, "A League of Their Own."

Her name is etched on the All American Girls Professional Baseball League’s plaque in the National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.

She has published a book, "Uncertain Destiny," detailing some of her family history and early years and experiences in the All American Girls Baseball League.

This program is free and open to the public.

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