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“Mrs. Morhard and the Boys is a spectacular baseball story. Charmingly written, powerful in its message and interesting in its subject matter. This book deserves to be counted as a gem of sports literature.” ~Andrew Salzone, Bronx Pinstripes, June 12, 2020
“Unforgettable … Elegantly written … with a sharp eye to history and a sensitivity to the thrill the kids must have felt. They had risen from the streets, and the vacant lots, and the wooden grandstands of their little fields, to play their championship in a real big league park for the first time in history. Ruth Morhard makes you see and feel what they felt.”~”Old Gator,” Fishstripes, July 24, 2020
“Fascinating and compelling … extremely well-researched, and the attention to detail is administered with love—the love of great stories and the love of the game…There hasn’t been a great baseball movie made for quite a few years. Hollywood need look no further than this book for some excellent source material.” ~NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture
“Mrs. Morhard and the league she founded are the subject of a fascinating new book …Ruth Morhard conveys the young woman’s struggles and determination in a vivid color.”
~Laura DeMarco, The Plain Dealer, May 12, 2019
“Beautifully tells the true story of how one mother kept her son out of trouble during the depression years and started the FIRST boy’s baseball league.” ~Delilah, Syndicated Radio Host
“Josephine Morhard is a heroine for our times: A devoted single mother who never took no for an answer, she single-handedly started the first boys’ baseball league in America. Josephine enriched the lives of countless young boys and shaped American baseball history. Her daughter-in-law, Ruth Morhard, is a deft biographer and has written a narrative that reads like the best old movies: charming, vivid, and inspirational.”~Anne Zimmerman, author, An Extravagant Hunger: The Passionate Years of M.F.K. Fisher
“It is a treat to read of Mrs. Morhard and the inexhaustible resolve that brought national attention to her league.” ~Akron Beacon Journal
As the Great Depression brought America to the brink of disaster, a devoted single mother in Cleveland, Ohio, wrestled triumph out of adversity by creating a community activity that would inspire the American Little League.
Josephine Morhard never waited for something to happen. At twelve years old, fiercely independent Josephine left her family’s Pennsylvania farm to start a new life. Coming of age during one of the most devastating times in America, and weathering two bad marriages, Josephine put her personal problems aside to insure a productive future for her daughter and son. But Junior was a volatile boy of eight—until his mother came upon a novel sports idea to encourage discipline, guidance, and self-worth in her son. Out of a dream, an empty lot, and the enthusiasm of other neighborhood kids, Josephine established the first boys’ baseball league in America. Her city—and the country—was watching.
Beyond all expectations, the Cleveland Indians rallied behind her project. Indians legends Bob Feller, Jeff Heath, and Roy Weatherly helped hone the boys’ skills; renowned sports reporter Hal Lebovitz became an umpire; and they were given permission to play in historic League Park. All the while, as Josephine’s Little Indians graduated into the Junior American and Junior National Leagues, and finally a Little World Series, she instilled in her boys strong values, good sportsmanship, and an unprecedented sense of accomplishment. Some of them, like Ray Lindquist and Jack Heinen, would become Minor League players. Not one of Mrs. Morhard’s boys would ever forget her.
In this stirring biography of an unsung American heroine, Josephine Morhard’s daughter-in-law recounts the extraordinary life and accomplishments of a resilient, selfless, and determined woman. Her inspiring true story—a long time coming—is something to cheer for.