Betty Carveth Dunn (nee Carveth), enshrined in the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame just 2 years ago, has died.
Betty, a member of the Rockford Peaches back in 1945, was one of just 64 Canadian women to play in Phil Wrigley’s World War II era All American Girls Professional Baseball League. The league and in particular the Rockford Peaches were the inspiration for the Tom Hanks / Geena Davis movie A League of Their Own.
Dunn was 93.
The day of her induction into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame I was fortunate to sit down and interview Betty. Here’s a post we made for that interview followed by her Induction video for The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.
Born in 1925, Betty Carveth grew up in Grande Prairie, Alberta and became a part of baseball history.
Betty Carveth was one of only sixty-four Canadian women to play in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. A right-handed pitcher, she played during the 1945 season with the Rockford Peaches and was traded mid-season to the Fort Wayne Daisies. She returned home to Edmonton and became the city’s first female Little League Baseball coach and coached the boys for 10 years. At the age of 12, she pitched for the Twilight Ladies Softball team which won three Peace River Championships in a row. In the mid-1940s, she pitched for Edmonton’s top-rated Walk-Rite women’s baseball team.
Betty played for the Walk-Rite team from 1943-1945 at the age of eighteen to twenty. It was during this time that a scout saw her play and asked her to try out for the All American Girls Professional Baseball League in the United States; a league that was featured in the 1992 movie “A League of Their Own.” Betty played from April to October in 1945, earning $75 a week – which was four times more than she had made as a secretary back in Edmonton. There was a list of rules and a dress code the players had to abide to, both on and off the field. They attended a half day of beauty school and were told to look and act like ladies, however while on the field, they were to play ball like men. Sliding into a base or making a flying catch was not pleasant as the uniforms were short dresses, knee socks, and caps which provided very little protection.
When the 1945 season closed, Betty returned to Edmonton and demonstrated her love for baseball by promoting and signing autographs throughout the years that followed. She was named Ambassador of Baseball for the inaugural IBAF (International Baseball Federation) Women’s World Baseball Championship in 2004 and then named Special Ambassador in 2012. She threw the ceremonial first pitch at both tournaments and did again in 2015 at one of the Edmonton Prospects games.
As a member of the AAGPBL, Betty was inducted into the American Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, USA in 1988. She was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998 with the Canadian AAGPBL players.
As a football coach he was a national champ and an absolute institution at the University of Alberta. But it’s likely that Jim Donlevy may actually have made an even bigger impact in hockey where he was instrumental in the formation of the post secondary scholarship system in Junior Hockey. Jim was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame just a few months ago.
His brother Michael is a long time Red Deer resident and recently retired from a brilliant career of his own at Red Deer College. Here’s what Michael shared with friends after the death of his oldest brother:
Early Sunday, we lost an amazing individual in Jim Donlevy. A great husband, father, uncle and Grandpa – and my oldest brother. He was a friend and mentor to me over many years in my career and in life, who encouraged all of what I did. I was and remain deeply proud of what he accomplished, benefiting so many people and am very grateful that Jim was properly recognized this year, with his induction into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. Jim was a coach and dedicated educator, totally committed to teaching, learning and student athletes. He leaves an incredible legacy and all of us will miss him dearly.
Here’s Jim Donlevy’s Alberta Sports Hall of Fame induction video.
‘Jim’ Donlevy devoted his professional career to more than 50 years of coaching, teaching and administrative leadership. His career in football began in 1954 coaching Bantam and High School Football teams. He joined the Edmonton Huskies from 1961 to 1963 and won two Canadian titles. At the University of Alberta, he led the Golden Bears to four National Championship games and brought home the Vanier Cup in 1972 and 1980. He had the most wins of any Golden Bears football coach with 89 wins, 69 losses and 3 ties. From 1993 to 2015, Jim was the Western Hockey League’s Education Consultant. He built a formal education and scholarship program for the student athletes playing in the league. It is now considered one of the most comprehensive education programs for hockey in the world today.
Please consider sharing this inspirational story on your own social media channels so others can learn about and enjoy Alberta’s rich sports history. Click here for more inspirational stories from the Class of 2019.
As your plans and commitments for this summer start to fill your calendar, we hope that you have had a chance to set aside August 8 for the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum annual golf tournament.
On August 8, 2019, we will be having our annual golf tournament at Innisfail Golf Club. The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame has strived to preserve and celebrate Alberta’s exceptional athletes, builders, pioneers, and teams for over 62 years. Each year the Golf Tournament brings together our Honoured Members, Inductees, sporting organizations and the community for a great day of golf and networking. The Golf Tournament is a major fundraiser for ASHFM and allows us to continue to bring sports history and education to Albertans and inspire the future Hall of Famers. Your support in the past few years is very much appreciated and we hope that you will be one of our special guests this year. I have enclosed the tournament sponsorship opportunities and a golf registration if you would like to join us for our Golf Tournament this year.
Please call Kayli at 403-341-8614 if you have any questions or concerns regarding our golf tournament sponsorship or participation.
Click to visit the website.
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Red Deer River Naturalists Bird Focus Group Walk.
When: October 26, 2019 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Location: Maskepetoon Park – Located in the subdivision of Oriole Park West, follow Kerry Wood Drive, meet in the parking lot south of Overand Place. Parking lot is on the west side of Kerry Wood Drive.
Bring your binoculars, camera and dress for the weather.
