Thelma ‘Tiby’ Eisen was born 100 years ago on May 11, 1922 and passed away on her 92nd birthday, May 11, 2014. Tiby was an outfielder who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1944-1952. Born in Los Angeles, Eisen grew up in an orthodox Jewish home playing softball, by age 14 she was participating in the semi-professional level, starting with the Katzenjammer Kids. By 1946, Tiby was an All-Star in a professional league. Following her baseball career, she spent 10 years as a calibrated technician with Stratham Instrument Company, followed by 17 years at GTE, where Tiby became the company’s first female PBX technician. She was a member of the Native Daughters of the Golden West of California, featured in Jewish Women in America: A Historical Encyclopedia and was inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in Commack, New York. Tiby always lived life to its fullest and was a very positive person. We can certainly say that she was in a league of her own. May her memory be a blessing.
