When people talk about the slickest fielding first baseman in women’s major fast pitch Gloria May is one of the names often mentioned. May was certainly one of the best fielding first sackers during an impressive career starting in 1940 and ending in 1958. May, born February 19, 1929, earned ASA first-team All-America honors three times (1955, 1957 and 1963) and was a second-team choice twice (1956 and 1965). She participated in 15 ASA national championships and in 10 of them had a 1.000 fielding percentage. In 11 of those national championships, she had 413 putouts and 25 assists with only two errors for a .995 fielding percentage and a .130 batting average. Her highest batting average in national championship play was .444 in 1955. May joined the Fresno Rockets in 1949 and remained with them before retiring after the 1958 season. She was a member of three national championship teams, 1953, 1954 and 1957. Gloria recalled winning her first national championship in 1953 as her “greatest thrill” in softball while not having a chance to participate in the Olympics was a disappointment. Retired, Gloria lives in Kerman, CA with her husband, Vernon. They have a trailer in Baja, Mexico and travel there two-three times a year, plus Gloria has been competing in cross country air races since 1987 and has never finished below 15th.
