Peg Shubnell - The Ultimate Baseball Fan

Yesterday, Carol and I attended the funeral of my cousin Peg Shubnell who died on Thanksgiving Day at age 89.  Peg was a wonderful person who had a long and successful management career at United Airlines followed by an equally long and enjoyable retirement with Paul, her beloved husband.  Predictably the day was full of Peg stories, of which there is no shortage. While important family business, it may not seem especially relevant to a baseball history blog.  But, in this case, it couldn’t be more appropriate because Peg was the ultimate baseball fan.

Peg with my father, Hank Zinn, probably in 1944.  While they never went to a baseball game together, they shared a mutual interest.

Since Peg grew up in the Trenton area, at first, she was probably a fan of one of the Philadelphia teams. But after she moved to NYC to work for United, she became a devoted Mets fan.  That all changed, however, when she became the manager of United's Reservation Center in Dearborn Michigan and adopted the Tigers as her favorite team.  It was, I think, Peg's third United transfer, transfers she told me she would only accept if the city had a major league baseball team.

 Tiger Stadium was the scene of Peg and Paul's early dates.  Could there be a more romantic setting?

Peg met Paul met in Michigan. Family legend has it that their first date was a Tigers game, but that’s not true.  It was their second date!  Paul told me that he asked Peg if she liked baseball, because if she did, he’d get tickets for a game. She told him to get tickets for two games.  When he told me that story, I said, “Do you have any idea how lucky you are?”

Peg and Paul Zinn in 1994

Although devoted Tiger fans, their love of baseball went far beyond that.  Working for United meant, they could fly free pretty much anyplace for free.  I don’t think that’s why Peg chose to work for an airline, but I wouldn’t totally rule it out.  They took full advantage of that benefit. Not only did they see games in every major league city, by the time they were finished, they had seen games in 50 different major league stadiums. I remember once getting a totally unexpected phone call asking if we wanted to drive to Washington D.C. to join them on their first visit to National's Park.  How could you say no to such an invitation?  

With characteristic foresight, the Zinn family went on their first baseball trip in 1994 just in time for the strike.  Peg came to rescue, suggesting we go to a Toledo Mud Hens game at historic Skeldon Stadium

Peg and Paul inspired our family to go on our own baseball trips including a week Paul Zinn and I spent in California, visiting all five major league stadiums.  Carol and Sarah joined us on subsequent trips, and we've had plenty of memorable moments. Just recently, Paul and I were discussing the possibility of doing something similar, on a more modest scale, with Sophie and Henry.  

Paul and I at the first stop of our 2001 baseball marathon to California.  While there's no prize, readers are welcome to guess the name of the ballpark.

Going to a baseball game with Peg was serious business.  Sid Mercer, an early twentieth century sportswriter, reportedly missed the only unassisted triple play in World Series history because he left his seat to get something to eat.  That never would have happened to Peg.  Once seated, she never moved until the game was over.  And leave a game early? That was the unforgiveable sin!  Nor did she waste game time on idle chit chat. She was without a doubt, the most diligent scorekeeper I’ve ever known.  Paul Zinn and I already knew how to keep score, but she inspired us to do it more consistently and completely.  And Carol also learned to keep score to the point she wanted her own scorebook which made Christmas shopping somewhat easier.  

My scorebook from Kevin Millwood's 2003 no-hitter at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.  While Peg wasn't there, without her example, it's unlikely I would have kept score that day.  

Baseball obviously needs fans who provide financial and moral support. But baseball also needs fans who contribute not just to their team, but to the game itself. Fans who by their example, motivate others to more fully experience everything baseball has to offer.  If there was a category for such fans in Cooperstown, Peg and Paul would be at the top of the list.

Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, July 4, 2003. Note that inspired by Peg, the not yet aged scorekeeper has plenty of pencils

Peg’s health had been failing for the past few years and it’s unlikely she was able to follow baseball.  Yet the timing of her passing is interesting - just a few weeks after the seventh game of the 2025 World Series.  Arguably the greatest game ever played.  Perhaps she somehow knew it would be hard to top that experience and it was time to leave the ballpark for the last time. There couldn't have been a more fitting exit for Peg Shubnell, the ultimate baseball fan.