By Evan Midford, Website & Social Media Coordinator
The Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame recently acquired a large collection of memorabilia from the family of Honoured Member, Evelyn Moroz.
The memorabilia includes game-used equipment from her days with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), along with a variety of souvenirs and scrapbooks that she acquired during her playing days and travel.
The memorabilia were donated by her children, Greg Litwin, Tammy Moroz, Linda Newton, Dawn Perrelli, Penny Topolnitsky and Sheryl Wagner.
“We want to share what she had, because that’s when we talk with her. She thought this was a piece of history, and it should be shared,” Topolnitsky said. “People can see how brave and adventurous it is to leave a small town in Manitoba and travel on a train to Chicago, not knowing anybody.”
Select items are currently on display in the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame’s Decades Gallery, while other memorabilia is safely stored in our archives for researchers.
All-American from Rural Manitoba
Evenlyn “Evie” (Wawrshyn Litwin) Moroz was a phenomenon in the world of women’s baseball during the 1900’s. Growing up in her hometown of Tyndall, Manitoba, Moroz had three brothers that played a huge role in the development of her sports career. She spent timeless hours throwing a ball against her house.
“It’s practice and dedication; You have to love what you do to be a good athlete,” Topolnitsky said “I’m hoping that people who look at her story see the love of the game.”
In 1945, Moroz began her career in baseball as she was enrolled in the women’s softball club called Canadian Ukraine Athletic Club (CUAC) in Winnipeg, Manitoba. While playing a regular season game with the CUAC, there was an unknown audience member who saw potential in her role on the field, it was an All-American Girls Professional Baseball scout. He approached Moroz after the game and asked her if she wanted to participate in baseball in the States for money. She declined the offer.
The next year, 1946, Moroz taught in Flin Flon, Manitoba. During this time, she was again approached to play professional baseball in the States. This time around, she accepted the offer and began her training. She was then signed to play for the Kenosha Wisconsin Comets; This was the beginning of her six-year career in the AAGPBL.
For three consecutive years (1948 to 1950), Moroz was honoured to play in the All-Star teams, such as Springfield Sallies and Fort Wayne Daisies. The following year, in 1951, she left baseball to get married, but she continued to play one of her long term hobbies that she cherished, ice hockey in the off season.
“She was getting hat tricks left and right. It didn’t matter which sport she was in, she was a star in it.” – Tammy Moroz recalled.
Moroz was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.
Learn more about Evie Moroz by visiting her Honoured Member bio.
