Death of Grand Rapids Chicks player may have marked the end of an era
Joyce Hill Westerman played for the inaugural Grand Rapids Chicks team in 1945, and she may have been the last surviving player from that year s team. Author: Matt Gard Updated: 1:44 PM EST January 30, 2021
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich When it comes to Grand Rapids sports legends, Joyce Hill Westerman may not be the first name that comes to mind. After all, her only season with the Grand Rapids Chicks was her rookie year, a year in which she only had 18 at bats over nine games.
But the 1945 season Westerman spent in Grand Rapids was historic for the city. The Chicks franchise had just moved from Milwaukee, where the team struggled to compete for fans with the Brewers, which at the time was a minor league franchise.
Bobbleheads featuring ‘A League of Their Own’ players include two Michigan all-stars
Updated Jan 07, 2021;
Posted Jan 07, 2021
Bobbleheads have been created of Doris Sams of the Muskegon Lassies and Alma Ziegler of the Grand Rapids Chicks of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. (Photos courtesy of the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum)
Facebook Share
You can now add two of Michigan’s greatest baseball players of all-time to your bobblehead collection. The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum has unveiled bobbleheads of Alma Ziegler and Doris Sams who played for Michigan teams in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, the league which was featured in the 1992 hit movie, “A League of Their Own.”