Listening to Irene Greenwald’s description of a catch she made in right field would do former Rockies Gold Glover Larry Walker proud.
Greenwald wasn’t playing for the Rockies or at Coors Field, however. She was playing for the Denver Industrial Bank’s women’s fast-pitch softball team. The location was the softball diamond at City Park.
The stakes were high. The Bankers were trying to protect a narrow lead in the title game of a regional tournament and the opposition had a runner on base. The batter scalded a line drive to right field that had extra bases written all over it.
“I just ran like crazy and jumped as high as I could,” Greenwald said. “The ball went into my glove and we won the game.”
It was 1945, and women’s softball at City Park was a popular attraction.
“We got big crowds,” Greenwald said. “Most of the men were still in military service, so our games were about the only thing to watch. Admission was free most of the time, but we played some games to raise money to pay the umpires and admission (for those) was 33 cents. I think at one time, we had 17 women’s teams playing at City Park.”
Greenwald doesn’t need a big audience to tell the stories she hopes will preserve memories of the women who played a brand of softball just as masterful of the men who came along after World War II.
“I think we should get some attention,” Greenwald said, noting recent reminiscing in this space about pitchers Larry Bollig and Harvey Sterkel and hitters Art Unger and George Bruno.
The women’s game had some memorable players locally as well. Shortstop Nancy Ito made the National Softball Hall of Fame. Left-handed pitcher Muggzie Walker was the team ace and once pitched all 16 innings in a 2-1 loss in a world championship game in Phoenix.
“It was quite a thrilling time for women’s softball,” Greenwald said. “Television was just coming in. The first year I played we wore the long pants, but then we went to the fancy short skirts. There were some hecklers in the stands.”
Greenwald explained that her coach, Harry Ukulele, said to ignore the comments and just play the game. She did, and in an impromptu meeting with the heckler after a game, he told her she was a “good sport.”
As a hitter, Greenwald fell into a routine: all or nothing. She blasted many home runs but also had a lot of strikeouts. She was 5-foot-4 and 170 pounds but quickly adds that her weight was all muscle.
Her home run side came in handy one game.
“We were behind by a run and had a runner on base,” Greenwald recalled. “I told Harry he should pinch hit for me because of the strikeouts. He said it was my turn to hit a home run.”
Ukulele was right and Greenwald’s two-run shot won the game.
Even though it was a much different time in Denver sports back then, there were some problems. No player strikes or anything like that, but some turmoil.
“The police had to come to one of our games because both teams were so upset at the umpires,” Greenwald said. “They had to be escorted off the field.”
Greenwald grew up in Fort Morgan on a family farm. She did her share of chores before and after school. The work came first, but with four brothers, she and a sister were introduced to sports.
“I was a real tomboy,” Greenwald said. “We played all kinds of games, basketball, soccer, whatever.”
On June 17, 1953, Greenwald left softball behind. Her enthusiasm was diminished by a tragic accident at the City Park field. A player was struck by lightning and killed as she was leaving her car heading to practice.
“I kind of lost interest after that,” Greenwald said. “I did play some coed softball, but I didn’t go back to City Park.”
Greenwald became an account executive for an aviation company in Denver. She later moved to Glenwood Springs and eventually to Phoenix.
She returned to Denver in 2005 and made contact with DannyDannenburg Swanson, a teammate on her first team in Denver. They played for Dupler’s Furs. It’s the only contact Greenwald has had with any of her teammates in recent years. She’d like to know if any others are still around.
Greenwald bio
Born: Oct. 5, 1925, in Fort Morgan
High school: Fort Morgan
College: Barnes Business School, Denver
Family: Husband Herman (deceased); sons George and John
Hobby: Card games against anybody, any game
Wishes she could have: Parachuted out of an airplane and hit another home run
