The 23-year-old Alberta native had already become a fan favorite in Kenosha.5 Before the league transitioned to side-arm (and then overhand) pitching,6 most of the league’s hurlers used a windmill delivery—but not Nicol.7 She employed a unique figure-eight style that gave her pitches great speed and a devastating rising action.8 “She could make it take off,” said Jo Winter, a star pitcher with the Racine Belles. “She had a great rise ball.”9  

Kenosha came into its June 25 game in third place with a 15-16 record, three games behind first-place South Bend. The Blue Sox had lost five of their last six games, and they were clinging to a tenuous 1½-game lead on the Belles in the first-half standings.

South Bend was without the services of its 15-year-old phenom, Dorothy “Dottie” Schroeder. The slick-fielding shortstop was injured the previous evening when she was spiked at second base on a failed stolen-base attempt by Pauline “Pinky” Pirok.10 Schroeder had to be carried from the field and taken to hospital, where she received several stitches to close her leg wound. She was out of action for almost two full weeks.11

The game featured an all-Canadian pitching matchup.12 Saskatchewan’s Catherine Bennett, a 22-year-old sporting a 1-5 record, got the start for Kenosha. South Bend countered with Doris “Dodie” Barr, a 21-year-old southpaw from Manitoba. Two nights earlier, Barr (7-2) had defeated Nicol and the Comets despite walking 10 batters in the game.13

Barr’s wildness continued early in this contest, as she gave up a pair of runs in the top of the third on three walks, a sacrifice, and two wild pitches.14 Two innings later, Barr was touched for another run when Pirok walked and stole second; she came home on a single by Ann “Tootie” Harnett.

Bennett held the Blue Sox hitless through the first four innings, although she gave up an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth on a walk, stolen base, and two Kenosha errors. The Comets led, 3-1, after 4½ innings.

South Bend exploded against Bennett in the fifth. After singles by Lois “Flash” Florreich and Josephine “Jo Jo” D’Angelo put runners on first and second, the number-nine batter, Mary Holda (later Elrod), came to the plate. Holda laid down a sacrifice bunt, and on the throw to first the speedy Florreich rounded third and raced home, scoring standing up. D’Angelo, meanwhile, kept her head up and smartly advanced to third on the play. Betsy “Sockum” Jochum followed with an RBI triple, and she scored on a single by the next batter, Marjorie Hood. The three-run outburst gave the Blue Sox a 4-3 lead.

Kenosha tied the game in the sixth on a Little League Home Run. After Barr dropped Mabel Holle’s popup, catcher Mary “Bonnie” Baker picked the ball up in time to get the out at first, but her throw deflected off Holle’s shoulder and rolled all the way to the fence.15 Holle circled the bases and the score was tied, 4-4.

Nicol replaced Bennett on the mound in the bottom of the sixth, and she settled into a marathon pitchers’ duel with Barr. Nicol gave up a harmless single in her first inning of work. After walking Jochum with one out in the seventh, she retired the next 24 batters in order. Her streak of dominance was broken when D’Angelo singled with one out in the 15th.

South Bend’s best chance to score against Nicol came in the bottom of the 16th. The dangerous Barr, who came into the game hitting .351,16 was walked intentionally to load the bases with two out. The move paid off, as Jo Hageman (later Hargraves) flied out to short center field to end the threat.

Kenosha’s next good scoring opportunity didn’t come until the 17th inning, when Nicol smashed a triple to left field off Barr. While she was legging out the hit, Nicol aggravated an old charley horse injury, and Blue Sox manager Bert Niehoff allowed Kenosha to use a courtesy runner to give her time to shake off the pain and continue pitching.17 Barr stranded the replacement runner at third.

Kenosha finally broke the tie in the top of the 18th. With two outs and runners on first and second, Nicol laced a clean RBI single to left field to give the Comets the lead. Shirley Jameson tacked on an insurance run with an RBI single, and an exhausted Barr was finally taken out after pitching a gutsy 17⅔ innings. Another Canadian pitcher, Muriel Coben, came in to get the third out with allowing any further damage.

Nicol ended what the Racine Journal-Times called a “thrill-jammed 18-inning contest” by tossing her 13th consecutive scoreless inning of relief.18 She raised her record to 8-4, limiting the Blue Sox to only four singles.

Nicol was selected by the fans to participate in the league’s inaugural All-Star Game,19 which took place less than a week later in Chicago.20 The game was played on July 1 under temporary lights, making it the first night game played at Wrigley Field.21 In front of 7,000 fans, Nicol pitched three hitless innings for the Wisconsin All-Stars in a 16-0 drubbing of the Illinois-Indiana team.22

South Bend − still without Schroeder − fell out of the league’s top spot when it dropped a pair of key games to a charging Racine squad on July 2-3.23 The Blue Sox finished the first half in second place, six games behind the Belles.

Kenosha and South Bend waged an epic battle for first place in the season’s second half. Nicol was the difference maker,24 as the indefatigable hurler won 12 consecutive decisions down the stretch,25 including her 30th and 31st victories in back-to-back complete games on the final two days of the regular season to clinch the title.26

Nicol finished the season with a 1.81 ERA, which made her the league’s pitching champion. She also led the circuit in wins (31), innings pitched (348), strikeouts (220), complete games (33), and winning percentage (.795). Remarkably, Nicol earned the win in 55 percent of Kenosha’s regular-season victories.

Nicol appeared to run out of gas in the playoffs against the Belles, who coasted into the championship round thanks to their first-half title. She took the loss in Game One and Game Three, as Racine swept Kenosha in the best-of-five series.

Nicol successfully defended her pitching title in 1944 by posting a microscopic 0.93 ERA. She put an exclamation point on her outstanding season on Labor Day by pitching a no-hit, no-run game against Racine with her parents in attendance.27

Nicol was married early in 1945, and she began playing under the name Helen Nicol Fox.28

She remained with the Comets until midway through the 1947 season. On July 19, in a response to “dissension on the Rockford squad,” Millie Deegan was shipped to Kenosha in return for Nicol Fox.29 “Nickie” became a key contributor for the Peaches and helped them win three consecutive championships from 1948 to ’50. Nicol Fox’s stellar (overhand) pitching against the Fort Wayne Daisies in the final round of the 1950 playoffs almost single-handedly ensured Rockford’s “three-peat.” She earned three victories in the best-of-seven series, including a clutch shutout in Game Seven.30

Nicol Fox played until 1952 when she realized the league’s glory days were coming to an end. “I noticed that the league was folding, and servicemen were returning,” she said in 2011. “So, I figured I’d better get out there and get another job.”31 The league shut down after the 1954 season.

Nicol Fox was one of the few players in the league to excel at both underhand and overhand pitching, which helped make her the most accomplished hurler in AAGPBL history.32 She holds many of the league’s career pitching records, including most wins (163), appearances (313), innings pitched (2,382), and strikeouts (1,076). Some have called Nicol Fox the “Cy Young of the AAGPBL.”33

She was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998 as a member of the pioneering group of 68 Canadian women who played in the league.

Nicol Fox remained in the United States after her playing career ended, working for Motorola and the American Motors Corp.34 She was a resident of Arizona from 1972 until her death on July 25, 2021, at the age of 101.  

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted AAGPBL.org and The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book. Box scores and standings were referenced in the Kenosha Evening News and South Bend Tribune.

(Click image to enlarge)

Notes

1 The professional women’s circuit was originally known as the All-American Girls Soft Ball League. It was renamed the All-American Girls Base Ball League during the 1943 season. Other titles used by the league included All-American Girls Professional Ball League (1944–45), All-American Girls Base Ball League (again, 1946–50), and American Girls Baseball League (1951–54). The league became known as the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League after the creation of the Players’ Association in 1986. William McMahon, Helen Nordquist, and Merrie A. Fidler, “AAGPBL History: The International Girls Baseball League,” All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, https://www.aagpbl.org/articles/show/51, accessed October 26, 2021; “League History,” All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, https://www.aagpbl.org/history/league-history, accessed October 26, 2021.

2 The 1943 season ran from May 30 until September 1. The first half ended on July 15. W.C. Madden, The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2000), 282.

3 “Free Tickets for Kenosha Fans Selecting All-Star Girls Teams,” Kenosha Evening News, June 25, 1943: 10; Madden, 17.

4 Jim Costin, “Blue Sox Beat Comets, 3 to 2,” South Bend Tribune, June 24, 1943: 9.

5 Alma Overholt, “Helen Nicol, Canadian ‘Chucker,’ Gets Results with ‘Wrist Ball’”; “Ace of Comets’ Mound Staff Has Winning Record,” Kenosha Evening News, June 17, 1943: 8.

6 Side-arm pitching was introduced in 1946. Overhand pitching was instituted two years later. The ball was 12 inches in circumference in 1943. It was shrunk to 9 inches (regulation baseball size) in five increments: 11½ inches in midseason 1944, 11 inches in 1946, 10⅜ inches in 1948, 10 inches in 1949, and 9 inches in 1954. Anika Orrock, The Incredible Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2020), 62-63.

7 Jim Sargent, We Were the All-American Girls: Interviews with Players of the AAGPBL, 1943-1954 (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2013), 63.

8 The pitcher’s arm goes in and out and around in a figure-eight delivery without raising either hand above the shoulder.

9 Lois Browne, Girls of Summer; In Their Own League (Toronto: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 1992), 113.

10 Jim Costin, “Blue Sox Trounced by Comets, 10-3,” South Bend Tribune, June 25, 1943: 25.

11 “Comets, Blue Sox Continue with Their Thrilling Games,” South Bend Tribune, July 9, 1943: 21.

12 All-Canadian pitching matchups were not uncommon in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Fourteen Canadian players, seven of whom were pitchers, began the 1943 season on the rosters of the four AAGPBL teams. Three of the Canadians were from Toronto and 11 were from the Prairie provinces (Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta). A big reason why there were so many Canadians in the league was that the Prairie provinces were scoured for talent by AAGPBL scouts, including Saskatchewan native Johnny Gottselig. Gottselig played in the NHL for 16 seasons with the Chicago Black Hawks. He had also managed women’s softball teams in Saskatchewan. In addition to being an AAGPBL scout, Gottselig managed the Racine Belles (1943-44), Peoria Red Wings (1946-47), and Kenosha Comets (1949-51). Matt Rothenberg, “A Hockey Hero and the AAGPBL,” National Baseball Hall of Fame, https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/stories/short-stops/johnny-gottselig-and-the-all-american-girls-professional-baseball-league, accessed October 26, 2021; “Two Edmonton Girls Sign for Pro Softball League,” Edmonton Journal, May 27, 1943: 7.

13 “Shirley Jameson Trails Terrie Davis in Batting; Honor Mickelson, Harnett,” Kenosha Evening News, June 26, 1943: 3; Jim Costin, “Two Ousted as Blue Sox Win, 3-2,” South Bend Tribune, June 24, 1943: 8.

14 Jim Costin, “Blue Sox Lost to Kenosha in 18th; Helen Nicols’ Arm and Bat Triumph, 6-4,” South Bend Tribune, June 26, 1943: 5.

15 “Comets Go 18 Innings Spearing 6 to 4 Softball Win Over South Bend; Nicol, Jameson Brilliant,” Kenosha Evening News, June 26, 1943: 3.

16 Barr was 12-for-36 after the games of June 23. She tripled in a pinch-hit appearance in the June 24 game against Kenosha. “Shirley Jameson Trails Terrie Davis in Batting; Honor Mickelson, Harnett.”

17 Courtesy runners were not unique to the AAGPBL. They were used informally in professional baseball until May 1950, when Commissioner A.B. “Happy” Chandler announced a rule interpretation that ended the practice. The interpretation became part of the official playing rules of the American and National Leagues, in addition to the minor leagues. United Press, “Chandler Announces Interpretations of Baseball’s Revised Playing Code,” Hartford Courant, May 10, 1950: 16; John Fredland, “August 5, 1921: KDKA’s Harold Arlin broadcasts first baseball game over commercial radio as Pirates rally to beat Phillies,” SABR Games Project, https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/august-5-1921-kdkas-harold-arlin-broadcasts-first-baseball-game-over-commercial-radio-as-pirates-rally-to-beat-phillies/, accessed November 2, 2021. 

18 “Comets Win in 18 Innings,” Racine Journal-Times, June 26, 1943: 10.

19 “Free Tickets for Kenosha Fans Selecting All-Star Girls Teams.”

20 Regular-season games were played the night before and the night after the July 1 All-Star game.

21 The 1943 AAGPBL All-Star Game was played at night more than 45 years before the Chicago Cubs played what many mistakenly believed was the first (official) game under the lights at Wrigley Field.

22 “Belles to Play Sox Tonight; Seek Lead,” Racine Journal-Times, July 2, 1943: 16.

23 “Belles Beat South Bend, 4-3, to Regain All-American Lead,” Racine Journal-Times, July 3, 1943: 10; “Belles Win Five More Games in Big Fourth of July Drive,” Racine Journal-Times, July 6, 1943: 12.

24 Nicol was given a boost in the second half by the arrival of catcher Kay Heim (later McDaniel), her former batterymate in Edmonton, Alberta. Heim replaced Marion Wohlwender (later Fricker) on the Kenosha roster. Wohlwender had returned home earlier in July after the death of her father. “Nicol’s Former Catcher Joins Comets,” Kenosha Evening News, July 27, 1943: 8; Eddie McKenna, “Comets in Racine Tonight for Two Tilts,” Kenosha Evening News, July 7, 1943: 8.

25 Nicol was 19-8 after losing a game on August 7. It was her final loss of the regular-season, as she finished with a 31-8 record. “Blue Sox Sweep Four Games from the Kenosha Comets,” Racine Journal-Times, August 9, 1943: 10.

26 Kenosha played back-to-back doubleheaders on August 31 and September 1. Nicol pitched complete-game victories in the second game of the August 31 twin bill and the opener of the September 1 doubleheader.

