Julie Croteau
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Julie Croteau is recognized as the first woman to play men’s NCAA baseball (St. Mary’s College of Maryland), as well as the first woman to coach men’s NCAA Division I baseball (University of Massachusetts). She is one of two women to ever play in an MLB sanctioned winter league (Hawaiian Winter League), and her baseball glove and photo are on permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Croteau also played with the Colorado Silver Bullets – a woman’s professional baseball team that played from 1994-97.[1]
Born Dec. 4, 1970, Croteau grew up in Prince William County, Va., and begun playing T-ball at the age of six, two years after girls had won the right to play in Little League. At age eight she entered Little League, where she batted .300 and her coach said of her, "as a first baseman, from a defensive point of view she was one of our best."[2]
From Little League Croteau progressed to Major League (ages 13-15) and also played in a fall baseball league for 14-year-olds. She began to attend baseball clinics at 13 and at 16 entered the Babe Ruth League (ages 16-18), playing there until she was 17 and a senior in high school.
In 1988 Croteau sued her high school for the right to play on the boys' baseball team in 1988 and lost the suit.
Croteau walked on at St. Mary's College of Maryland (Division III) and made the men's baseball team as a freshman. She received national media attention for this accomplishment.
After playing in college, Croteau continued her career by coaching men's NCAA baseball at Western New England College (Division III) and then at the University of Massachusetts (Division I).
Croteau made an appearance in a major motion picture as baseball double for actress Anne Ramsey in the 1992 Columbia Pictures film, A League of Their Own. Croteau and Ramsey played 1st basewoman Helen Haley.
In 2004 Croteau was selected as a coach for the United States Women's National team, which captured Gold at the 2004 Women's World Cup of Baseball in Edmonton. In 2006, Croteau will serve as manager of the 2006 Women’s National Team that will represent the United States at the Women’s World Cup in Taiwan.[3]
