Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum

How Alberta’s Betty Carveth Dunn Became Part of Baseball History

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8 months ago

Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum

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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.

Learn more about the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.

Game between the 2 teams Betty played for

1945 Rockford Peaches - Betty third from right in middle row

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Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum

Basketball Coach Bob Davies Inducted into Alberta Sports Hall of Fame

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3 days ago

Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum

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Robert ‘Bob’ Davies participation with basketball began in the late 1940s and lasted for more than 60 years. He coached, refereed, managed, established, and promoted basketball in the Edmonton leagues, and the Alberta and Canadian Associations. He was on the executive of both the Edmonton and Alberta Basketball Associations, and well as coaching youth teams at the community, junior, and senior high school levels and at national competitions.

Bob’s interest in basketball start in 1947 while in grade 11 and he played club basketball until 1951. That’s when he founded, coached and played on his own ‘Davies’ team in the Edmonton Junior League. Throughout the 50s, Bob coached basketball and formed a number of junior, senior and intermediate leagues. In 1953, the Edmonton Basketball Association executive resigned, entrusting Bob with the development of sponsored basketball in Edmonton. He grew one 3-team men’s league into two 6-team men’s leagues.

Bob was appointed to the Alberta Amateur Basketball Association as the Northern Zone Organizer in 1954. He was responsible for organizing many of the northern Alberta Zone and Provincial playoffs.

Throughout his career, Bob officiated basketball games and did so until his retirement in 2011, officiating a career total of 1850 games. Bob received the City of Edmonton Recreation Citation in 1972 and was inducted into the Edmonton Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.

Since it’s inception in 1957, hundreds of Albertans have been inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. We invite everyone to join us in this celebration of both new Inductees and returning Honoured Members, and their lasting impact on sport in our province. If you would like more information on the Induction Banquet or to order tickets, please call (403) 341-8614.

Todayville is proud to have produced the video profiles of this year’s Inductees.

Click here to read more stories about the inductees into this year’s Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.

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Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum

Mountaineer Stuart Erksine Inducted into Alberta Sports Hall of Fame

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6 days ago

Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum

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Stuart Erskine has always pushed himself to do extraordinary things, taking athletic challenges to the extreme. Stuart’s first exploits were as a long distance runner first completing world renowned races such as the Boston and New York Marathons. Not satisfied with those accomplishments, he moved on to compete in adventure races such as Canada’s 125 kilometre Death Race in the Rocky Mountains, and finishing one of the world’s most challenging adventure races, the Marathon Des Sables in Morocco, three times.

After a serious injury however, Stuart traded in his running shoes for climbing gear. After completing a mountaineering course, Stuart set his sights on summiting the tallest peaks on each of the seven continents, an achievement known as the Seven Summits Challenge. Stuart topped Australia’s Mount Kosciusko in October 2013 before moving on to Africa’s famed Mount Kilimanjaro in the summer of 2014. In 2015, Stuart reached the highest points in Europe and South America, as well as North America’s Mount Denali in Alaska. In 2016, Stuart topped the final 2 peaks, Mount Vinson in Antarctica, and finally, Mount Everest in Asia, the highest point on earth, in May 2016.

Stuart Erksine is only the 12th Canadian to meet the Seven Summits Challenge, standing on the highest points on each of the 7 continents.

Todayville is proud to have produced the video profiles of this year’s Inductees. Learn more about the 2018 inductees here.

Since it’s inception in 1957, hundreds of Albertans have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. We invite everyone to join us in this celebration of both new Inductees and returning Honoured Members, and their lasting impact on sport in our province. If you would like more information on the Induction Banquet or to order tickets, please call (403) 341-8614.