27 Eddie McKenna, “No-Hit, No-Run Game for Nicol Against Belles,” Kenosha Evening News, September 5, 1944: 10.

28 Her marriage to Gordon Fox, a corporal in the Royal Canadian Air Force, turned out to be a brief one. “Same Hurler but New Name,” Kenosha Evening News, March 5, 1945: 8; Tom Hawthorn, “Former Star Baseball Player Helen Nicol Fox Dead at 101,” Globe and Mail (Toronto), September 5, 2021.

29 “Comets Swap Fox for Millie Deegan,” Racine Journal-Times, July 21, 1947: 12.

30 Madden, 145-48.

31 Mike Sakal, “Women Ballplayers to Gather for a Reunion of Their Own,” East Valley Tribune (Arizona), October 13, 2011.

32 Madden, 11.

33 Madden, 11.

34 Hawthorn.

Members of the Kenosha Comets of the All-American Girls Base Ball League pose for a photo on July 1, 1943, at Wrigley Field in Chicago. (Chicago Sun / GenealogyBank.com)

Philip K. Wrigley, chewing-gum magnate and longtime owner of the Chicago Cubs, was an innovator and experimenter, and during World War II, he was committed to supporting the war effort.1 For instance, he assigned all his radio time to selling the war rather than gum — $2 million for two CBS programs alone. He also converted part of his gum-packing factory into an assembly line for packing K rations; and he directed his gum tappers in Central and South America to tap as many rubber trees as they could while working on gum trees.2

Thus, in the late fall of 1942, when the War Department notified major-league baseball owners that the 1943 season might have to be postponed because of increasing manpower needs, Wrigley approved and funded his committee’s recommendation to organize a women’s professional softball league to fill the possible void in major-league parks, to keep baseball alive, and to provide entertainment for war workers and service personnel.3 He reasoned:

“World War One showed to the world for the first time on a large scale what women could and did do, and World War Two is going to carry this even further. American women have taken a very definite share of the load in the country’s progress, and in the fields of science, business and sports they are now also working in ever increasing numbers.”4

Originally Wrigley named the new professional league the All-American Girls Soft Ball League (AAGSBL), but he changed that title to the All-American Girls Base Ball League (AAGBBL) in midseason 1943, because except for the 12-inch ball, the shorter field distances, and underhand pitching, the playing rules he instituted were those of baseball.5

Wrigley established the AAGBBL with some experimental policies:

• He established the league on a nonprofit, trusteeship basis to provide entertainment for service personnel and war-factory workers in cities near Chicago.
• He recruited the most skilled players in the United States and Canada.
• Player contracts belonged to league administration instead of individual teams to facilitate equalized competition through a player allocation board.
• He established strict, college-based rules of on- and off-field behavior.6

Major-league baseball survived the manpower push of 1943, and as the team owners had done in 1942, they earmarked the proceeds of the 1943 regularly-scheduled June 30 and July 18 games, as well as the July 13 All-Star Game, to go to various war-relief agencies as part of their contribution to the war effort. Most of the proceeds from these games benefited servicemen.7

The fact that Wrigley hosted a large Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) rally in Wrigley Field the night after the June 30 benefit game confirms that considerable planning and coordination took place between Wrigley and Army commanders stationed in the Chicago area. Wrigley’s efforts aimed to benefit servicewomen.

A league newspaper noted that an intensive WAAC recruiting push was underway to enlist 30,000 new WAACs by July 1, 1943, because each WAAC recruit freed a serviceman for combat duty. The “mammoth” WAAC program at Wrigley Field the night of July 1, 1943, contributed to this effort and included the following:8

• A WAAC softball game between a Camp Grant team (near Rockford, Illinois) and a Fort Sheridan team (on Lake Michigan north of Chicago).
• WAAC entertainment including military drills, calisthenics, a band performance, and a uniform display.
• Recruiting talks by members of the 6th Service command.
• At least 150 WAACs circulating in the stands to answer questions.
• An All-Star AAGBBL game with ballplayers from the four original league teams (Racine Belles, Kenosha Comets, South Bend Blue Sox, and Rockford Peaches) to cap off festivities.9

Scheduling the WAAC softball game at 6:00 P.M. enabled more working women to attend. Making the event free of charge coincided with the league’s nonprofit status and possibly enabled young women unable to attend otherwise to participate. In addition, the 8:30 P.M. AAGBBL game provided Wrigley with an opportunity to experiment with a night game at his ballpark. Interestingly, Wrigley experimented with the first-ever twilight game at Wrigley Field on June 26, 1943, between the Cubs and Cardinals, and it may have been a test run for the upcoming WAAC rally.10

To help involve AAGBBL fans in the WAAC rally and AAGBBL All-Star Game, sportswriters in the league’s cities advised them that the Chicago league office requested their votes to determine the All-American All-Stars. Sportswriters also advised fans that those who submitted ballots would receive a free ticket to a local game11

Apparently, local AAGBBL fans turned in a considerable number of ballots. A Rockford sportswriter reported the following:

A flood of votes, mailed last night [June 29] just before the midnight deadline descended on the Register Republic sports department today and were turned over immediately to league officials who said that they had been making an attempt to summarize the local vote but had been unable to keep up with the flow of ballots.12

In pregame publicity, the Rockford Morning Star introduced the Camp Grant team with a team photo on the sports page and noted their “Nifty Uniforms.” The photo revealed the surprising fact that the Camp Grant team uniforms were identical to the AAGBBL skirted uniforms!13

In South Bend, fans learned that league officials recruited Joe Boland, the public-address announcer for their Blue Sox, to serve as the field announcer for the WAAC rally at Wrigley Field.14

Postgame publicity on July 2, 1943, recorded that 7,000 fans attended the WAAC rally, and that the Fort Sheridan WAACs defeated the Camp Grant team, 11-5.15

The AAGBBL game began with the teams’ usual wartime, pregame routine of lining up in a V-for-Victory formation during the national anthem. The game itself proved to be a one-sided affair with the Wisconsin All-Stars trouncing the Indiana-Illinois All-Stars, 16-0. Apparently, it was one of those nights when one team could do no wrong, and the other team couldn’t do much.16

Three banks of temporary lights were installed on poles situated behind home plate, first base, and third base. One sportswriter judged them suitable for softball.17 Researcher Jay Feldman recorded players’ recollections of playing under those lights:

Shirley Jameson: “The lights weren’t all that great, but we were used to that – we had to play with whatever we had. Besides, just the fact that we were playing in Wrigley Field was enough. We’d have done it whether it was light or dark, because we were all on Cloud Nine.”

Mildred Warwick echoed Jameson’s sentiments about playing in Wrigley Field: “All of a sudden I’d landed in Wrigley Field. I was overwhelmed by the size of it, and I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, I’m playing in Wrigley Field.’ I was thrilled.”

Pitcher Helen Nicol noted that the lighting conditions challenged the outfielders: “The shadows would come up and all of a sudden you wouldn’t be able to decipher where the ball was. It was pretty hard for the outfielders to see, especially if the ball got up high.”  

Betsy Jochum didn’t realize she was part of a historic event: “I didn’t realize at the time that they didn’t have lights at Wrigley Field. … I just thought those lights were there all the time. We showed up for the game, the lights were on, and we played.”18

AAGBBL sportswriters’ recaps recognized the game’s outstanding players and events:

“… the brilliant outfielding and baserunning of Shirley Jameson, Kenosha center fielder, thrilled the big crowd throughout the game.19

Eleanor Dapkus hit a triple with the bases loaded to drive in three Wisconsin runs.20

Sophie Kurys got three singles in four trips and drove in two runs besides scoring three herself. Dorothy Wind scored three runs and got one hit in two official turns at bat. Clara Schillace had two hits in three tries.21

Gloria Marks was hit by a line drive and forced to retire after pitching just two-thirds of an inning. Mary Nesbitt pitched the last 2⅓ innings and got in just enough work to sharpen her pitching for tonight.22

Helen Nicol, Kenosha hurler from Calgary, Canada, pitched no-hit ball during her three-inning effort and a teammate, Elise Harney, of Jacksonville, Illinois, was nicked for the first Illinois-Indiana hit when Josephine D’Angelo singled after two out in the seventh inning. The other hit by the losers was pitcher Olive Little’s infield hit to open the ninth.”23

Sportswriters didn’t provide a WAAC box score, but they did provide the AAGBBL’s:

(Click image to enlarge)

So ended the “mammoth” July 1, 1943, World War II WAAC rally, which incorporated the historic first-ever lighted night game at Wrigley Field. It provided Philip Wrigley an opportunity to benefit women service personnel and to experiment with a night game. The players were thrilled to play in a major-league park and Wrigley Field in particular. At the time, none of Wrigley’s women players imagined they had just made history that would be repeated once more by their league in 1944 and not again until the Cubs played a night game at Wrigley Field in August 1988 — 44 years later.

This article appears in “Wrigley Field: The Friendly Confines at Clark and Addison” (SABR, 2019), edited by Gregory H. Wolf. To read more stories from this book online, click here.

Notes

1 Merrie A. Fidler, The Origins and History of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 2006), Chapter 1.

2 “Chewing Gum Is War Material,” Fortune, January 1943: 100.

3 Kenosha Evening News, May 27, 1943, 16; June 1, 1943: 9.

4 “Mr. Wrigley’s Statement for the Press on the Girls’ All-American Softball League,” February 17, 1943, Arthur Meyerhoff Files, drawer 19, 1943 News Release Folder.

5 Fidler, 36.

6 Fidler, 34-36.

7 “Majors to Put on Big Show for War Benefit Wednesday,” Racine Journal Times, June 19, 1943: 10.

8 Carl E. Lundquist, “News Views,” Rockford Morning Star, June 15, 1943: 2; “All-American Girls’ Softball League Play All-Star Contest for WAACs,” Kenosha Evening News, June 24, 1943: 8.

9 Chicago Tribune, July 1, 1943: Section 2, 21; “Belles to Play Sox Tonight,” Racine Journal Times, June 30, 1943: 10.

10 “Redbirds Lose Fourth Time to Puerto Rican,” Boise Idaho Statesman, June 26, 1943: 7.

11 See sports pages of the Rockford Register Republic, the Kenosha Evening News, the Racine Journal Times, and the South Bend Tribune between June 23 and June 29, 1943; “Big Vote Cast for All-Stars,” Rockford Register Republic, June 30, 1943: 15.

12 Rockford Register Republic, June 30, 1943: 15.

13 Rockford Morning Star, June 27, 1943: 35.

14 “Jim Costin Says,” South Bend Tribune, June 24, 1943: 8.

15 “Wisconsin Girls Win, 16-0 on WAAC Program,” Chicago Tribune, July 2, 1943: 21.

16 Racine Journal Times, June 30, 1943: 10; “Peaches Meet Kenosha Again,” Rockford Register Republic, July 2, 1943: 14.

17 “Cook to Face Nicol Tonight When Peaches Tackle Kenosha,” Rockford Register Republic, June 29, 1943: 10.

18 Jay Feldman, “The Real History of Night Ball at Wrigley Field,” Baseball Research Journal, Society for American Baseball Research, No. 21, 1992: 93-95.

19 “Blue Sox Fight to Retain Lead,” South Bend Tribune, July 2, 1943: Section 3, p. 1.

20 “Belles to Play Sox Tonight; Seek Lead,” Racine Journal Times, July 2, 1943: 16.

21 Ibid.

22 Ibid.

23 “Wisconsin Team Triumphs, Comets Star,” Kenosha Evening News, July 2, 1943: 8.

Note on Sources: The Rockford Morning Star and Boise Idaho Statesman, were accessed through genealogybank.com.

Olive Little wasn’t particularly interested in joining the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) for its inaugural 1943 season – at least initially.1 She had a good teaching job in Poplar Point, Manitoba, and had been recently married. “Then they offered me twice as much in a week as I had been making in a month teaching,” she explained. “How could I say no?”2 With her husband in the Canadian Army, Little jumped at the chance. Her $100-per-week contract made her one of the highest-paid players in the league.

Although the AAGPBL used baseball rules, it gradually transitioned the pitching style, ball, and field dimensions from softball-like to nearly regulation baseball between 1943 and 1954.3 Little unleashed her blazing fastball using an underhand delivery of a 12-inch ball that first season. The fledgling league initially positioned the mound 40 feet from home plate and the bases 65 feet apart; the dimensions for regulation softball at the time were 35 and 55 feet, respectively.4

Little quickly established herself as the ace of the Rockford Peaches pitching staff. The 26-year-old fireballer wasn’t afraid to use a brushback pitch whenever a hitter dug in a little too close to the plate.5 Her popularity soared in Rockford, and fans rewarded her first-half efforts by voting her to the Illinois-Indiana All-Star team.6 The All-Star Game was played under temporary lights at Wrigley Field on July 1 – more than 45 years before the Chicago Cubs played what many mistakenly believed was the first night game at the historic ballpark.7

Five weeks after making history at Wrigley, she was fêted by Rockford fans with an “Olive Little Night,” and presented with a wristwatch.8 She responded by tossing a three-hitter against the Racine Belles.

Despite Little’s outstanding pitching, Rockford came into its August 15 doubleheader against the South Bend Blue Sox in third place in the second-half standings with a 13-20 record.9 The Blue Sox boasted a 22-11 mark, giving them a three-game lead over the second-place Kenosha Comets.

The first game of the twin bill, which was seven innings in duration, featured an all-Canadian pitching matchup.10 Little got the start for the Peaches, while the Blue Sox countered with 21-year-old southpaw Doris “Dodie” Barr. Both hurlers came from small towns in southern Manitoba. Barr grew up in Starbuck, less than 40 miles from Little’s hometown of Poplar Point.

The two catchers in this game were also Canadian: South Bend’s Lucella MacLean (Lloydminster, Alberta) and Rockford’s Helen “Swede” Nelson (Toronto).

