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Photo by Bob Pennell Wilson Elementary School sixth-grader Scott Crumb shows off the school ballfield that will be named after baseball pioneer Charlene "Shorty" Mayer, who died June 3. Scott and a lot of other students remember Mayer because she was playground monitor and often a coach and referee. Named for baseball pioneer 'Shorty' honored with field of her own By VICKI GUARINO Back in the 1940s, when young men were fighting in distant battlefields and young women stepped onto baseball diamonds around the country, she had a league of her own. Now, All American Girls Professional Baseball League all-star center fielder Charlene "Shorty" (Pryer) Mayer will have a field of her own -- at the corner of Johnson and Corona streets. "Shorty" Pryer (later Mayer) even had a baseball card. The Wilson Elementary School ball field, where Mayer spent years coaxing speedy runs, strong swings and artful catches from hundreds of students, is being named Mayer Field in her honor. Wilson staff came up with the idea after Mayer died June 3. Mayer's ball playing exploits -- best fielding outfielder of '47, all-star team member in '51 and consistent league leader in stolen bases -- were memorialized by the 1992 movie, "A League of Their Own." At the height of World War II, ball fans on the home front avidly followed the scrappy, skillful young women ball players. In the movie -- the first opportunity for many audiences to learn of the league -- a nimble and unstoppable Madonna played center field. "She was Madonna; she was Shorty," Medford schools Superintendent Steve Wisely marveled when staff brought the Hollywood connection to his attention. Wilson school secretary Lory Bohm raised the subject because she wanted the district to recognize Mayer's 25 years of work with Medford students. The Madonna movie link gave the request a certain distinction, but it was Mayer's impact on kids, not moviemaking, that Bohm and others at Wilson wanted to honor. "She showed the kids that she was really interested and cared about them," Bohm said. "She was such a loving person and a wonderful role model." "The kids called her `grandma,"' added Sharon Robinson, who shared campus monitoring duties with Mayer for many years. "She was such a big influence on everybody's life." Robinson said Mayer always tried to cheer kids and adults through problems. Mayer was a school truant officer, then a campus monitor. At recesses, Mayer became a forward on the basketball court, a running back on the gridiron, and she reprised her role as center fielder on the diamond. She also managed to referee, coach and make sure everyone minded their manners. Sixth-grader Scott Crumm remembered that "grandma" never had to yell or scold. "It was just one of those things," Scott said. "She knew how to deal with children, how to say the right thing." Besides that, he said, "She was a really good pitcher and shortstop." A pretty mean shot on the foul line, too. Mayer was almost 70 by then, and ready to retire. Besides her work for the school district, Mayer had served with the U.S. Women's Marine Corps and had been one the country's first women disc jockeys. Wilson's tribute to Mayer originally was proposed to be a wooden sign on the backstop. "After hearing the story the school board looked at me and said `let's do something nicer,"' Wisely said. So plans now are in the works for a concrete pedestal with a plaque recalling Mayer's life. A dedication ceremony will be set in a few weeks. One Wilson student, learning of the plans, wrote her own private dedication as a note to Mayer. The youngster, too shy to step forward, or even sign her name, wrote, "I was in kindergarten when you were here. I remember you being short, short hair and an angel. But now you are an angel in heaven's hands, and we all know that you will be in the big playground in the sky, watching all us kids from up above." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA