Dedicated July 4th 2020 . . . . |
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Delaware County Bicentennial Marker honors |
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Billy
Southworth |
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(Click Small Photos To Enlarge) |
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Located in the ballpark at the Big Walnut Conservation Club at 12211 Hartford Road east of Sunbury. This marker honors Billy Southworth and Marilyn “Corky” Olinger who were both for residents of Sunbury and are in the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame. The marker was paid for by the Delaware County Bicentennial Celebration. |
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It was dedicated July 4, 2020, during the
coronavirus Stay-Safe in Ohio. |
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MARILYN “CORKY” OLINGER |
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Marilyn June Olinger was
born May 19, 1929 to Carl and Maud Olinger and sister Betty in
Berkshire Township. The family moved to Rainbow Avenue in
Sunbury. Carl drove a milk truck. Following her parents
divorce, Marilyn lived with her mother and went to Linden McKinley
High School where she played intramural sports. Her father stayed in
Sunbury and married Florence Brown and they became the parents of
Shirley. During World War II many professional baseball players were called to serve in the U.S. Military and many men’s teams were disbanded. This created a need for new professional baseball players and teams. Thus began the recruitment for the All American Girls Professional Baseball |
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League was created in
1943. Sunbury native Marilyn Corky’ Olinger joined League in
1948 and played in 599 games with the Chicago Colleens and the Grand
Rapids Chicks. The daughter of Carl and Maud Olinger had a
batting average of .220 during her career. After breaking an
ankle, Corky left the league in 1953. At its peak, the league
had ten teams. Each team had fifteen players, a manager, and a
female chaperone. With the end of World War II and the return
of men’s baseball, the league’s popularity began to wane and it was
disbanded in 1954. On July 4th 2006 Marilyn died in Columbus and was buried in Wesley Chapel Cemetery. In 1992, the All American Girls Professional Baseball League was the subject of a Penny Marshall movie, “A League of Their Own” and was honored with an exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY in 2006. |
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WILLIAM H. SOUTHWORTH |
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Billy Southworth was born on March 9, 1893 in Nebraska and grew up in Columbus playing baseball. He and his wife, Lydia Brooks had a son, Billy Brooks. They were divorced in 1934. Lydia died in 1936 and is buried in Greenlawn Cemetery in Columbus. In January 1935, Billy married Mabel, daughter of Charles and Emma Stemen of Sunbury, and in 1940, Southworths and daughter Carole settled on a farm along Big Walnut Creek in Trenton Township. Their house was stone Billy brought up from the creek. During his major league baseball career, Southworth posted a winning percentage of .597, fifth-best all-time. For thirteen seasons, he was a major league manager with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Braves. He led the Cardinals to a pair of World Series champion- |
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ships in 1942 and 1944. His 1943 Cardinals also
won the National League pennant. |
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Members of Sparrow Masonic Lodge
400 Set the Marker |
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Dedication 1p.m. July 4, 2020 |
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Delaware County's 200th Flags Cover Sign |
Rick Helwig explains why this has taken 10 years |
Billy's Nephew, Ron Stemen, |
Corky's sister, Shirley in car to |
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George Justice tells of this being the High School Baseball Park complete with dugouts |
Red Edwards shares his Billy Southworth Scrapbook |
Shirley Olinger attends ceremony in her car following recent surgery |
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Goto
More on Ball Parks Goto Manager Southworth Goto Major Southworth Return to Local History Index |
(07/09/2020) |