MacLean was starting in place of South Bend’s star catcher, Mary “Bonnie” Baker (Regina, Saskatchewan), who had broken a finger on her throwing hand three nights earlier and was out for the season. Baker was hurt on a foul tip in the first inning of a doubleheader, yet she played the remainder of the first game and even drove in a run after suffering the injury.11

Nelson suited up despite getting knocked out cold the night before in a home-plate collision with 15-year-old phenom Dorothy “Dottie” Schroeder.12 The slightly built Nelson had to be carried off the field and taken to the clubhouse. The South Bend Tribune reported that she “received nothing more serious than a bump on the head.”13

Rockford manager Eddie Stumpf penciled two more Canadians into his starting lineup: Hard-hitting Gladys “Terrie” Davis (Toronto) played center field,14 and Mildred Warwick (Regina, Saskatchewan) was stationed at the hot corner.15

Barr retired the game’s first two batters before Rockford’s Irene Ruhnke singled into center field. The next two batters, Davis and Mildred Deegan, walked to load the bases. Betty Jane “Moe” Moczynski followed with a sharp single into left field to give the Peaches an early 2-0 lead.

Little opened the bottom of the first inning by walking Betsy “Sockum” Jochum. The speedy Jochum stole second and went to third on Marge Stefani’s groundball out. MacLean followed with a short fly ball that was tracked down by an onrushing Davis, and Jochum had to remain at third. Little escaped the inning unscathed by getting Lois “Flash” Florreich to ground out.16

Barr and Little settled into a tight pitchers’ duel. Neither hurler allowed another baserunner until the bottom of the fifth, when Little walked Barr to open the frame. Josephine “Jo Jo” D’Angelo followed with what would have been a single with the bases empty, but Barr thought the ball was going to be caught by the left fielder Moczynski and held up at first. The ball fell in front of Moczynski, who relayed it to Ruhnke for the force play at second. D’Angelo’s potential single went as a force play, keeping Little’s no-hitter intact. The Rockford hurler surrendered her third (and final) walk of the game to the next batter, Johanna Hargraves, before getting a pair of popups to end the inning.

Neither team had a batter reach base for the remainder of the game. Little retired the Blue Sox in order in the final two innings to secure her no-hit, no-run game and give the Peaches a much-needed 2-0 victory. Despite throwing a two-hitter and retiring the last 19 Rockford batters, Barr was charged with the hard-luck loss. The errorless game was completed in a brisk 60 minutes.

Although Little recorded the first no-hit, no-run game in the history of the AAGPBL, it wasn’t the league’s first no-hitter. That was thrown on June 10, 1943, in Rockford’s 7-2 victory over Kenosha by none other than Olive Little.17

Little finished the season with a 21-15 record and a 2.56 ERA. Her ERA ranked third in the league, behind fellow Canadian Helen Nicol (1.81) and Margaret “Sonny” Berger (1.91).18 Little’s eight shutouts tied her with Nicol for the league lead.

Rockford stumbled through the remainder of the 1943 season, finishing in last place in the second-half standings with a 20-34 mark. The Peaches’ overall record of 43-65 was also the league’s worst.

South Bend was a different team without Baker, the league’s top catcher. The Blue Sox went 10-14 from August 13 onward and missed the playoffs. They finished the second half of the season three games behind Kenosha.19

Little sat out the 1944 season and gave birth to her first child, Bobbi, on June 3. There were reports in late July that Little would return to the Peaches before the end of the season,20 but she eventually decided there wasn’t enough time to get herself back into playing shape.21

Rockford held a second “Olive Little Night” on August 6, 1944, with 3,127 fans coming out to celebrate their former top hurler. The large crowd pushed Rockford’s season attendance past its 1943 total with a month still left on the schedule.22 With Little looking on, the Peaches’ new pitching ace, Carolyn “India” Morris, tossed a seven-inning no-hit, no-run game to open the twin bill.23

Little returned to action in 1945 better than ever. The flamethrowing right-hander struck out 15 Fort Wayne batters on June 28, and less than two weeks later she tossed a nine-inning no-hit, no-run game against those same Daisies.24 Four days after Little’s third no-no, the league moved the mound from 40 to 42 feet away from home plate to reduce the number of no-hitters.25 She finished the season with a 22-11 record and a minuscule 1.68 ERA.

The mighty pitching duo of Morris and Little propelled Rockford to the 1945 pennant with a 67-43 record. That season the league scrapped the split-season setup and instituted the Shaughnessy playoff format.26 Rockford defeated the third-place Grand Rapids Chicks three games to one in the first round of the playoffs before downing the Daisies four games to one to claim the championship.27 It was the first of Rockford’s four postseason titles in a six-year period.28

Little returned in 1946 for one final season, posting a 14-17 record and a 2.51 ERA with the Peaches. She retired from professional baseball after the season and returned to Poplar Point, where she spent the remainder of her life.

She was admitted into the Softball Canada Hall of Fame in 1983; two years later she entered the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame. Little was inducted posthumously into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998 as a member of the pioneering group of 68 Canadian women who played in the AAGPBL.29

Little displayed typical Canadian modesty when she was asked about her professional baseball accomplishments, preferring instead to give much of the credit to her father, Jack Bend, and her sports-mad hometown. “Anybody who had the kind of coaching and encouragement I had could have done what I did,” she said. “Maybe more.”30

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted AAGPBL.org and AncestryLibrary.ca.

Notes

1 The professional women’s circuit was originally known as the All-American Girls Soft Ball League. It was renamed the All-American Girls Base Ball League in midseason 1943. Other titles used by the league included All-American Girls Professional Ball League (1944-45), All-American Girls Base Ball League (again, 1946-50), and American Girls Baseball League (1951-54). The league became known as the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League after the creation of the Players’ Association in 1986. William McMahon, Helen Nordquist, and Merrie A. Fidler, “AAGPBL History: The International Girls Baseball League,” All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, https://www.aagpbl.org/articles/show/51, accessed March 26, 2021; “League History,” All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, https://www.aagpbl.org/history/league-history, accessed March 26, 2021.

2 Canadian Press, “Wartime Women’s Baseball League Almost Forgotten,” Toronto Globe and Mail, May 26, 1983: 22.

3 In 1954, the AAGPBL’s final season, the mound was 60 feet from home plate and the bases were 85 feet apart. The pitchers threw overhand that season and used a regulation nine-inch baseball.

4 Anika Orrock, The Incredible Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2020), 62-63. As of 2021, NCAA softball used a 12-inch ball; the mound was 43 feet from home plate, and the bases were 60 feet apart.

5 Dan Turner, Heroes, Bums, and Ordinary Men: Profiles in Canadian Baseball (Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 1988), 262.

6 “Belles to Play Sox Tonight; Name All Star Team Lineup,” Racine (Wisconsin) Journal-Times, June 30, 1943: 10.

7 Merrie A. Fidler and Jim Nitz, “July 1, 1943: All-American Girls Play First Game Under the Lights at Wrigley Field,” SABR Games Project, https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/july-1-1943-all-american-girls-play-first-game-under-the-lights-at-wrigley-field/, accessed March 25, 2021.

8 “Belles Divide Doubleheader with Rockford Team Sunday; Lose Saturday Contest, 8-3,” Racine Journal-Times, August 9, 1943:10.

9 “Girls’ Softball,” South Bend Tribune, August 15, 1943: 23.

10 AAGPBL doubleheaders consisted of one seven-inning game and one nine-inning game. The second game of the twin bill on August 15, 1943, was washed out in the top of the fifth inning with Rockford leading South Bend, 4-2. The game was replayed on August 16, which was supposed to have been an offday for both teams.

11 Jim Costin, “Injury Puts Bonnie Baker Out for Year,” South Bend Tribune, August 13, 1943: 21.

12 Nelson is listed in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book as being 5-feet-1, 100 pounds. Schroeder is listed at 5-feet-7, 150 pounds, although she may have been smaller at 15 years of age when this game was played. Schroeder scored on the play, extending South Bend’s healthy eighth-inning lead to 8-1. Two nights later, Schroeder was called out for interference when she crashed into Rockford shortstop Eileen Burmeister, who was in the process of fielding a groundball. “Doris Barr to Face Comets in Series Opener Tonight,” South Bend Tribune, August 17, 1943:12.

13 Jim Costin, “Sox Win, 8-1; Lead by Three Games,” South Bend Tribune, August 15, 1943: 23. Concussion protocols in professional baseball were still almost 70 years away.

14 Canadian slugger Gladys Davis won the 1943 AAGPBL batting title with a .332 batting average, and she led the league with 155 total bases. No other batter in the league (54-game minimum) hit more than .280. Davis also led Rockford with 4 home runs, 58 RBIs, 116 hits, 52 walks, 10 triples, and 78 runs scored in 349 at-bats.

15 In 1943 seven Canadians played for the Rockford Peaches, and five more suited up for the South Bend Blue Sox. In addition to those previously mentioned, utility player Ethel McCreary (Regina, Saskatchewan) and pitcher Thelma Golden (Toronto) donned a Peaches uniform that season; pitcher Catherine Bennett (Regina) also played for the 1943 Blue Sox. Pitcher Muriel Coben (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) appeared in games for both Rockford and South Bend that season.

16 Jim Costin, “Little Stops Sox; 2-0, in No-Hitter,” South Bend Tribune, August 16, 1943: 10.

17 Little’s first no-hitter was thrown in only the 14th game in the history of the Rockford Peaches. Shirley Jameson scored both runs for Kenosha. Twice in the game the speedy Jameson walked, stole second, and then stole third. She scored on a wild pitch in the first inning and on an error in the third. Jameson led the league with 126 stolen bases in 1943.

18 Helen Nicol, a native of Ardley, Alberta, won her second consecutive ERA title in 1944 with a 0.93 ERA and tossed a nine-inning no-hit, no-run game on September 4, 1944, against the Racine Belles. She got married and played under the name Helen Nicol Fox beginning in 1945. She pitched for 10 seasons, eventually becoming the Cy Young of the AAGPBL. She is the career leader in wins (163), losses (118), pitching appearances (313), innings pitched (2382), strikeouts (1076), hits allowed (1579), and earned runs (499).

19 The first-place teams from the first and second half qualified for the playoffs in 1943 and 1944. Racine swept Kenosha in the 1943 league championship series.

20 Jim O’Brien, “Sidelines,” Racine Journal-Times, July 26, 1944:10.

21 Jim O’Brien, “Sidelines,” Racine Journal-Times, August 9, 1944:10.

22 “Morris Pitches No-Hit, No-Run Rockford Win,” Kenosha News, August 7, 1944: 8.

23 The AAGPBL ball was reduced from 12 to 11½ inches at the start of the 1944 season. The distance between the bases was increased from 65 to 68 feet on July 19, 1944, to reduce the number of stolen bases. Eddie McKenna, “Belles Beat Comets in Series Opener, 5-2,” Kenosha News, July 20, 1944:12.

24 “Players Scrap as Rockford Beats Daisies, 2-0,” Racine Journal-Times, June 29, 1945: 12; “Little Pitches No-Hitter as Rockford Wins, 2-0,” Racine Journal-Times, July 11, 1945:10.

25 Jim O’Brien, “Sidelines,” Racine Journal-Times, July 9, 1945: 10. A record eight no-hitters were thrown in 1945. Doris Barr threw a seven-inning no-hit, no-run game for Racine in the nightcap of a July 1, 1945, doubleheader against Fort Wayne – 13 days before the mound was moved back. Racine won the game, 2-0, and Barr knocked in both runs herself in the top of the seventh. It was the first no-hitter in the history of the Racine Belles.

26 The AAGPBL operated as a six-team circuit in 1945. The top four teams qualified for the playoffs, with the first- and third-place teams squaring off in one of the first-round series and the second- and fourth-place teams meeting in the other series.

27 W.C. Madden, The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2000), 100-106.

28 The Rockford Peaches were also AAGPBL playoff champions in 1948, 1949, and 1950.

29 Most of the Canadian players in the AAGPBL were from the provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta. A big reason why there were so many Canadians in the league was that the Prairie provinces were scoured for talent by AAGPBL scouts, including Johnny Gottselig. Gottselig, who was from Saskatchewan, played in the NHL for 16 seasons with the Chicago Black Hawks. He had also managed women’s softball in Saskatchewan. In addition to being an AAGPBL scout, Gottselig managed the Racine Belles (1943-44), Peoria Red Wings (1946-47), and Kenosha Comets (1949-51). Matt Rothenberg, “A Hockey Hero and the AAGPBL,” National Baseball Hall of Fame, https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/stories/short-stops/johnny-gottselig-and-the-all-american-girIs-professional-baseball-league, accessed April 7, 2021.

30 “Olive Bend Little (May 7, 1917 – February 2, 1987),” Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame, http://honouredmem-bers.sportmanitoba.ca/inductee.php?id=63, accessed March 26, 2021.

The second night game ever played at Wrigley Field was a Red Cross “Thank You” program exhibition between the Milwaukee Chicks and the South Bend Blue Sox of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. This was the first contest of a doubleheader held on Tuesday evening, July 18, 1944, serving as a break between the two halves of the AAGPBL championship season. In 1943, the first year of the league, an AAGPBL night all-star game had also been played at Wrigley Field.1 The 1944 event matched the fully-rostered teams of the Chicks and the Blue Sox, followed by the Racine Belles against the Kenosha Comets. The second game was stopped at 11 P.M. with a 6-6 tie after 3½ innings because the teams needed to get to their trains to begin the second half of the season the next day.2

The AAGPBL, founded by Chicago Cubs owner Philip Wrigley, promoted this Red Cross doubleheader by offering free admission to Wrigley Field that evening to anyone showing a Red Cross worker’s button, contributor’s pin or card, or blood donor’s button, as appreciation for their wartime work. Furthermore, uniformed servicemen and anyone they escorted were also invited to enjoy women’s baseball at no charge.3 The day of the event, free admission for all was highlighted in the newspapers, in the hope of filling all 40,000 Wrigley Field seats.4 In addition to local radio spots and newspaper coverage, 25,000 bright red flyers were distributed throughout the Chicago area to promote the 7:30 P.M. twin bill. A special box-seat section was open only to members of the armed forces and Red Cross volunteers and contributors who arrived before 7:15.5

The Chicks and Blue Sox got the evening off to an exciting start, as Milwaukee, managed by future Hall of Famer Max Carey, won in a slugfest, 20-11, over South Bend, led by former big leaguer Bert Niehoff. The Chicks scored 11 runs in the sixth inning to put away the Blue Sox before a crowd estimated at 20,000 by the Chicago Tribune.6 The Racine Journal-Times reported that 16,000 fans attended the game, which went 2 hours and 25 minutes. Sylvia Wronski, the 19-year-old Chicks number-4 starter, earned the win, besting Blue Sox starter, Kay Bennett. Seven pitchers were used in a game that was much longer and higher-scoring than usual for the AAGPBL.

