By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Shirley Burkovich, a trailblazing former Rockford Peaches player from the original All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, died on Thursday at age 89.

The Swissvale, Pennsylvania, native played in the league from 1949 to 1951 with four different teams: the Muskegon Lassies, Chicago Colleens, Springfield Sallies and Rockford Peaches.

She died Thursday at her home in Rancho Mirage, California, according to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association

During her playing days she earned the nickname “Hustle” for her boundless energy on the field, and she filled in at every position except catcher.

Her energy and passion for the sport stayed with her later in life as she became a relentless advocate for girls and women’s baseball, traveling extensively to promote, educate and train a new generation of players, according to the players association.

“Shirley Burkovich was a huge role model for many generations of players and continued to show her support for international women’s baseball right until the very end,” Women’s Baseball UK wrote on Facebook. “Thank you and goodnight Hustle.”

Burkovich was also the founding director of the International Women’s Baseball Center. The center’s future museum campus will be built on the grounds of Beyer Park, where the Peaches once played.

“We are heartbroken and devastated to share the sad news of our friend, Shirley Burkovich, passing away today,” the International Women’s Baseball Center wrote on Facebook. “… as countless people around the world know, she was a fierce advocate of women and girls in sports and one of the loveliest, kindest people you could ever hope to call your friend.”

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Burkovich, who started playing in the league at age 16, collected a .229 batting average and a .325 on-base percentage in 37 games, according to stats on Wikipedia. After her time in baseball, she worked for Pacific Bell Telephone for about 30 years and retired in 1983.

She also had an appearance in the 1992 Penny Marshall film “A League of Their Own,” the movie that immortalized the Rockford Peaches on the silver screen. She played the role of the older version of the superstitious Alice “Skeeter” Gaspers. She also had movie appearances in “Throw Like a Girl” and “The Sweet Spot: A Treasury of Baseball Stories,” according to IMDB.

She made several appearances in Rockford promoting the sport, including attending Baseball for All national tournaments held at Beyer Stadium.

“Since 2015, she has attended every (Baseball for All Nationals) and always brought with her a kindness, a quiet wit, and an unceasing passion to give more opportunities for girls in the game,” Baseball for All wrote on Facebook. “She was a beloved member of our baseball family and has had a tremendous impact on our community.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas.