A true test of greatness is consistency over a period of time, even under the most averse conditions. Pitcher Bertha Tickey certainly met that criteria during a legendary career covering almost three decades. The only female in a family of seven children, Bertha played her first softball game in 1939 in Dinuba,CA as a shortstop before turning to pitching at 16. Bertha played her last game in 1968 for the Raybestos Brakettes of Stratford, CT. Bertha actually had retired in 1967.The team had three pitchers-Joan Joyce, Donna Lopiano and Donna Hebert when Bertha walked off the field following the national championship that year. Little did she know that she would be back for 1968. That happened when Lopiano went to graduate school and Hebert underwent shoulder surgery. At 38, Tickey came back to bolster a staff headed by Joyce. In typical Tickey style, Bertha came through (25-1) as the Brakettes repeated as national champions.“Everyone respected Bertha for her skills,” said former Brakette Brenda Reily. “She was kind of like a Lou Gehrig, a lot of class but not flashy.”From 1956-1968, Bertha pitched for the Brakettes and won 285 games and lost only 26. Bertha’s lifetime record of 757 wins and 88 losses includes 162 no-hitters.She was a member of 11 National Championship teams including Four with the Orange, CA Lionettes (1950-51, 1952 1955) and seven with the Brakettes. Bertha passed away on April 9, 2014.