Milwaukee’s leading hitters were shortstop Pat Keagle with four hits, including two triples, and four runs scored; outfielder Thelma Eisen (called “Pigtails” by the Racine newspaper) who drove in six runs and also hit a triple; and third baseman Doris Tetzlaff, who added four hits. The Racine paper said the sixth inning “looked like a track meet” with 15 Chicks batters facing Doris Barr. South Bend was led by catcher Lucella MacLean with three RBIs on three hits; third baseman Lois Florreich and her three hits; and outfielder Betsy Jochum’s three singles and a triple.7 The Milwaukee Journal, the Kenosha Evening News, and the South Bend Tribune concurred with the Racine Journal-Times on the 16,000 attendance figure. The Journal continued to be the only newspaper to refer to the Milwaukee team as the Schnitts, which means “small beer” in German or, alternatively, “little Brewers” in reference to the Milwaukee minor-league team at the time.8

The inadequate portable lighting at Wrigley Field was said to have contributed to the high hit, run, and error totals as outfielders had difficulty seeing fly balls. The planned 300,000 watts were reduced to only 38,500 due to problems securing and installing the necessary electrical cable. Chicks chaperone Dorothy Hunter, in a 1976 interview with groundbreaking AAGPBL researcher Merrie Fidler, recalled the temporary lights as “little bitty flood lights on the grand stand.”9 Seventy-three years after the game, Viola Thompson Griffin, left-handed Chicks pitcher, still remembered those lights being stationed around the outfield and in the grandstand and as “poor and pathetic, making it hard to see, which led to many errors.”10

In an effort to further entertain the crowd, Victor Mature, a popular film actor of that time, was on hand. The Racine Journal-Times had this to say about what became Mature’s unwelcome appearance at Wrigley Field that night: “The appearance of “That (self-advertised) Beautiful Hunk of Man was, to put it charitably, unfortunate. Mature, a chief bo’sun mate in the coast guard who has put in 14 months of sea duty and is now recruiting with the Tars and Spars show, made an ‘entrance’ when the game was in progress, had the over-long contest held up while he made an inconsequential series of wise-cracks about himself, and was given a sound round of razzberries as he left. We certainly don’t like to see a service man booed, but the Beautiful Hunk certainly asked for it.”11

Betsy Jochum clearly recalled this incident in a 2017 interview, stating that fans wanted to watch the ballgame rather than listen to a Hollywood star.12 Viola Thompson Griffin enthusiastically remembered that she and her teammates “as young girls, we thought Mature was great!”13 Mature did War Bond promotional tours and performed in morale and recruiting shows in 1944. Interestingly, he had been rejected by the Navy in 1942 due to color blindness. The very same day, he enlisted in the Coast Guard after passing a different vision test.14

Ballplayer reactions to playing at Wrigley Field were fascinating. Sylvia Wronski said it was immensely satisfying but added, “I loved playing ball. Even at Wrigley Field, nothing else ran through my head but playing the game. Baseball was my only passion until I got married.”15 Jochum did not recall specific details, other than Victor Mature getting booed. However, she did have vivid memories of the 1943 AAGPBL tryouts, also held at Wrigley Field.16 Griffin, in a 1995 oral-history interview, said that she “was very much conscious” that the AAGPBL was contributing to the war effort by playing in that Red Cross doubleheader. She also remembered the Mature incident by stating that “he was so handsome, and we wanted to watch him, and the people wanted to watch us play ball.”17

Almost three-quarters of a century after the game, Griffin said that, at the time, it was “so wonderful, amazing, and exciting to say I’m in Wrigley Field and walk out on that diamond.”18 Wronski recalled other AAGPBL war efforts during 1944 in which the Chicks played at several veterans hospitals, including Milwaukee’s.19 In addition, she was pictured in the August 10, 1944, Milwaukee Journal, promoting a coming Red Cross “Thank You” game at Borchert Field, home of the Chicks.20

As unforgettable as this exhibition appears now, no box score or pictures have been found for it. The only statistical record is a South Bend Tribune line score (showing the Blue Sox as visitors and the Chicks as home team) which included the runs for each of the nine innings, total runs, hits (South Bend 13, Milwaukee 16), and errors (South Bend 6, Milwaukee 5). Only the starting pitchers and catchers were included in this line score.21 AAGPBL press coverage in 1944 was more detailed for regular-season games in the teams’ hometown newspapers. However, the crowd of at least 16,000 watched the AAGPBL make history at Wrigley Field’s second night game ever, under those inadequate temporary lights in July 1944.
 

This article appears in “Wrigley Field: The Friendly Confines at Clark and Addison” (SABR, 2019), edited by Gregory H. Wolf. To read more stories from this book online, click here.

Photo credit

1944 Milwaukee Chicks photo is courtesy of AAGPBL.com.

Notes

1 Merrie Fidler, Origins and History of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2005), 52.

2 “Racine Club Adds 2 Players, Ties Comets in Chicago Show,” Racine Journal-Times, July 19, 1944.

3 “Schnitts Split a Double Bill,” Milwaukee Journal, July 13, 1944.

4 “Wrigley Field Scene of Girls’ Games Tonight,” Chicago Tribune, July 18, 1944; “Belles to Play in Chicago,” Racine Journal-Times, July 18, 1944.

5 Fidler, 54-55.

6 “Girls’ Games for Red Cross Attract 20,000,” Chicago Tribune, July 19, 1944.

7 “Racine Club Adds 2 Players, Ties Comets in Chicago Show,” Racine Journal-Times, July 19, 1944; “Comets, Racine Tie 6-6 After Short Contest,” Kenosha Evening News, July 19, 1944.

8 “Comets, Racine Tie 6-6 After Short Contest”; “16,000 Watch Schnitts Win,” Milwaukee Journal, July 19, 1944, “Rockford, Blue Sox Meet Here Tonight,” South Bend Tribune, July 19, 1944; Thomas J. Morgan and James R. Nitz, “Our Forgotten World Champions: The 1944 Milwaukee Chicks,” Milwaukee History, vol. 18, no. 2 (1995): 36.

9 Fidler.

10 Viola Thompson Griffin, telephone interview with author, April 29, 2017.

11 Jim O’Brien, “Sidelines,” Racine Journal-Times, July 19, 1944.

12 Betsy Jochum, telephone interview with author, April 13, 2017.

13 Griffin.

14 John Keyes, DVCP. “Victor Mature Shadow Box.” TogetherWeServed – Connecting US Coast Guardsmen. Together We Served, 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2017. https://coastguard.togetherweserved.com/uscg/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApps?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=9597.

15 Sylvia Wronski Straka, personal interview with author, May 25, 1994.

16 Jochum.

17 Viola Thompson Griffin, oral history interview with Robert Carter, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Graduate Public History Class Project: The Forgotten Champs-The Milwaukee Chicks of 1944, March 8, 1995.

18 Griffin, 2017.

19 Sylvia Wronski Straka, oral history interview with Lisa Hutchinson, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Graduate Public History Class Project: The Forgotten Champs-The Milwaukee Chicks of 1944, March 20, 1995.

20 Milwaukee Journal, August 10, 1944.

21 “Rockford, Blue Sox Meet Here Tonight,” South Bend Tribune, July 19, 1944.

The bad news kept coming for the Millerettes. In the next two days, center fielder Faye Dancer and catcher Lavonne “Pepper” Paire − both star players − were injured.6 On July 23 Dancer slammed into her teammate, shortstop Betty “Moe” Trezza, while in pursuit of a batted ball and injured her back.7 The next day Paire suffered a season-ending injury when she broke her collarbone in a home-plate collision with Racine’s Charlotte Smith.8

Minneapolis, made up almost entirely of AAGPBL rookies,9 had finished dead last in the season’s first half.10 The second-half outlook was equally bleak, especially with the team living out of suitcases for the remainder of the season. The Millerettes came into their July 29 game against the Kenosha Comets mired in the cellar with a 2-7 record.

The pitching matchup featured a pair of southpaws. Annabelle “Lefty” Lee (later Harmon) got the start for Minneapolis. Lee, a 5-foot-2 junkballer from North Hollywood, was part of the first wave of Californians to come into the league when it expanded to six teams in 1944.11 The 22-year-old’s repertoire included a dizzying array of off-speed pitches and a knuckleball.12

The Millerettes were looking for revenge against Kenosha’s starter, Mary Pratt.13 Minneapolis had jumped out to a 12-9 start in the first half, which was good enough for a share of first place on the morning of June 14. Later that day, Pratt tossed a seven-inning no-hitter against Minneapolis in the first game of a doubleheader.14 Pratt’s victory, coupled with a lopsided Kenosha win in the nightcap, knocked the Millerettes out of first place and helped send them into a first-half tailspin.

The Comets, winners of the first-half title, had gotten off to a slow start in the second half. Their 3-7 record had them in fifth place, five games behind the league-leading South Bend Blue Sox. Kenosha was decimated by injuries,15 leaving it without the services of four players, including outfielder Shirley Jameson and third baseman Ann “Tootie” Harnett.16 As a result, the Comets were forced to call on two Kenosha city league players to shore up their sparse bench.17

Minneapolis opened the scoring in the top of the first with a single run.18 The score remained 1-0 until the top of the third, when the floodgates opened against Pratt. Minneapolis scored five in the third, four in the fourth, and two more in the fifth to take a commanding 12-0 lead. Dancer’s replacement in center field, Margaret Wigiser, delivered the big blast with a grand slam to left field in the top of the fourth inning.19 Trezza also touched Pratt for a two-run shot.20 After giving up 11 hits and two walks in five innings of work, the shell-shocked hurler was replaced by Rose Folder (later Powell).

Lee, meanwhile, was cruising. She used a “change of pace and an assortment of baffling curves” to retire all 15 Kenosha batters through five.21

Folder temporarily stemmed the bleeding in the top of the sixth; the Millerettes resumed the onslaught in the next inning by scoring a single run. They followed that up with five more runs in the eighth, thanks in part to Trezza’s second round-tripper of the game, a three-run shot.22 The Orphans now led, 18-0.

Lee continued to completely shut down Kenosha. After extending her dominance to 24 consecutive outs, she turned her attention to the bottom of the order for the ninth inning. Lee set down Ruth Radatz,23 Lucille Colacito (later Appugliese), and Joyce Hill (later Westerman) in order, clinching the first perfect game in AAGPBL history.24

Lee struck out five Kenosha batters, and only three balls were hit out of the infield − all were caught by the center fielder, Wigiser.25 Minneapolis infielders made several “flashy” plays behind Lee to preserve the perfect game.26

Wigiser and Trezza both had five RBIs in the game. Millerettes leadoff hitter Helen Callaghan (later Candaele/St. Aubin) chipped in with four hits, two RBIs, two runs scored, and two stolen bases.27

Only 8 of the 18 Minneapolis runs were earned, as Kenosha committed nine errors. Four of those miscues were charged to Phyllis “Sugar” Koehn, who had been moved from her regular outfield post to cover third base for the injured Harnett.

The Comets wound up in fourth place in the second half with a 62-54 record, 8½ games behind the first-place Milwaukee Chicks. The winners of each half met in the championship series,28 and for the second year in a row Kenosha came out on the losing end.29 The Comets remained in the league until the end of the 1951 season, although they never appeared in the championship series again.

Minneapolis finished last in the second-half standings with a dismal 22-36 mark.

Despite a 2.43 ERA that was ninth best in the league, Lee ended up with a losing record (11-14). Her perfect game was one of the few highlights of the team’s trying season, but all was not lost. “We were young, we were having a good time, and we had money in our pockets,” recalled Dorothy “Dottie” Wiltse decades later.30 “I mean, what more could you ask for? We didn’t care that we were the Orphans.”31

The Minneapolis team was moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, for the 1945 season and renamed the Daisies. The solid nucleus of talent that had been assembled for the expansion Millerettes blossomed in Indiana. The Daisies, who were warmly embraced by the local community,32 advanced all the way to the championship series in 1945. They went on to become one of the most successful franchises in the AAGPBL. In the Daisies’ 10 seasons in Fort Wayne, they won three regular-season titles (1952-54) and made the playoffs eight times. But to the chagrin of their fans, they never won it all. The Daisies lost all five championship series in which they played.33

Lee had a career year in 1945 for Fort Wayne, posting a 1.56 ERA, which was sixth best in the league.34 On July 7 against the Grand Rapids Chicks, Lee narrowly missed throwing a second perfect game and settled for a no-hitter.35 Thelma “Tiby” Eisen, on a second-inning error by Paire, was the only Grand Rapids batter to reached base in the game.

A little more than a year after Lee’s no-hitter in Grand Rapids, her sister-in-law, Paula, gave birth to a son, William Francis Lee III.36 Annabelle passed on her pitching knowledge to the youngster, gave him his first left-handed glove, and became one of the biggest influences in his life.37 He grew up to become a lefty junkballer just like his Aunt Annabelle. Better known as Bill “Spaceman” Lee, he spent 14 years in the major leagues pitching for the Boston Red Sox and Montreal Expos. “I like to think I got my competitive nature from her,” he explained. Bill described her as “the best baseball player in the family, including me.”38

Annabelle was one of the few AAGPBL pitchers to successfully transition from underhand to side-arm and then overhand pitching.39 In addition to playing for Minneapolis and Fort Wayne, she also had stints with the Peoria Redwings (1946-47, 1949-50) and Grand Rapids Chicks (1947). She wrapped up her seven-year AAGPBL career after the 1950 season having compiled a 2.25 ERA and a 63-96 record.

She was married to US Army Technician Lloyd Harmon from November 1957 until his death in 1974. After her baseball playing days ended, she worked for two electronics companies in Los Angeles, retiring in 1985.40 Annabelle spent her retirement years in Costa Mesa, California, enjoying hobbies that included golf, knitting, and cooking.

On July 3, 2008, Annabelle “Lefty” Harmon died of breast cancer in a Vermont hospital not far from her nephew Bill’s home. She was 86 years old.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted AAGPBL.org, The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book, and Ancestry.com. Box scores and standings were referenced in the Kenosha Evening News and South Bend Tribune.

Notes

1 The expansion into Milwaukee and Minneapolis made the AAGPBL a six-team league in 1944. The original four teams were the Kenosha Comets, Racine Belles, Rockford Peaches, and South Bend Blue Sox.

2 League attendance increased by 49 percent in 1944 despite the poor turnout in Minneapolis and Milwaukee. “League History,” All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, https://aagpbl.org/history/league-history, accessed November 4, 2021; W.C. Madden, The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2000), 21.

3 Anne Aronson, “Dames in the Dirt: Women’s Baseball Before 1945,” The National Pastime (2012), https://sabr.org/journal/article/dames-in-the-dirt-womens-baseball-before-1945/, accessed November 4, 2021.

4 “City May Lose Millerettes; Prexy Here to Make Decision,” Minneapolis Star Journal, July 22, 1944: 6.

5 “Millerettes Lost to City Rest of Year,” Minneapolis Tribune, July 23, 1944: 19.

6 On top of playing stellar defense, Dancer had led the league in hitting in the first half with a .313 batting average. Eddie McKenna, “Dancer, Paire, Injured Millers, Healing Here,” Kenosha Evening News, July 27, 1944: 10.

7 Dancer returned to action on August 11. “League Notes,” Kenosha Evening News, July 25, 1944: 8; “Comets Crash 16 Hits to Beat Belles, 11-1,” Kenosha Evening News, August 11, 1944: 8; Eddie McKenna, “Wiltse, Minneapolis Silence Comets, 7-1,” Kenosha Evening News, August 12, 1944: 3.

8 “Belles Crush Minneapolis, 17-0; Hold Tie for Girl Loop Lead,” Racine Journal-Times, July 25, 1944: 12; “Three Others on Kenosha Team to Continue School,” Kenosha Evening News, August 11, 1944: 8.

9 Utility player Irene Ruhnke played for the Rockford Peaches in 1943. All other Minneapolis players were AAGPBL rookies in 1944.

10 The AAGPBL used a split-season schedule in 1944.

11 There were four Californians on the Minneapolis Millerettes: Lee, Faye Dancer, Pepper Paire, and Dorothy “Dottie” Wiltse. Lois Browne, Girls of Summer; In Their Own League (Toronto: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd., 1992), 50-52.

12 AAGPBL pitchers threw underhand – usually with a windmill delivery – until the introduction of side-arm pitching in 1946. Overhand pitching was instituted in 1948. Less than two weeks before this game, the size of the ball was reduced from 12 inches in circumference to 11½ inches, and the basepaths were lengthened from 65 to 68 feet. The size of the ball was further reduced to 11 inches in 1946, 10⅜ inches in 1948, 10 inches in 1949, and 9 inches in 1954. Diane Pucin, “This ‘Lefty’ Is Right on the Mark,” Los Angeles Times, December 23, 1998; Anika Orrock, The Incredible Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2020), 62-63; Eddie McKenna, “Belles Beat Comets in Series Opener, 5-2,” Kenosha Evening News, July 20, 1944: 12.

13 Pratt started the season with Rockford. She was reassigned to Kenosha on June 6 because of injuries to the top two pitchers on the Comets, Helen Nicol and Elise “Lee” Harney. The AAGPBL reserved the right to reassign players from one team to another whenever it was in the league’s best interests. Eddie McKenna, “Mary Pratt, Southpaw Pitcher, Newest Comet,” Kenosha Evening News, June 7, 1944: 8.

14 Eddie McKenna, “Mary Pratt Twirls No-Hit Win in Seven Innings for Kenosha,” Kenosha Evening News, June 15, 1944: 10; “Comet Comments,” Kenosha Evening News, June 15, 1944: 10.

15 Eddie McKenna, “Injury Riddled Kenoshans Skid for Fifth Time,” Kenosha Evening News, July 27, 1944: 10.

16 Kay Heim (later McDaniel) and Janice “Jerry” O’Hara were also out with injuries. Jameson and Harnett were key components of Kenosha’s offense.

17 The two players added to the Kenosha roster were Joyce Hill (later Westerman) and Ruth Radatz. Both players made their AAGPBL debut in this game. Hill came in and replaced Folder in right field when the latter came in to pitch in the sixth inning. She went 0-for-2 in the game. Radatz entered in the late innings to play left field; she went 0-for-1. Neither player had signed an AAGPBL contract. Eddie McKenna, “Lee, Minneapolis, in Perfect Pitching Victory Saturday; VFW Program Carded Tonight,” Kenosha Evening News, July 31, 1944: 5.

18 Play-by-play descriptions of this game in the Kenosha Evening News and South Bend Tribune were not detailed.

19 “Lee, Minneapolis, in Perfect Pitching Victory Saturday; VFW Program Carded Tonight.”

20 The Kenosha Evening News reported that Trezza homered off Pratt in the fifth inning. The South Bend Tribune said it was in the third. Based on the line score, either was possible.

21 “Minneapolis Pitcher Hurls Perfect Game,” South Bend Tribune, July 30, 1944: 16.

22 The Kenosha Evening News reported it as a three-run home run, while the South Bend Tribune said it was a two-run shot. The home runs were the only two Trezza hit all season (194 at-bats).

23 As of November 2021, this was believed to be Radatz’s only career plate appearance in the league. No other AAGPBL box scores containing her name had been uncovered. Radatz went on to have a distinguished career in local politics. She became a city alderman in 1964 and became the first female president of the Kenosha city council. “Ruth M. Radatz, Ex-city Official,” Kenosha News, November 3, 1997: B3.

24 This was not the first no-hitter in AAGPBL history. The first no-hitter was thrown by Olive Little of the Rockford Peaches on June 10, 1943, in a 7-2 victory over the Kenosha Comets. The first no-hit, no-run game was also thrown by Little (in the first game of an August 15, 1943, doubleheader against the South Bend Blue Sox).

25 “Lee, Minneapolis, in Perfect Pitching Victory Saturday; VFW Program Carded Tonight.”

26 “Lee, Minneapolis, in Perfect Pitching Victory Saturday; VFW Program Carded Tonight.”

27 Roughly 16½ years after this game, Helen Candaele gave birth to a son, Casey. Casey Candaele went on to have a nine-year major-league career with the Montreal Expos, Houston Astros, and Cleveland Indians. As of 2021, they were the only mother-son combination to play professional baseball.

28 The league began using the Shaughnessy playoff format in 1945. The playoff series played in 1943 and 1944 was called the “Scholarship Series.” The winning team was awarded a $1,000 scholarship to be given to a local high-school student. W.C. Madden, The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2000), 2-3.

29 Milwaukee won the best-of-seven series over Kenosha four games to three. Connie Wisniewski earned the win in all four Milwaukee victories.

30 Dorothy Wiltse (later Collins) was related to both George “Hooks” Wiltse and Lewis “Snake” Wiltse. She was not related to Hal Wiltse. Bill Nowlin, “Hal Wiltse,” SABR BioProject.

31 Jim Sargent, We Were the All-American Girls: Interviews with Players of the AAGPBL, 1943-1954 (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2013), 10.

32 “The Fort Wayne Daisies,” All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, https://www.aagpbl.org/teams/fort-wayne-daisies, accessed November 4, 2021; Aronson.

33 Fort Wayne lost to Rockford in the championship series in 1945 and 1948-50. The Daisies also lost to the Kalamazoo Lassies in the 1954 championship series.

34 Poor run support limited Lee’s record to 13-16 in 1945.

35 “Daisies, Chicks Split; Lee Hurls No-Hitter,” Racine Journal-Times, July 9, 1945: 10.

36 Jim Prime, “Bill Lee (‘Spaceman’),” SABR BioProject, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/bill-lee-spaceman/, accessed November 4, 2021.

37 David Wilson, “Taught by AAGPBL Pitcher, MLB All-Star Bill ‘Spaceman’ Lee Honors League,” Bradenton (Florida) Herald, October 19, 2016; Bill Lee and Dick Lally, The Wrong Stuff (New York: Viking Penguin Inc., 1984), 5.

38 Lee and Lally, 5.

39 Side-arm pitching was introduced in 1946. Overhand pitching was instituted two years later. Helen Nicol Fox and Wiltse were two other pitchers who had success using all three pitching styles. “Rules of Play,” All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, https://www.aagpbl.org/history/rules-of-play, accessed November 4, 2021.

40 Annabelle Harmon, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, https://www.aagpbl.org/profiles/annabelle-lee-harmon-lefty/310, accessed November 4, 2021.

Jacobs had joined the Belles in mid-June 1945 after finishing her junior year of high school in Englewood, New Jersey.3 She had made history by becoming the first girl to make the boys’ baseball team at Dwight Morrow High School, although her time on the team was brief. “They called me into the principal’s office and said it wasn’t the proper way for a young lady to conduct herself, playing ball,” Jacobs said many years later.4 Despite getting removed from the roster, she continued to practice with the boys’ team for the remainder of the season.5

Jacobs got her first stint of regular playing time in the AAGPBL in late June when star second sacker Sophie Kurys was injured.6 Another huge opportunity presented itself on August 26 when right fielder Eleanor Dapkus (later Wolf) suffered a season-ending knee injury.7 Jacobs played the next few games in right field before swapping positions with shortstop Betty Emry.8

Racine came into its August 30 game with a 48-57 record, 16 games behind first-place Rockford and just a half-game ahead of the fifth-place South Bend Blue Sox. The Peaches, the best offensive team in the league, had a 64-41 record, 4½ games ahead of the second-place Fort Wayne Daisies.9 Rockford’s magic number was down to 3, and it had an outside chance of clinching the regular-season title that night by beating Racine and having South Bend sweep its doubleheader against Fort Wayne.

The pitching matchup featured a pair of dominant Canadian hurlers, both of whom were from small communities in Southern Manitoba.10 Olive Little, a fan favorite in Rockford,11 had a 22-9 record and had not lost in her previous 10 starts.12 The 28-year-old righty had fired the first two no-hitters in AAGPBL history in 1943 before taking the 1944 season off to have her first child.13 She soon returned to form, tossing the third and final no-hitter of her career on July 10, 1945. Four days later, the league moved the mound back two feet in an attempt to increase offense and reduce the number of no-hitters.14

Southpaw Doris “Dodie” Barr got the start for Racine. The 24-year-old Barr was an extremely difficult pitcher to hit, but she struggled to throw strikes – she walked almost one batter per inning in 1944 with South Bend. After she had control problems in her first outing of 1945, the Blue Sox put her on waivers and she was claimed by the Belles.15 Barr improved her control with Racine, and she tossed the first of two career no-hitters in the second game of a twin bill on July 1. She entered the game against the Peaches with an 18-8 record.16

Neither team could score in the first two innings. In the top of the third, Rockford first baseman Dorothy “Dottie” Kamenshek singled and went to second on Barr’s balk. The next batter, center fielder Margaret Wigiser, singled to score Kamenshek.17

Racine center fielder Clara Schillace (later Donahoe) led off the fourth with a triple. One out later, Peaches shortstop Dorothy “Snookie” Harrell (later Doyle) fielded Edythe Perlick’s (later Keating) grounder and threw Schillace out at the plate. The speedy Perlick advanced to second on the throw home. She stole third and scored when Rohrer threw the ball away on a pickoff attempt, tying the game, 1-1.

Rockford regained the lead in the sixth. Peaches second baseman Millie Deegan walked, stole second, and scored when shortstop Emry overthrew first base after fielding Harrell’s grounder.18

In the seventh, Kamenshek, who finished second to Fort Wayne’s Helen Callaghan (later Candaele, St. Aubin) for the batting championship,19 reached on a bunt single. Barr uncorked a wild pitch, advancing Kamenshek to third. Right fielder Rose Gacioch, the league leader with 44 RBIs in 1945, doubled, scoring Kamenshek and giving the Peaches a 3-1 lead.

The Belles loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, only to have Rockford escape the jam when Rohrer picked Mary Crews (née Nesbitt, later Wisham) off first base.

Things didn’t look great for the Belles as they went to bat in the bottom of the ninth down by two runs. Little had limited Racine to just four hits and two walks in the first eight innings. After Little issued a free pass to veteran catcher Irene “Choo-Choo” Hickson, Perlick, the cleanup hitter, tripled to right-center field, scoring Hickson. Suddenly, the Belles had the potential tying run on third base.

The switch-hitting Jacobs, batting from the left side against Little, slammed the ball to deep right field, over the head of Gacioch.20 Perlick scored easily and Jacobs rounded third and headed for home. Just as the ball arrived at the plate, Jacobs – just 5-feet-4 and 115 pounds – collided with the 5-foot-7, 139-pound Rohrer, knocking her out cold.21 Jacobs’ inside-the-park, two-run homer gave Racine a thrilling 4-3 win.

Barr earned the complete-game victory, limiting Rockford to seven hits and three walks, while striking out three batters.22

South Bend swept its doubleheader against Fort Wayne, so Racine’s come-from-behind victory kept them in the final playoff spot by percentage points, .4623 to .4615. The Belles held onto fourth place the rest of the way, and they punched their ticket to the playoffs on the final day of the regular season.23 Rockford clinched first place on August 31 when Fort Wayne was rained out in the second game of its doubleheader, and the game was not rescheduled.24

Jacobs finished the regular season 17-for-100 (.170) with 2 homers, 11 walks, and 7 RBIs, a respectable showing for a rookie considering that the league-wide batting average was .188 and no player hit more than 3 home runs.

