The Ball Players Who Skated

I'm always interested in feedback when it comes to writing this blog, and I do read comments and emails when I'm not frantically writing or searching for something in my email. That leads me to wonder if anyone is actually enjoying these long-form pieces on the Canadian women of the AAGPBL who played hockey as well. For me, I know I enjoy discovering this small piece of sports history about which a vast chunk of the population likely has no clue (that includes me), but I never can tell if people are reading those articles and enjoying them. Or maybe hating them because they're too long or something. Personally, I've learned a lot about the women who played key roles on the AAGPBL diamonds as well as sheets of ice in Canada, and I'm hoping you have as well. Leave a comment below and let me know what you think.

For those who have missed them, they include:

• Evelyn Wawryshyn - four teams in the AAGPBL
• Olive Bend - Rockford Peaches
• Doris Barr - three teams in the AAGPBL
• Mildred Wawrick - Rockford Peaches
• Terry Donahue - Peoria Redwings
• Ruth Middleton - three teams in the AAGPBL

I plan on doing more through to the end of August, but there's a lot of research that goes into these pieces that occasionally see them get pushed to the side. I do go back and finish the articles, but it can be time-consuming at the very least when trying to track down all the historical information that goes into each article.

I'll also admit that the research is getting better with each article as well. Comparatively, the Evelyn Wawryshyn article is good while the Ruth Middleton article is much better. Scanning the old public libraries archives takes an immense amount of time, but I'm finding ways to generate better results on the people I'm researching, so don't hold those first ones against me if they seem more brief than the latter articles are. That's what happens when one practices using a tool - they become more efficient and better when it comes to using it effectively.

In any case, drop me a comment below if you're liking, disliking, hating, or ignoring the articles about the women who had hockey careers while being famous for their work in the AAGPBL. Feedback is good, and I'll consider it constructive criticism if you're not a fan of those articles. With life interfering with HBIC work occasionally, the feedback will tell me how much time I should be devoting to these research projects.

Fire away with the comments!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!