PawSox to Present "An Old-Fashioned Ladies' Day” on April 13

Women of all ages are admitted free; Club will honor legendary Rhode Island baseball star Wilma Briggs to launch new “Women & Baseball Wednesdays” series

The Pawtucket Red Sox will present “An Old-Fashioned Ladies Day” at 74-year-old McCoy Stadium on Wednesday afternoon, April 13, at 12:05 p.m.  Ladies of all ages will be admitted free.  Women are invited to order their general admission tickets for Ladies Day by going to pawsox.com and entering the promo code Ladies (with a capital “L”) at checkout, or by getting tickets at the ballpark. 
 
The club will honor legendary Rhode Island baseball star, Wilma Briggs, in ceremonies during the game.  The left-hand-hitting left fielder was one of the premier hitters in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, whose story reached current generations in the film, “A League of Their Own.”

Briggsie, as she was known, is an 85-year-old Rhode Islander, born in East Greenwich and resident of Wakefield.  After her playing career with the Fort Wayne Daisies and the South Bend Blue Sox, the noted slugger taught in North Kingstown at Wickford Elementary School until 1992.  Her 43 career home runs rank second in league history behind Eleanor Callow’s 55.

The PawSox’ matinee against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the New York Yankees’ Triple A affiliate, is the first in a series of Women & Baseball Wednesdays that the club is instituting this year.  Each day of the week has an ongoing theme.
 
“We recognize that women comprise a major portion of our passionate fan base,” said PawSox Chairman Larry Lucchino, “And this gesture is a simple, old-fashioned way to put out the welcome mat.”
 
Throughout the season, the PawSox will honor various women for their contributions to the game on the field and in the front office.  The club will typically host pre-game chats with the honorees, who will then throw a Ceremonial First Pitch and participate on the broadcasts and telecasts.
 
While “A League of Their Own” was a fictional depiction of the true story of the Midwest league, Wilma, like Geena Davis’s lead character, grew up on a dairy farm.
 
Briggs, who played 691 games from 1948-1954, led the league in home runs in 1953, and is one of only 14 to drive in more than 300 in her career.  She is among the women from the league recognized at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown.
 
The days of the week themes for 2016 include:

• My Hero Mondays, in which stars of the community are honored, starting with Heather Abbott on April 11;
• TV Tuesdays, in which local television personalities are honored and TV shows are featured;
• Women & Baseball Wednesdays, starting with an Old-Fashioned Ladies Day April 13 that will honor Wilma Briggs
• Throwback Thursdays, when the PawSox will wear replicas of the vintage jerseys of the Pawtucket Slaters of the 1940s, starting May 5;
• Free [Blank] Fridays, when fans will receive a special item or experience for free;
• SuperSox Saturdays, when fans will receive a premium gift or extraordinary fireworks experience;
• Sundays are Family FunDays, when children have assorted roles in the operation of the game, and all fans run the bases after day games.