Racine faced Fort Wayne in a best-of-five series in the first round of the playoffs. After the Daisies won the first two games, the Belles were facing elimination in Game Three. With Racine trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the ninth, Jacobs launched a two-run homer off righty Betty Carveth (later Dunn) to send the game into extra innings.25 In the bottom of the 11th, Jacobs sacrificed Perlick to third, which helped score the game-winning run.

Fort Wayne won Game Four handily and advanced to the best-of-seven finals against Rockford.26

The Peaches’ potent one-two punch on the mound, Carolyn “India” Morris and Little, combined to allow just five earned runs in 35 innings pitched, and the Peaches defeated the Daisies in five games. It was the first of four playoff championships for Rockford in a six-year period.

Although the Belles wanted Jacobs to return in 1946, she declined their offer.27 She never appeared in the AAGPBL again.

Jacobs graduated from Purdue University in June 1950 with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry.28 While at university, she competed in varsity tennis and swimming.29 Jacobs married Gordon Murk, an accountant, in the fall of 1950 and started a career as a chemical librarian.

In 1952 she began managing a Little League team in Englewood, mentoring players who included future big-leaguer Richie Scheinblum and Jim Reynolds, the son of New York Yankees star hurler Allie Reynolds.30 Scheinblum went on to play eight seasons in the majors and was an All-Star with the Kansas City Royals in 1972. “If I had to single out any one person who has helped my career it would be Janet Murk, my coach in Little League,” Scheinblum said in 1966. “She was quite a hitter. … She was the one who made me a switch-hitter.”31

Janet transitioned to becoming a stay-at-home mom in 1960 after giving birth to the first of her four children.32 Gordon went on to buy a newspaper distribution business and Janet helped keep track of the firm’s finances. She continued to play competitive tennis and in 1979 and 1980 she was the runner-up in the 50-and-over division of the American Platform Tennis Association’s national women’s championship.33

Janet lived to be 88 years old. She died in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, in January 2017 of age-related causes.34

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Kurt Blumenau and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Photo credit: Janet Jacobs, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted AAGPBL.org, The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book, Baseball-Reference.com, and NoNoHitters.com. Unless otherwise noted, all play-by-play information was taken from the article “Janet Jacobs’ Ninth-Inning Homer Wins Game for Belles,” in the August 31, 1945, edition of the Racine Journal-Times. Box scores and standings were referenced in the Racine Journal-Times and the South Bend Tribune.

Notes

1 There were six teams in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1945. The first- and third-place teams met in one best-of-five semi-final playoff round, while the second- and fourth-place teams met in the other.

2 Janet Jacobs (later Murk) is not to be confused with her Racine Belles teammate, pitcher Jane Jacobs (later Badini).

3 Jacobs graduated from high school in June 1946. “247 to Receive Their Diplomas,” Bergen (New Jersey) Evening Record, June 19, 1946: 5; Jim O’Brien, “Sidelines,” Racine (Wisconsin) Journal-Times, June 18, 1945: 10.

4 Bob Hertzel, “Janet Murk a True Pioneer for Women’s Athletics,” Clarksburg (West Virginia) Exponent Telegram, July 9, 2015, https://www.wvnews.com/theet/janet-murk-a-true-pioneer-for-women-s-athletics/article_4f12222f-2618-5871-831c-37a7161ac787.html.

5 Rod Martin, “For the Record,” Bergen Evening Record, August 11, 1947: 12.

6 Jim O’Brien, “Belles Out-Slug Ft. Wayne Girls in Opener, 12-3; Drop Nightcap,” June 25, 1945: 10; Jim O’Brien, “Sidelines,” Racine Journal-Times, June 26, 1945: 10.

7 “Belles Regain 4th Place with Three Week-End Wins,” Racine Journal-Times, August 27, 1945: 7; Jim O’Brien, “Sidelines,” Racine Journal-Times, September 5, 1945: 12.

8 Emry and Jacobs swapped positions during the August 30 game. Jacobs played shortstop for the remainder of the season. “Box Scores,” Racine Journal-Times, September 4, 1945: 12.

9 Rockford scored an average of 3.8 runs per game in 1945. Fort Wayne was second with 3.4 runs per game.

10 Doris “Dodie” Barr grew up in Starbuck, Manitoba, which was less than 40 miles from Olive Little’s hometown of Poplar Point.

11 Gary Belleville, “August 15, 1943: Canada’s Olive Little Tosses First No-Hit, No-Run Game in AAGPBL History,” SABR Games Project, https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/august-15-1943-canadas-olive-little-tosses-first-no-hitter-in-aagpbl-history/, accessed November 7, 2025.

12 Little finished the season with a 22-11 record and a 1.68 ERA. She was tagged with the loss in the second game of a doubleheader on September 3, her final start of the regular season. “Peaches Lose to Racine, 4-3,” Rockford Morning Star, August 31, 1945: 14; Dick Day, “To Meet Chicks in Play-Offs,” Rockford Register-Republic, September 4, 1945: 10.

13 Belleville, “August 15, 1943: Canada’s Olive Little Tosses First No-Hit, No-Run Game in AAGPBL History.”

14 The pitching distance was increased from 40 to 42 feet on July 14, 1945. Six no-hitters were thrown in 1945 prior to the change, excluding the six innings of no-hit ball thrown by both Helen Nicol Fox and Audrey Haine (later Daniels) in a rain-shortened contest on June 15; just two no-hitters were thrown during the remainder of the season. Throughout the 1945 season, pitchers threw a ball that was 11½ inches in circumference using an underhand delivery, and the bases were 68 feet apart. Anika Orrock, The Incredible Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2020), 62-63; Jim O’Brien, “Sidelines,” Racine Journal-Times, July 9, 1945: 10.

15 “Sox Drub Belles, 15 to 3; Racine Club Signs Pitcher,” Racine Journal-Times, June 8, 1945: 16.

16 Barr had a career year in 1945, finishing with a 20-8 record and a 1.71 ERA. She pitched a shutout in her final start of the season, on September 2. “Box Scores.”

17 The Racine Journal-Times incorrectly reported Wigiser’s hit as a triple. According to the Rockford Morning Star, it was a single, which is consistent with the published box scores. “Peaches Lose to Racine, 4-3.”

18 “Peaches Lose to Racine, 4-3.”

19 Mary Crews (née Nesbitt, later Wisham) batted .319, but she didn’t have enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title. She had only 135 at-bats in Racine’s 110 games. Callaghan batted .299 and Kamenshek hit .274. Jim O’Brien, “Sidelines,” Racine Journal-Times, September 14, 1945: 12.

20 According to the Racine Journal-Times, Jacobs hit the ball over the head of the right fielder, Wigiser, but published box scores show Gacioch playing in right.

21 The Racine Journal-Times reported that Rohrer was not seriously injured. She played in Rockford’s next game. “Box Scores.”

22 Barr spent eight seasons in the AAGPBL (1943-50). According to The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book, Barr is the league’s career leader in walks (959) and wild pitches (120). She compiled a 79-96 record and a 2.80 ERA.

23 “Racine Belles Finish Fourth, Win Playoff Berth,” Racine Journal-Times, September 4, 1945: 12.

24 Dick Day, “Rockford’s Peaches Enthroned as 1945 Pennant Winners,” Rockford Register-Republic, September 1, 1945: 7.

25 Jim O’Brien, “Belles Win 4 to 3, in 11 Innings to Stay in Playoffs,” Racine Journal-Times, September 8, 1945: 8.

26 Rockford defeated the Grand Rapids Chicks three games to one in the other semi-final series.

27 “Murphy to Seek Pitching Aid for Belles in Training Camp,” Racine Journal-Times, April 20, 1946: 4.

28 “Miss Janet Jacobs Is Bride,” Bergen (New Jersey) Evening Record, November 13, 1950: 10.

29 Associated Press, “Talbert and Segura Advance in Invitational Tennis Play,” Newark Star-Ledger, March 20, 1947: 21; “Miss Janet Jacobs Is Bride.”

30 “Plumbing Team in Englewood Loop Has a Female Baseball Manager,” Bergen (New Jersey) Evening Record, June 28, 1952: 11.

31 Jim Ogle Jr., “Little League Coaching – Big Break for Scheinblum,” Newark Star-Ledger, January 24, 1966: 19.

32 “Janet Murk,” All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, https://aagpbl.org/profiles/janet-jacobs-murk-jay-jay/205, accessed November 7, 2025.

33 “Women’s Masters National Champions,” American Platform Tennis Association, https://www.platformtennis.org/tournaments/apta-tour-apta-cup/national-champions/women-s-masters-national-champions#womenmst50, accessed November 7, 2025.

34 “Obituaries,” Englewood (New Jersey) Northern Valley Suburbanite (South), January 26, 2017: A-14.

Callaghan was a speedy outfielder with a powerful arm,3 but it was her offensive abilities that set her apart. The Vancouver, British Columbia, native hit for average, had some pop in her bat, and stole bases with abandon.4 A good eye at the plate and a mastery of the drag bunt from the left-handed batter’s box made her an ideal leadoff hitter.5 In her rookie season, 1944, she finished second in the league with a .287 batting average while swiping 112 bases. She had an even better season in 1945.

Callaghan, like most of her Daisies teammates, had spent her rookie season toiling for the Minneapolis Millerettes. After drawing sparse crowds in Minneapolis in the season’s first half, the league decided to turn the Millerettes into a road team in late July.6 They finished the campaign with the league’s worst overall record and were moved to Fort Wayne for the 1945 season.7 Much stronger community support,8 combined with the players’ extra year of experience, turned the Daisies into a winner.

Coming into the Labor Day weekend – the final weekend of the regular season − Fort Wayne was sitting in second place with a 58-46 record. The Daisies, who had already clinched a playoff spot, were five games behind the Rockford Peaches with six games to play. Although they still had a slim chance at the pennant, their focus was on finishing second so they could play the fourth-place team in the first round of the Shaughnessy playoffs.9

Fort Wayne kicked the weekend off with an August 31 doubleheader against the South Bend Blue Sox. In the seven-inning opener, Daisies manager Bill Wambsganss gave the ball to his ace, Dorothy “Dottie” Wiltse (later Collins).10 Wiltse, sporting a 27-10 record, was having a career year.11 The 21-year-old hurler had used her devastating curveball to toss two no-hitters earlier in the summer.12

Phyllis “Sugar” Koehn got the start for South Bend. Koehn had been the Blue Sox’ regular third sacker and key run producer since coming over in a blockbuster trade with the Kenosha Comets on June 29.13 On August 22 she also took on regular pitching duties after Blue Sox manager Marty McManus fined and suspended hurlers Betty Luna (later Hill) and Nalda Bird (later Phillips) for the remainder of the season for “insubordination.”14 Koehn had performed remarkably well as an emergency starter.15 In her previous outing, she tossed a five-hit, complete-game victory over Rockford.16

The Blue Sox (48-56) began the day in fifth place, percentage points behind the Racine Belles (49-57) for the final playoff spot.

The first game remained scoreless through six innings. Fort Wayne had several scoring opportunities, but Koehn stranded eight Daisies on the basepaths.17

Fort Wayne finally broke through in the top of the seventh. Callaghan reached on a bunt single with one out before she swiped second and third – her fourth and fifth stolen bases of the game.18 One out later, Penny “Peanuts” O’Brian (later Cooke) singled to left field to drive in Callaghan and give Fort Wayne a 1-0 lead.

Wiltse kept the Blue Sox off the scoresheet in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the Daisies’ victory. She finished with a two-hit shutout, earning her 28th win of the season.

The 22-year-old Callaghan scored what turned out to be another important run in the first inning of the second contest. South Bend’s Mary “Bonnie” Baker tied the game, 1-1, by scoring an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth. But rain halted play at the start of the sixth inning, denying South Bend a chance to salvage the nightcap. The washed-out game was never completed (or replayed).

The Blue Sox were eliminated on the final day of the regular season, finishing just a half-game behind Racine for the final playoff spot. There was no question that the suspension of two key pitchers down the stretch had cost South Bend dearly,19 but Callaghan’s performance on August 31, combined with the bad weather that left the second game unresolved, helped seal the Blue Sox’ fate.

Callaghan won the batting title with a .299 average,20 which was 25 points better than the runner-up, Dorothy “Dottie” Kamenshek of the Rockford Peaches. Callaghan led the league in doubles (17), total bases (156), hits (122), and games played (111), while finishing second in stolen bases (92) and runs scored (77). She also tied Faye “Tiger” Dancer for the league lead with three home runs.

Fort Wayne, with a 62-47 record, finished in second place and faced Racine in the first round of the playoffs. Aided by Wiltse’s two pitching victories, the Daisies defeated the Belles three games to one.

In the best-of-seven championship series, Rockford’s Carolyn “India” Morris and Olive Little were nearly untouchable on the mound, and the Peaches won in five games. Callaghan led the Fort Wayne offense with a .400 batting average and five stolen bases in the series.

The loss to Rockford was the beginning of a bad habit for Fort Wayne. The Peaches went on to win four playoff championships (1945, 1948-50) and each time they defeated the Daisies in the final round. Despite never winning it all in the postseason, the Daisies had a successful 10-year run in Fort Wayne, winning three regular-season titles (1952-54) and making the playoffs eight times.

Helen returned to Vancouver after the 1945 season and married Bobby Candaele.21

In 1946 the league made several rule changes, including introducing side-arm pitching, reducing the ball size from 11½ to 11 inches in circumference, increasing the distance of the pitching rubber to 43 feet from home plate (previously 42), and lengthening the basepaths from 68 to 72 feet. Callaghan Candaele (as she was known in 1946) continued to reach base at a healthy clip – she walked 73 times in 399 at-bats – and stole a career-high 114 bases. Her batting average dropped to .213, which was still second best on the Daisies.

She gave birth to her first son, Richard, in late July 1947. After sitting out that season, she returned to face yet another set of significant changes to the game. The league implemented overhand pitching in 1948, in addition to shrinking the ball to 10⅜ inches and moving the pitching rubber 50 feet from home plate. For the first time in her career, Callaghan Candaele struck out more times than she walked, and her batting average dipped to .191 on July 20. She was removed from that night’s home game against South Bend and a short time later underwent emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy, which abruptly ended her season.22

Less than four months later, the Daisies traded her to Kenosha in return for 20-year-old outfielder Jean Smith.23

If the league had a Comeback Player of the Year Award, it likely would have been bestowed upon Callaghan Candaele in 1949. She removed any doubt about her ability to hit overhand pitching by finishing seventh in the league with a .251 batting average. She was also among the league leaders in doubles (9), triples (5), total bases (113), and steals (65), earning her a spot on the second all-star team in a vote by the league’s managers.24

Helen retired from the AAGPBL after the 1949 season, returning to Vancouver to raise a family and help her husband with his taxi business. The family moved to California in 1956. 25

She passed her knowledge of the game on to her five sons, two of whom went on to make an impact on the sport. In the late 1980s, Helen’s son Kelly Candaele co-produced a documentary called A League of Their Own, featuring her and many other former AAGPBL players.26 The documentary served as inspiration for Penny Marshall’s 1992 movie of the same name, which was a smash hit and taught younger generations about the women’s professional league.27

Helen’s youngest son, Casey Candaele, went on to have a nine-year major-league career with the Montreal Expos, Houston Astros, and Cleveland Indians. Growing up in the 1960s and ’70s, he didn’t think it was out of the ordinary to be getting baseball tips from his mom. “I just thought everybody’s mom was out there throwing BP, hitting groundballs and playing catch,” he said.28 As of 2021, they were the only mother-son combination to play professional baseball.

Helen was posthumously inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998 as a member of the pioneering group of 68 Canadian women who played in the AAGPBL. On November 16, 2021, she became the first woman inducted individually into that venerated sporting institution.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted AAGPBL.org, The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book, and Ancestry.com. Box scores and standings were referenced in the Kenosha Evening News, South Bend Tribune, and Racine Journal-Times.

Notes

1 The league’s Deadball Era was from 1943 to 1947. Offense increased in 1948 with the introduction of overhand pitching. W.C. Madden, The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2000), 1.

2 The pitching distance was increased from 40 to 42 feet. Anika Orrock, The Incredible Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2020), 62-63; Jim O’Brien, “Sidelines,” Racine Journal-Times, July 9, 1945: 10.

3 “Helen Callaghan Candaele, Fleet Outfielder, Reports to Comets; Takes Workout,” Kenosha Evening News, May 6, 1949: 10.

4 Jim Sargent, “Marge and Helen Callaghan,” SABR BioProject, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/marge-and-helen-callaghan/, accessed November 17, 2021.

5 Jim Sargent, We Were the All-American Girls: Interviews with Players of the AAGPBL, 1943-1954 (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2013), 80.

6 “Millerettes Lost to City Rest of Year,” Minneapolis Tribune, July 23, 1944: 19.

7 The AAGPBL remained a six-team circuit in 1945. The Milwaukee Chicks also experienced attendance issues in 1944; they were moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, for the 1945 season.

8 Anne Aronson, “Dames in the Dirt: Women’s Baseball Before 1945,” The National Pastime (2012), https://sabr.org/journal/article/dames-in-the-dirt-womens-baseball-before-1945/, accessed November 17, 2021.

9 The Shaughnessy playoffs were named after International League president Frank “Shag” Shaughnessy, who devised the system. The AAGPBL switched from the split-season format to the Shaughnessy playoff format in 1945. The first-place team played the third-place finisher in the first round of the playoffs, while the second-place team played the team that finished fourth. Madden, 3.

10 Dorothy Wiltse (later Collins) was related to both George “Hooks” Wiltse and Lewis “Snake” Wiltse. She was not related to Hal Wiltse. Bill Nowlin, “Hal Wiltse,” SABR BioProject.

11 Wiltse finished the season with a 29-10 record and a 0.83 ERA.

12 In the 12-year history of the AAGPBL, Wiltse and Olive Little were the only pitchers to throw two no-hitters in the same season. Wiltse tossed no-hitters against Rockford on June 29 and South Bend on July 15. They were the only two no-hitters during her six-year AAGPBL career. Olive Little threw two no-hitters for the Rockford Peaches in 1943: June 10 against Kenosha and August 15 against South Bend. Little tossed her third and final career no-hitter on July 10, 1945, against Fort Wayne. “Wiltse Hurls No-Hitter as Daisies Win, 2-0,” Racine Journal-Times, June 30, 1945: 8; “Blue Sox Lose Twin Bill at Fort Wayne,” South Bend Tribune, July 16, 1945: 10; “Comets Held Hitless as Rockford Takes 7-2 Win,” Kenosha Evening News, June 11, 1943: 10; Jim Costin, “Little Stops Sox; 2-0, in No-Hitter,” South Bend Tribune, August 16, 1943: 10; “Little Hurls No-Hitter to Beat Daisies,” South Bend Tribune, July 11, 1945: 12.

13 South Bend traded Lois “Flash” Florreich and 17-year-old Dorothy “Dottie” Schroeder to Kenosha on June 29 in return for Koehn and shortstop Pauline “Pinky” Pirok. South Bend manager Marty McManus had managed Koehn and Pirok in Kenosha in 1944. “Swap Schroeder, Florreich,” South Bend Tribune, June 30, 1945: 8.

14 Details on the conduct of the two players were never disclosed. Bird never played in the AAGPBL again. Luna returned and pitched four more seasons in the league. Jim Sargent and Robert M. Gorman, The South Bend Blue Sox: A History of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Team and Its Players, 1943–1954 (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2012), 69; “Blue Sox, Belles Play Two Tonight,” South Bend Tribune, August 23, 1945: 6; Jim Costin, “Blue Sox Win Two, 4-3, 7-2,” South Bend Tribune, August 25, 1945: 8.

15 First baseman Gertrude Ganote (later Weise) was also pressed into service as a pitcher. Koehn went 2-4 with a 1.90 ERA in seven appearances at the tail end of the season, while Ganote went 2-2 with a 4.42 ERA in 10 appearances. Koehn was used primarily as a pitcher in 1946 and 1947. She continued to pitch into the 1950 season.

16 Jim Costin, “Phyllis Koehn Tops Peaches in Five-Hitter,” South Bend Tribune, August 28, 1945: 2.

17 Jim Costin, “Blue Sox Lose, 1-0, Then Tie, 1-1,” South Bend Tribune, September 1, 1945: 8.

18 Fort Wayne stole nine bases in the game on the battery of Koehn and Baker. Koehn had limited experience in holding runners on base.

19 The pitching duo of Koehn (1.90 ERA) and Ganote (4.42 ERA) was a significant downgrade from Luna (1.53 ERA) and Bird (2.70 ERA).

20 Mary Crews Nesbitt (later Wisham) batted .319, but she didn’t have enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title. She recorded only 135 at-bats in Racine’s 110 games. Jim O’Brien, “Sidelines,” Racine Journal-Times, September 14, 1945: 12.

21 Sargent, “Marge and Helen Callaghan.”

22 “Daisies Get Six in First to Win, 8 to 3,” South Bend Tribune, July 21, 1948: 24; “First Inning Beats Blue Sox Again, 5-4,” South Bend Tribune, July 22, 1948: 22; Sargent, “Marge and Helen Callaghan.”

23 Eddie McKenna, “Comets Trade Jean Smith for Helen Callaghan,” Kenosha Evening News, November 12, 1948: 11.

24 The AAGPBL began naming all-stars in 1946. Madden, 3; Eddie McKenna, “Fern Shollenberger All-Star Selection; Comet Third Sacker Chosen by League Managers; Petras, Candaele Rate Second Squad,” Kenosha Evening News, December 19, 1949: 16.

25 Sargent, “Marge and Helen Callaghan.”

26 The documentary also featured his aunt, Margaret “Marge” Callaghan, who was his mother’s teammate on the Fort Wayne Daisies. Jennifer Bowles, “Original Lady Ballplayer Dies,” Seymour (Indiana) Daily Tribune, December 10, 1992: 10.

27 Shi Davidi, “Callaghan Set to Be First Woman Inducted Individually into Canada Baseball HOF,” Sportsnet, https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/article/callaghan-set-first-woman-inducted-individually-canada-baseball-hof/, accessed November 17, 2021.

28 Davidi.

Kurys and Winter had been with the Belles since the league’s inception in 1943, and both enjoyed career years in 1946.

Kurys set several league records that season, including most stolen bases (201),2 walks (93), and runs scored (117).3 The 21-year-old finished second in the league with a .286 batting average, and she led all second basemen with a stellar .973 fielding percentage. Her outstanding all-around performance earned her the league’s Player of the Year Award.

Although Winter had modest success in her first three years in the league, she was still unsatisfied with her pitching. She was tutored daily in the offseason by a pitcher in Phoenix, and he helped simplify her delivery.4 Winter’s hard work paid huge dividends. She won as many games in 1946 as she had in her first three seasons combined, going 33-10 with a 1.19 ERA. Her 33 wins set the all-time single-season record for the AAGPBL.5 Winter set another league record in August by tossing 63 consecutive scoreless innings.6

After starting the season with a 12-15 record, the Belles went 62-23 (.729) the rest of the way to win the pennant by three games over the Grand Rapids Chicks. They easily defeated the third-place South Bend Blue Sox three games to one in the first round of the Shaughnessy playoffs. Fourth-place Rockford upset Grand Rapids in the other first-round series, setting up a best-of-seven championship series between the Peaches and Belles. The matchup ensured that the AAGPBL would have its first two-time winner, as Rockford was the defending champion and Racine had triumphed in 1943.

After Racine won three of the first four games in the series, Rockford’s Millie Deegan staved off elimination in Game Five by tossing a five-hit shutout.7

The teams returned to Racine for Game Six, which featured a marquee pitching matchup between two of the league’s top hurlers. Winter got the start for the Belles, while the Peaches countered with 20-year-old Carolyn “India” Morris (29-13, 1.42 ERA).8 The Phoenix residents had faced each other in Game Two and Game Four, with Winter outdueling Morris in a pair of low-scoring affairs.9

Winter did not have her best stuff in Game Six, but she was able to wiggle out of trouble each time Rockford threatened to get on the scoreboard. The Peaches’ first real scoring chance came in the top of the second when right fielder Rose Gacioch hit a one-out triple; she was stranded on the basepaths. In the third, Rockford loaded the bases, only to come up empty again.

Winter had plenty of help behind her, as spectacular plays by outfielders Eleanor Dapkus (later Wolf) and Edie Perlick (later Keating) helped keep Rockford off the scoresheet in the early innings.10 Perlick’s running, leaping grab was particularly impressive. “I can still see it, to this day,” Kurys said in a 1996 interview. “It was the most tremendous catch I’ve ever seen in my life, and it saved a [inside-the-park] home run.”11

The Peaches loaded the bases in the top of the eighth and again they failed to score. Rockford had at least one baserunner in eight of the first nine innings,12 yet Winter’s shutout remained intact.

Morris, on the other hand, was locked in. She retired the first 18 Racine batters she faced before losing her perfect game on an error by third baseman Velma Abbott to open the bottom of the seventh.13 The only other baserunner Morris allowed through nine innings came on a walk in the bottom of the ninth. With the game still scoreless, she was forced to take her no-hit bid into extra innings.

Morris lost the no-hitter when Dapkus singled in the bottom of the 10th. The next batter, Maddy English, also singled before the rally fizzled, leaving the potential winning run on base.14

The Peaches had a golden scoring opportunity in the top of the 11th when they loaded the bases with nobody out. For the third time in the game, Winter escaped unscathed from a bases-loaded situation.

Racine had another great chance to put the game away in the bottom of the 12th. Kurys led off with a single to center field, and she stole second and third, giving her four stolen bases in the game. After Morris hit Betty “Moe” Trezza with a pitch to put runners on first and third, Rockford manager Bill Allington brought Deegan in to pitch.

Deegan, a former infielder, had been converted into a pitcher earlier in the season.15 Despite her inexperience, it wasn’t surprising that Allington turned to her in a pinch. After posting a 2.46 ERA in 21 regular-season appearances, Deegan had gone 4-0 in the playoffs, including two shutouts in elimination games.16

Deegan issued an intentional walk to Lavonne “Pepper” Paire (later Davis) to load the bases with nobody out. She calmly retired the side, sending the game to the 13th inning.

After a relatively quiet 13th, Winter recorded her second one-two-three inning of the game in the top of the 14th.17 The Peaches had recorded 13 hits, four walks, a hit-by-pitch – and zero runs in 14 innings. Somehow, Winter had managed to strand 19 Rockford baserunners.

With one out in the bottom of the 14th, Kurys singled through the left side of the infield. The “Flint Flash” stole second with Trezza at the plate for her fifth stolen base of the game. Since Trezza had batted .175 in the regular season and was 3-for-24 in the series, Allington was expecting a bunt, so he brought in the Rockford infield.18 But Trezza was swinging away, and she hit a sharp grounder through the right side of the infield into right field. Although Gacioch was playing a shallow right field, Kurys was running on the pitch, and manager Leo Murphy waved her home.19 She used her signature hook slide to narrowly avoid the tag and score the championship-winning run.20

The 5,630 fans in attendance went wild the moment Kurys slid safely across home plate.21 The Racine Journal-Times reported that “her teammates and hundreds of fans swarmed onto the field to sweep up the girl who had staged an almost single-handed offensive against the Peaches.”22 Trezza didn’t see the play at the plate, but the roar of the crowd told her everything she needed to know.23 The chaotic scene was still fresh in her mind 50 years later. “The team jumped on Sophie and I got lost in the crowd,” Trezza recalled. “I do remember a fan on the first base line, shaking my hand. He put a $5 bill in it and before I realized what he did, he disappeared.”24

The huge crowd brought the Belles attendance to 102,413 for the season, a team record.25 In addition to Racine’s entertaining brand of baseball, fan interest had been boosted that season by the broadcasting of games on WRJN radio for the first time, along with the usual positive coverage from the Racine Journal-Times.26

This game marked the high point of Racine Belles baseball. Despite winning the Western Division pennant in 1948, attendance began to drop that season, and it plummeted to only 29,000 fans in 1950.27 After three years of losing money, the team was disbanded in late September 1950 and the franchise was reassigned to Battle Creek, Michigan, for the 1951 season.28

Winter and Kurys continued to play for Racine until the franchise was moved.

