Fort Wayne TinCaps and City of Fort Wayne partner on Fort Wayne Daisies Player Monument
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The Fort Wayne TinCaps, in partnership with the City of Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation Department, are raising funds to renovate and improve the Fort Wayne Daisies monument at the historic site of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) team’s home field, located at Fort Wayne’s Memorial Park.
“Fort Wayne has a rich baseball history and the Daisies are front and center as trailblazers for the sport in this city,” said Michael Limmer, TinCaps Vice President of Marketing. “While Memorial Park has long had a marker to designate it as the former home field of the Fort Wayne Daisies, we felt each individual Daisies player deserved to be recognized as well. This new monument will highlight each of the 144 former players and managers associated with the Daisies during the team’s existence from 1945 through 1954.”
The enhanced monument was designed and created as a partnership with the City of Fort Wayne’s Parks and Recreation Department. Memorial Park is located approximately two miles east of Parkview Field, where the TinCaps play.
“It is fitting to honor each player and the managers of the Fort Wayne Daisies on one of the very sites where they played,” said Steve McDaniel, Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation Director. “These women represented Fort Wayne, our parks and recreational sports with distinction coming out of the World War II conflict and set a tone of excellence and team spirit that we still celebrate today. Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation is glad to partner with the Fort Wayne TinCaps in this effort to memorialize the names of the Fort Wayne Daisies players with a monument in Memorial Park.”
The TinCaps are hoping that fans of the Daisies will help make the monument possible.
“The Parks & Recreation Department has been incredible to work with on this project,” said Limmer. “From the moment we proposed the idea they have been onboard 100 percent. They created the plans, the layout, the design for the monument, and are covering the cost of preparing the future site and all surrounding landscaping. Now, we just need to fundraise the remaining portion of the project to make this monument happen.”
The TinCaps, Minor League Baseball’s High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, will wear replica Daisies uniforms during their game on Saturday, May 21. The jerseys are being auctioned online with 100 percent of all winning bids going directly toward the monument project.
The ‘Caps will be wearing these Fort Wayne Daises throwback jerseys on Saturday, May 21st!
The jerseys are being auctioned off to fund a Daisies monument at their old field in partnership with the Fort Wayne Parks & Rec Department!
Learn more: https://t.co/KBs8wo0wBy pic.twitter.com/cNxOHcvGVX
— Fort Wayne TinCaps (@TinCaps) May 9, 2022
“The TinCaps are covering the cost of producing the jerseys so all proceeds from the auction will go directly to making this monument a reality,” Limmer said. “Every penny that these jerseys raise is one step closer to making this monument happen. The Fort Wayne Daisies players, and their families, deserve to have their names permanently on display for future generations. We don’t want their legacy to be forgotten.”
Those interested in placing a bid on a jersey can visit the auction site at TinCapsJersey.com. The auction is live now and will close on Sunday, May 22 at 9:00 p.m. ET.
Fans that would like to make a direct donation can visit the GoFundMe page dedicated to the Fort Wayne Daisies monument project at this link.
The TinCaps have also designed specialty Fort Wayne Daisies t-shirts that are currently on-sale in the The Orchard Team Store with $2.00 from each sale going towards the Memorial Park monument project.
MORE INFORMATION ON “FORT WAYNE DAISIES THROWBACK NIGHT”:
The Fort Wayne TinCaps are partnering with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) to host a Fort Wayne Daisies Throwback Night on Saturday, May 21 (6:35 p.m.) as the TinCaps — wearing special Daisies-themed jerseys — take on the West Michigan Whitecaps (Detroit Tigers affiliate).
During the evening, fans can expect to see former players from the Daisies and other AAGPBL teams in attendance. The AAGPBL alumni, and their families, will be recognized on the field during the night and also signing autographs for fans on the concourse. The TinCaps will be honoring and recognizing them for their community contributions and the legacy they built in the game of baseball. In addition, this night will also feature postgame fireworks.
Tickets are available at TinCapsTickets.com, by calling 260-482-6400, and at the Parkview Field Ticket Office.
The AAGPBL, which operated from 1943-54, has been famously recognized over the years in a variety of ways, such as a special exhibit at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., and the movie A League of Their Own. Learn more at AAGPBL.org.