Notes
Note N1998
Index
In an interview in the Philadelphia Inquirer after the movie "A League Of Their Own" came out: "I put my memories away on a shelf," said Barbara Liebrich, 69, a player from 1946 to 1954 and now a retired accountant in Florida. "It was another part of our lives. I just went to work. Became successful at what I did, just like a lot of girls. But you always wondered what happened to the others." The movie brought those days rushing back again..."1 Jul 1992, The Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer
"Barbara "Bobbie" Liebrich was in a league of her own as one of the nation's few female professional baseball players, but it wasn't something she bragged about.
"It was something that was in our past and we went on to do other things," said longtime friend Pat Barringer, who was also in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the late 1940s.
Liebrich, who retired to Port Charlotte in 1999, died July 17 after a series of strokes. She was 83.
A talented softball player as a teenager in Rhode Island, Liebrich tried out for the expanding league in 1947 and began her six-year baseball career playing second base for the Rockford (Ill.) Peaches in 1948.
She also played for the Kenosha (Wis.) Comets, managed the Springfield (Ill.) Sallies on the Rookie Touring Team and chaperoned the Kalamazoo (Mich.) Lassies, which won the championship in 1954.
Liebrich was named the All-Star chaperon that year, the final year of the women's baseball league.
Liebrich later worked as an accountant and retired as the chief accounting officer for the Kalamazoo Label Co., where few co-workers were aware of her days on the diamond. Many of the friends she made playing golf in Florida also were unaware of her past, said Barringer, of Port Charlotte.
The women's baseball league was launched in 1943 in an attempt to fill baseball stadiums around the country while many of the nation's young men were headed off to war.
The short-lived league became the subject of the 1992 movie "A League of Their Own" starring Geena Davis, Madonna and Tom Hanks.
"We both liked the movie, but (director) Penny Marshall made it 'Hollywood,'" Barringer said. "She put in a lot of things that weren't true, but she put in a lot of things that were true, and nobody tells Penny Marshall what to do."
Barringer said she and Liebrich and many of their former teammates interacted with Marshall while she was doing research for the movie. They met her during a reunion in Cooperstown, N.Y., home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
One fictionalized account in the movie, Barringer said, was when Tom Hanks' character enters the women's locker room.
"No male manager in the league ever went into the women's locker room, ever. He would meet them outside the locker room," Barringer said.
The Baseball Hall of Fame recently dedicated its first statue honoring the more than 600 women who played the game professionally.
Liebrich's survivors include a brother, Robert, of Cranston, R.I.; sisters Jean Liebrich of Cranston and Ann Hays of Warwick, R.I.; and several nieces and nephews. "--21 July 2006, Sarasota (FL) Herald-Tribune
"Barbara E. "Bobbie" Liebrich, 83, of Port Charlotte, Fla., passed away Monday, July 1, 2006. She was born Sept. 30, 1922 in Cranston, R.I. to George and Lillian (Leicht) Liebrich.
Barbara played second base for the Rockford Peaches and Kenosha Comets in 1948 and was a manager-chaperone of the "Sallies" on the Rookie Touring team in 1949 and 1950 for the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. Following her baseball career she became the chief accolunting officer for a large manufacturing firm. After retiring she moved from Kalamazoo, Mich., to Port Charlotte in 1999. Barbara enjoyed golfing and the company of her friends.
She will be missed by her brother, Robert (Carol) of Cranston; sisters, Jean Liebrich of Cranston and Ann Hays of Warwick, R.I.; friend, Pat Barringer of Port Charlotte along with several nieces and nephews. Barbara was preceded in death by her brother, George Jr.
A memorial service in celebration of Barbara's life will be held at a later date in Rhode Island. Memorial donations may be made to National Wildlifie Federation, 11100 Wildlife Center Drive, Reston, VA 20190. To express condolences to the family, please visit www.LTaylorfuneral.com and sign the online guest book."--20 Jul 2006, (Port) Charlotte (FL) Sun
"Three rookies of the Rockford Peaches baseball squad confer with Manager Bill Allington before a recent game at the high school stadium. The girl, left to right, are Barbara Liebrich, infielder, Melbs Alspaugh, outfielder, and Eleanor Callow outfielder and catcher. Alspaugh was allotted to the Peaches at the spring training camp and she has been playing in left field in the place of Rita Briggs, assigned to the night as a catcher and favorably impressed the fans. Liebrich hasn't been in the lineup as yet."--6 June 1948, Morning Star (Rockford, IL)
Notes
Note N1999
Index
Five siblings, including this one, went to America in 1869: Carolin, George, Peter, Jacob, Anna Marie and Augustina.
Notes
Note N2000
Index
Living with brother August and sister Catherine. Never married.
"LIEBRICH Caroline, age 96 years, Friday October 11, 1963. Friends may call at the little Sisters of the Poor, 476 Riddle Rd., Sunday from 2 P.M. to 6 P.M. Requiem High Mass, Monday, October 14 at 6:30 A.M. Busse & Borgmann Co., in charge of arrangements."--13 Oct 1963, The Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer