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Chicago Gems Women's Baseball Club
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Opening the National Pastime to the Other Half of the NationTM
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History of the Chicago Gems
2002-2005
The Chicago Gems were founded in December of 2002 by Amy S.,
Christen W. and Yasmin F. The three had met playing for the Chicago
Storm in the 2002 Great Lakes Tournament in South Bend over Labor Day weekend.
Yasmin had been playing for the Storm for a couple of seasons, Christen had
just joined and Amy got involved because one of the teams was short players and
Christen asked every woman she knew who might be interested if she wanted to play.
The three women lived within a few blocks of each other in Chicago's Lakeview
neighborhood and met throughout the fall to play catch and hit each other
grounders and pop-ups. They decided to form a team so women in the city did not
have to go to the far north suburbs to play.
The Gems roster grew to five, plus an assistant coach, Phil
S, in 2003. Although there were not enough players to field a full team,
the Gems played games for the Manitoba Taffy and Chicago Storm in the Great
Lakes Women's Baseball League. The highlight of the 2003 season was the Gems
participation in the Great Lakes Tournament held in South Bend, Indiana over
Labor Day weekend. All five Gems - Amy, Yasmin, Christen, Amabelle and
Elizabeth - wore their uniforms for the first time as they combined with
players from the Cleveland Comets and Detroit Danger and went 2-2.
The Original Gems, Labor Day Weekend 2003
Back L-R: Amabelle V, Amy S, Christen
W, Elizabeth E, and Yasmin F
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2004 was a rough season for the Gems. Four of the original Gems
ended up on the inactive list due to injury or personal commitments. A number
of women attended practices, but Kate M and Beth T participated in
practices the entire season and played in games for the South Bend Blue Sox.
Amy and Kate also played for the Detroit Danger in the Roy Hobbs Tournament.
The goal of fielding a full team was reached in 2005. Seven
players who had either emailed the Gems in the off-season or had previously
come to practices joined the five existing Gems for spring practices. The fact
that they came back after doing form running was a good sign. These twelve
played in the first doubleheader featuring a full Chicago Gems team on June 5
at Loyola Park in Chicago. The Gems lost both games to the Detroit Danger, 38-1
and 26-6. They redeemed themselves somewhat the following week when they
traveled to Detroit for a rematch, losing by scores of 15-1 and 16-2.
First Game June 5, 2005
Front L-R: Phil S, Brenda M, Julie B,
Rachel C, Amy S, Amabelle V
Back L-R: Elizabeth E, Hilary B, Beth T,
Flor J, Kate M, Joelle B, Laura T
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Unfortunately, due to weather and the demise of the other
teams in the Great Lakes League, the Gems did not play any more games in 2005
as a full squad. The Gems did combine with the South Bend Blue Sox for a
doubleheader against the Detroit Danger on July 31, but otherwise played
modified-scrimmages amongst themselves and with a local men's league.
The Gems made their debut in the annual Roy Hobbs Women's
Baseball Tournament held in Ft. Myers, FL. Seven players combined with five
others from Detroit, Cleveland and Orlando to play five games in three days in
the warm November sun. The team went 0-5, but was competitive in most games.
Jennifer Z was named team MVP.
2005 Roy Hobbs Tournament Team
Front L-R: Brenda, Rachel, Kate,
Vanessa (Orlando), Sarah (Orlando)
Back L-R: Lauren (Detroit),
Joelle, Amy, Flor, Pam (Orlando), Sandy (Cleveland), Jenn
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Gems History, Part 2 -->
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