The ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium often goes unnoticed by fans anxious for the game to start, but this past Fourth of July — on the nation’s 247th birthday — the silver-haired, 101-year-old lady standing at home plate with her walker held the holiday crowd in the palm of her hand.
“She’s a grandmother, a World War II veteran, and proud cat owner,” said Dodger public service announcer Todd Leitz. “Please welcome retired Woman’s Army Corps private first class Ethel Margolin. Ethel, the mound’s all yours when you’re ready.”
Scattered applause came from the stands as she straightened the wheels on her walker and crossed the foul line into fair territory with the help of John Wordin, founder of a suicide prevention center who helps the Dodgers find veterans to honor.
The mound was all Ethel’s, now all she had to do was get there. It might as well have been in Orange County because she wasn’t going to make it.
At 101, she’d be lucky to throw the ball 10 feet, so Ethel hung a hard right with her walker, and headed for the green grass closer to home plate. This would be her mound.
There was no way she was going to let those old World War II boys in her veteran’s group — Wings Over Wendy’s — razz her at their next meeting about not throwing a strike to home plate. Just watch me, she told them.
Baseball ran in her blood. As a young woman, she was at sold out Yankee Stadium the day a terminally-ill Babe Ruth leaned on his bat at home plate in 1948 to say good bye, and she absolutely adored that amazing gazelle who roamed center field for the Yanks, “Joltin’ Joe” DiMaggio.
That was a longtime ago in another life when she was a Rosie the Riveter and wouldn’t take no for an answer when she wanted to do even more for the war effort. The Marines, Navy, and Air Force wouldn’t take her: only the Army did.
Her IQ tests were off the charts, and she was one of five women across the country specially assigned to…
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