In the Californian newspaper “The Morning”, this comment appeared in July 1919:
"The Lady, Ida Schnall, boasts of being very athletic, but acts like a prostitute. She has even allowed them to publish a photo of her, in which she is wearing a swimsuit and you can see her buttocks, because her fabric is very close to her skin.”
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The truth is that the black suit covered him from his neck to his feet. That is, nothing revealed. How would that newspaper have reacted to the dental floss, or buttocks, of today.
Ida was a triumphant athlete and notable actress. When that insult from the newspaper, she was 30 years old, since she had been born in Poland, yes, she was Polish!, in 1889, on August 27. And until her death, at the age of 83, on February 14, 1973, in Los Angeles, she was a public figure, one hundred percent dedicated to sports and acting in theaters and films.
She was such an attractive actress and excellent at sports that Robert L. Ripley featured her in a chapter of his series, “Even if you don't believe it,” published in hundreds of newspapers.
Ripley drew her with a tennis racket under her arm, and the text: “Ida Schnall, lady athlete. She has records in ”… and she is still on the list in 16 sports, including baseball.
And on September 17, 1923, years ago today, when she was in her beautiful 34 years, she accomplished a feat that astonished the baseball world, especially on the west coast of the United States.
As Katty tells it: “Despite her quality as a baseball player, Ida was excluded from men's competitions. That's why she took it upon herself to proclaim that she would beat, as a pitcher, the best men's team in the region."
Their insistence was such that that afternoon, Monday, September 17, 1923, they called play ball in Simmy Valey Park. A ninth of all women, with Ida as pitcher, against the selection of the best players in the region.
The beautiful woman's first throw was horrible, so high that the ball went straight into the backstop net. The men laughed, some whistled. The ladies were whispering.
Before her second delivery home, Ida took a few seconds to concentrate. She looked down, as if she were counting down to the earth.
And suddenly he started throwing again. For just over two hours, his control and speed were excellent. In the nine innings they hit seven hits, one home run. But she hit five threes, two doubles and scored two runs, for a score favorable to the ladies, five for two.
After the 27th out, the gentlemen players walked upside down to leave the little park, while the baseball players made a fuss in the middle of the field, celebrating the victory.
The region's newspapers covered the game in large spaces. One from Simmy Valey titled: “Ladies beat men in historic game.”
She liked to be photographed
Ida Schnall was photographed in hundreds of poses. One of her hobbies was posing for photographers. Her friends made jokes about how, when she saw a camera, she would adjust her body and smile.
There is no information about his heirs. Historians have even published different dates of birth and death.
Even Ty Cobb said about her: “A glory, not only for the ladies in the world, but for all athletes. She was born with special abilities. And also, she is very beautiful.”
