Partner Sue Bergstrom
Queer Places:
The Finale, 808 E Center St, Milwaukee, WI 53212
Beer Garden, 3743 W Vliet St, Milwaukee, WI 53208
1240 N Hawley Rd, Milwaukee, WI 53208
Shirley A. Fitzpatrick (April 29, 1933 - January 10, 2012) created, and relied on, LGBT community in Milwaukee by playing softball. She
didn't think of herself as a political person. She was never particularly out at work. She would have told anyone who asked, but the subject never seemed to come up. She called herself a "gay woman" rather than a "lesbian" because she
thought the word "gay" captures it all - and any term we use, according to Fitzpatrick, should include everyone.
Fitzpatrick remembered getting softball started in Milwaukee when she used to hang out at a bar called the Finale on Center Street in the early 1970s. She told some of the guys there that women could beat them at softball. The guys just laughed, so Fitzpatrick went to the Beer Garden, rounded up some women, and challenged the guys to a game. She recalled the first game taking place at Wick Field, 51st and Vliet.
Soon after that, a league formed. It was well organized, with published schedules, from early on. Fitzpatrick played first base and pitched in her early days, but mostly coached and managed for over thirty years.
Softball may not seem very political, but in order for LGBT persons to play, they have to feel comfortable assembling in public places and using public resources such as parks and ball diamonds. People whose citizenship is seriously in doubt, people who live in constant fear of police harassment or other violence, will not create a softball league. So softball is part of the LGBT movement.
Shirley A. Fitzpatrick was born on April 29, 1933, the daughter of Harry
and Ruth Fitzpatrick. She was the founding member of S.S.B.L. and a lifetime
member of the American Cribbage Congress.
Shirley came out to her mother almost by accident. Her mother thought she was seeing a married man. Fitzpatrick explained that she was actually hanging out with a woman.
After 32.5 years working for the City of Milwaukee in the Records office, Shirley retired.
Fitzpatrick died peacefully on January 10, 2012.
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