#Shortstops: Spousal support

“More often than not, a baseball spouse is referred to not by her own name but the rather condescending nomenclature of ‘the better half.’”

Attributed to author Kathleen Lockwood, this sentiment sums up the life of a baseball wife. Often hidden from the spotlight, their lives may seem glamorous with perks like fame, prominent friends, and comparable wealth. But underneath the glossy surface is a life closer to a military spouse than a celebrity; her life focuses on her husband’s wellbeing, riding the highs and lows of a baseball career by his side and supporting him as nurse, psychiatrist, homemaker, caregiver, and cheerleader.

Like a military wife, a baseball wife has to be independent, trusting, and resilient; she also quickly develops a sense of camaraderie and shared experience with the other wives, often during spring training where friendships form quickly as wives are offered the opportunity to socially interact without the constraints of the regular season. One such “fast friendship” appears to have developed between Grace Carey and Sally Vosmik in the spring of 1937.

Tom “Scoops” Carey and Joe Vosmik began playing together in 1937 as members of the St. Louis Browns. Tom was already a member of the team, having made his major league debut with the Browns in 1935. Joe had been with the Cleveland Indians for the previous six years and was traded to the Browns on Jan. 17, 1937.

They both arrived at Spring Training in San Antonio, Texas on March 14th. Tom, the team veteran, was accompanied by his wife of 15 months, Grace. Joe brought along his bride, Sally – the newlyweds having just married on Nov. 4, 1936. With one year on the job, Grace was the baseball wife veteran, who would, like those before her, take rookie wives under her wing, welcoming them into the fold.

Sally, the newcomer, would look to the wives who came before her for guidance and kinship. We know little about these two wives but a photograph recently discovered in the National Baseball Hall of Fame Photo Archives suggests that Grace and Sally developed a friendship during their time together in San Antonio.

Born two years apart and both recently married, the two probably developed a quick camaraderie. Grace and Sally may have become friends because they were at the same points in their lives or perhaps it was their shared sense of mischief. In this photo, Grace is ready to face an imaginary pitcher, while Sally is set to be the catcher. Even though both ladies are wearing heels and skirts, they look like they are ready to take the field. It captures a carefree moment—before the stress of a fresh season, loneliness, and new challenges consume their lives.

After one season together, Joe was traded to the Boston Red Sox. Sally would be “left behind to clean the apartment, pack up the car..., leave her friends and support system behind, and move to the next town on her own. When she eventually arrives in town, she faces the insecurity of trying to fit in with a new group of wives who might resent the fact that her husband just took over the coveted position of one of their inner circle,” wrote Lockwood.

Tom and Grace would quickly follow in 1939, reuniting the two families but the reunion was short lived as Joe’s Boston contract was purchased by the Brooklyn Dodgers before the 1940 season. The two men would never play on the same team again.

While it is unclear if Grace and Sally carried their friendship from spring training in 1937 into their shared time in Boston and beyond, they were nonetheless a part of a sorority as exclusive as the fraternity of baseball.