[4] Her parents were Mary (née Garan) and John Murphy;[5] her father was a mill hand and also a semi-pro baseball player.

By age 12, she had quit school and gone to work at the Parker Woolen Mill as a ring spinner.

[6] By age 15, she was playing on the local men's business amateur league teams, such as the Warren Shoe Company.

The game was a charity exhibition pitting all-star players from the New England and American Leagues against the Boston Red Sox.

[5][11] It was organized at Fenway Park to raise money for the family of Tommy McCarthy, who had recently died.

[6] She came into the game in the fourth inning and scored an out at first base from a throw by third baseman Harvey McClellan.