Winning La Salle History Prize Will Come in Handy for Margaret Walsh, Who Plans to Volunteer at Hospitals in Baltimore, and Haiti

Margaret Walsh recently graduated from La Salle University’s School of Nursing and plans to spend the next year volunteering at hospitals in Baltimore and Haiti. Fortunately for the Richboro resident, she won a history contest at the University, and with it, a $2,500 prize.

A lifelong baseball fan, Walsh wrote a paper on Philadelphia Phillies Hall of Fame outfielder Richie Ashburn, and won the Leo Prize, a competition set up by La Salle alumnus John McHale, ‘49. Entrants write a 6,000-word essay on a topic about local history.

The money will be spent to support her while she is a volunteer. Most of the time she’ll be living in a rectory in Baltimore operated by the Sisters of Mercy.

Walsh was in La Salle’s Honors program, and graduated with a 3.63 GPA. With the Leo Prize, she found a way to combine two of her favorite topics: history and baseball.

“I was a history minor, and I grew up listening to the Phillies on the radio, and I just loved Richie Ashburn,” said Walsh. “I was fascinated by him, why he appealed to three generations of fans.”

Ashburn, who died in 1997, played for the Phillies from 1948 to 1959, and later for the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets. In 1964, he became one of the Phillies broadcasters, and his folksy personality, sharp wit and insightful comments about the sport made him a near legendary figure for three decades.

For her essay, Walsh interviewed Philadelphia broadcasters Harry Kalas, Chris Wheeler, and Bill Campbell, Philadelphia Inquirer sports columnist Bill Lyon and Philadelphia Daily News columnist Stan Hochman. She also contacted the Baseball Hall of Fame for documents and photos.

Walsh said she thinks that Ashburn’s appeal, both as a player and broadcaster, was that he presented himself “as a regular guy. He never tried to hide that, and he didn’t try to make himself something that he wasn’t. That’s why he appealed to so many audiences, whether it was to a Philadelphia businessman or a blue-collar worker.”

She also said these qualities came through in the writing Ashburn did for a sports column, first for The Philadelphia Bulletin and later for The Philadelphia Daily News.

Walsh wrote the paper for an independent study project she did with Dr. John Rossi, a La Salle professor who teaches a course on baseball and American culture.

“I have rarely enjoyed directing a student essay as much as I did Margaret Walsh's study of Richie Ashburn as a Philadelphia sports icon,” said Rossi. “Her work was a brilliant piece of research and writing that clearly explained the special place that Ashburn holds in Philadelphia history.”

On August 13, Walsh will begin her year of volunteer work at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, caring for seniors in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). “I like ICU nursing, it requires a lot of knowledge and you learn a lot,” said Walsh. “I’ve also worked with the elderly for the past few years at Chestnut Hill Hospital, and it was a neat experience.”

In February, Walsh will travel to Haiti for several weeks to help with a pediatrics mission. “I think I’ll be ready for it. I love pediatrics and I’m looking forward to helping out the people down there.”

She’ll then return to Baltimore and finish her volunteer activities by July of 2006. After that, she plans to pursue a career as a nurse practitioner.

Volunteering is nothing new for Walsh: She worked with underprivileged children in Philadelphia through the Community Service Corps.