Winter made the successful transition to overhand pitching in 1948, and she finished her eight-year career in 1950 with a record of 133-115 and a 2.06 ERA. She is third all-time in career wins, behind only Helen Nicol Fox (163) and Jean Faut (140).29

The AAGPBL began naming All-Star teams in 1946, and Kurys was selected as the league’s All-Star second baseman four times (1946-49).30 She holds the career record for most stolen bases (1,114) and most runs scored (688), although no run was as important as the one she scored in Game Six of the 1946 championship series. Memories of that thrilling game remained with her for the rest of her life. Asked about it in 2011, Kurys acknowledged that she had “replayed that 1946 game [in her mind] a thousand times.”31

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted AAGPBL.org and The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book. Box scores and standings were referenced in the Kenosha Evening News, South Bend Tribune, and Racine Journal-Times.

Notes

1 AAGPBL president Max Carey attended the game and he called it one of the best games he had ever seen − in any league. Jim Sargent, We Were the All-American Girls: Interviews with Players of the AAGPBL, 1943-1954 (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2013), 64.

2 Kurys stole 201 bases in 203 attempts. Thelma Eisen of the Peoria Redwings was second in the league with 128 stolen bases. The distance between the bases was increased from 68 feet to 70 feet in 1946. It was bumped to 72 feet in 1948, 75 feet in 1953, and 85 feet in 1954, the final year of the AAGPBL. “Rules of Play,” All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, https://www.aagpbl.org/history/rules-of-play, accessed December 31, 2021.

3 Her single-season records for most stolen bases, walks, and runs scored were never eclipsed.

4 Lois Browne, Girls of Summer; In Their Own League (Toronto: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd., 1992), 112-13.

5 Connie Wisniewski of the Grand Rapids Chicks also won 33 games in 1946.

6 Winter’s streak began when she threw eight scoreless innings to finish an August 14 game against Muskegon. She threw six consecutive shutouts between August 17 and 28 (the August 21 game against Peoria was only seven innings in duration). Her streak was broken on August 30 against South Bend when she gave up an unearned run in the fourth inning. Winter’s record of 63 consecutive scoreless innings was never surpassed. “Jo Winter Chalks Up 28th Win; Hutchison Slated to Hurl Tonight,” Racine Journal-Times, August 15, 1946: 34; “Racine Belles’ Margin Slashed to Four Games,” Racine Journal-Times, August 31, 1946: 8.

7 “Belles Split Weekend Play; Peaches Here Tonight,” Racine Journal-Times, September 16, 1946: 12.

8 “Belles Win Playoff Crown, Tip Peaches, 1-0, 14 Innings,” Racine Journal-Times, September 17, 1946: 10.

9 “Belles Defeat Rockford Peaches, 2-1, in Photo Finish,” Racine Journal-Times, September 12, 1946: 26; “Belles Split Weekend Play; Peaches Here Tonight.”

10 “Belles Win Playoff Crown, Tip Peaches, 1-0, 14 Innings.”

11 Sargent, We Were the All-American Girls: Interviews with Players of the AAGPBL, 1943-1954, 64.

12 “Belles Are Strong Finishers, Which Makes Them Champs,” Rockford Register-Republic, September 17, 1946: 13.

13 “Belles Are Strong Finishers, Which Makes Them Champs.”

14 The singles by Dapkus and English were deduced from the box score. Since only two Racine batters reached base in the first nine innings and there were no double plays in the game, Kurys could not have batted in the ninth. Other than Kurys and Betty “Moe” Trezza (who singled in the 14th inning), Dapkus and English had the only other hits in the game. “Belles Win Playoff Crown, Tip Peaches, 1-0, 14 Innings.”

15 “Rockford Takes Edge, Beats South Bend, 5-3,” Racine Journal-Times, August 2, 1946: 15.

16 In addition to Deegan’s shutout in Game Five of the championship series against Racine, she tossed a three-hit shutout in the decisive Game Five in the first round against Grand Rapids. “Rockford Wins Berth in Playoffs, Blank Chicks, 2-0,” Racine Journal-Times, September 10, 1946: 10.

17 “Belles Are Strong Finishers, Which Makes Them Champs.”

18 “Belles Win Playoff Crown, Tip Peaches, 1-0, 14 Innings.”

19 Sargent, We Were the All-American Girls: Interviews with Players of the AAGPBL, 1943-1954, 64.

20 The Racine-Journal Times noted that Kurys crossed the plate with a “dive.” Sargent, We Were the All-American Girls: Interviews with Players of the AAGPBL, 1943-1954, 59, 64; “Belles Win Playoff Crown, Tip Peaches, 1-0, 14 Innings.”

21 The Racine-Journal Times reported the attendance as 5,630. The Rockford Register-Republic, Rockford Morning Star, and Kenosha Evening News all listed the attendance as 5,550.

22 “Belles Win Playoff Crown, Tip Peaches, 1-0, 14 Innings.”

23 Jim Sargent, “Sophie Kurys,” SABR BioProject, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/sophie-kurys/, accessed November 26, 2021.

24 Sargent, “Sophie Kurys.” Five dollars in 1946 was worth approximately $70 in 2021.

25 Keith Brehm, “Belles Pulled Out of League; Blame Finances, Spectator Drop,” Racine Journal-Times, September 30, 1950: 1.

26 Leslie A. Heaphy and Mel Anthony May, Encyclopedia of Women and Baseball (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2006), 236-37.

27 Heaphy and May, 237. Reasons for the precipitous drop in attendance included the “return to normalcy following the war, the spread of television, advances in the travel industry (including personal travel) and the rise of the nuclear family.”

28 Brehm, “Belles Pulled Out of League; Blame Finances, Spectator Drop”; Keith Brehm, “It’s This Way…,” Racine Journal-Times, February 12, 1951: 13.

29 “Joanne Winter,” All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, https://www.aagpbl.org/profiles/joanne-winter-jo/8, accessed November 26, 2021.

30 Kurys would have earned more than four All-Star selections in her career had the AAGPBL named teams between 1943 and 1945.

31 Christine Mai-Duc, “Base-Stealing ‘Flint Flash’ in WWII-Era Women’s League,” Los Angeles Times, February 26, 2013: 12.

The 21-year-old Kamenshek had firmly established herself as one of the AAGPBL’s biggest stars.2 A left-handed first baseman, she was already in her fifth season in the league after breaking in with the Peaches in 1943 at age 17. In addition to being a great hitter, Kamenshek was widely regarded as the best fielding first baseman in the league,3 and she was also an adept baserunner, having stolen 109 bases in 1946.4 “Kammie had no weakness,” said Lavonne “Pepper” Paire, an AAGPBL player for 10 seasons. “She hit left-handed line drives and was a complete ballplayer.”5

Star hurler Jean Faut described Kamenshek as a “punch hitter” who hit the ball where it was pitched.6 That approach helped earn her the 1946 batting championship with a .316 average, which was an impressive 113 percentage points better than the league batting average. Kamenshek was the only hitter to break the .300 mark that season.

The Peaches appeared to have plenty of talent to compete for the pennant in 1947, but they struggled under rookie manager Eddie Ainsmith.7 After Rockford went into a prolonged midseason slump, Ainsmith was axed on August 2 and replaced by Bill Edwards.8 The managerial change seemed to give the Peaches a boost, and they were playing better baseball by the time they faced the defending champion Belles on August 18.9

Racine, with a 59-38 record, came into the doubleheader a half-game behind the first-place Muskegon Lassies.

Rockford won the first game of the twin bill, 1-0, on a five-hit shutout by Lois “Flash” Florreich.10

The nightcap featured a pitching matchup between a pair of right-handed side-armers.11 Nineteen-year-old rookie Lorraine Fisher (later Stevens) took to the mound for the Peaches, while the Belles countered with Anna May Hutchison, their ace. Hutchison had been Racine’s backup catcher for two seasons before being converted into a side-arm pitcher in 1946.12 She went 26-14 with a 1.59 ERA that season, and she was even better in 1947.13

Fisher and Hutchison engaged in a scoreless duel for the first 3½ innings of the second game.

Racine briefly took the lead in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single by Paire.14 Rockford responded in the top of the fifth with two runs on a triple by Dorothy “Snookie” Harrell (later Doyle) before the Belles tied the score, 2-2, with a run in the bottom of the frame.15

The Peaches had a three-run outburst against Hutchison in the top of the seventh. With runners on second and third, Harrell hit a fly ball to deep center field to bring home the go-ahead run and give her three RBIs in the game.16 The cleanup hitter, Kamenshek, who had singled in each of her three previous at-bats, came to the plate next. She drove the ball deep to left field and over the head of Edie Perlick (later Keating) for a two-run homer.17

Racine scored a single run in the bottom of the seventh, cutting Rockford’s lead to 5-3.18

Fisher continued to falter in the bottom of the eighth. Betty “Moe” Trezza walked and stole second to open the inning.19 After Paire was retired on a popup, Perlick tripled to left field, scoring Trezza. Edwards pulled his rookie hurler in favor of Florreich, who had pitched seven shutout innings in the first game of the twin bill.20 The first batter Florreich faced, Eleanor Dapkus (later Wolf), laid down a perfect squeeze bunt,21 and Perlick scampered home with the tying run.

Racine’s workhorse, Hutchison, went back out to the mound for the ninth.22 After getting the first two outs of the inning, she hit Harrell with a pitch, bringing the dangerous Kamenshek to the plate for the fifth time. Kamenshek slammed a Hutchison offering to the same spot as in her previous at-bat – over Perlick’s head in left field – for another two-run homer.23 Her second consecutive opposite-field round-tripper gave the Peaches a 7-5 lead.

Florreich kept Racine off the scoresheet in the bottom of the ninth, giving her the win in both ends of the twin bill.

That same night, Doris Sams pitched a perfect game for the Muskegon Lassies, making the doubleheader sweep by the Peaches particularly costly for the Belles.24 The 1½-game swing left Racine two full games behind Muskegon, which held onto first place for the remainder of the season.

Racine finished in a second-place tie with the Grand Rapids Chicks, four games behind the Lassies. After losing a coin flip,25 Racine was forced to play Muskegon in the first round of the playoffs.26 The Belles upset the Lassies in the best-of-five series thanks to three victories from the indefatigable Hutchison. The 22-year-old hurler won two more games in the best-of-seven championship series against Grand Rapids, although it wasn’t enough. Hutchison was beaten by Mildred Earp, 1-0, in a heartbreaking Game Seven loss.27

Kamenshek and Audrey Wagner of the Kenosha Comets battled tooth and nail for the batting championship down the stretch. Their respective teams squared off in a four-game series in Rockford on the last weekend of the season, and the outcome wasn’t decided until the final inning.28 In the bottom of the ninth in the second game of a Labor Day doubleheader, Kamenshek came to the plate needing a hit to pull ahead in the batting race. The duo had been held hitless up to that point in the twin bill, dropping Wagner’s average to .305 and Kamenshek’s to .304.29 Kamenshek beat out an infield single, raising her average to .306. When the game ended moments later, she had won her second consecutive batting title.

The clutch hit did more than clinch the batting title – it denied Wagner the Triple Crown. The Kenosha outfielder finished the season with a league-leading 7 home runs and 53 RBIs in 390 at-bats. If Kamenshek had not registered a hit in her final at-bat, Wagner would have been the only batter to win the Triple Crown in AAGPBL history.30

Rockford finished a disappointing sixth in the standings with a 48-63 record.

The Peaches bounced back to win the playoff championship in each of the next three seasons, giving them four such titles in a six-year period (1945, 1948-50). Kamenshek was one of the big reasons why Rockford became the most successful team in AAGPBL history.

The team paid tribute to its star player by holding a “Kamenshek Night” on August 19, 1950, and over 3,000 fans came out to show their appreciation.31 She was given $800 in cash and a literal truckload of other gifts when the game was paused after the fifth inning.32 Kamenshek, who had started on a physical-education degree at the University of Cincinnati during the previous offseason, planned to use the funds to further her studies.33

Kamenshek was chosen as the AAGPBL’s All-Star first baseman from 1946 until 1951, and she would have garnered several more selections had the league not started naming All-Star teams until 1946. Her streak of six straight All-Star selections was broken when she sat out the 1952 season because of a back injury.34

She made a comeback attempt in 1953, but injuries limited her to only 188 at-bats, forcing her to retire permanently after the season. “I had a back injury, and I just couldn’t keep going,” she recalled. “I was physically hurting – it wasn’t fun anymore.”35

Kamenshek, the greatest first baseman in AAGPBL history, played her entire 10-year career with Rockford. She is the league’s all-time leader in batting average (.292),36 hits (1,090), putouts (10,440), and double plays (360), and she is second in at-bats (3,736) and runs scored (667).37 Amazingly, she struck out only 81 times in her entire career, which works out to one strikeout for every 46 at-bats.

After a physical therapist helped Kamenshek recover from a knee injury, she decided to change her area of study. She enrolled at Marquette University, graduating in 1958 with a degree in physical therapy.38 She moved to California in 1961 and worked as a staff physical therapist, supervisor, and chief of therapy services for the Los Angeles County children’s services agency.39 She retired in 1980, working part-time with acute-care patients for another six years.

Kamenshek recognized that her AAGPBL experience had a big impact on the rest of her life. “Baseball gave a lot of us the courage to go on to professional careers at a time when women didn’t do things like that,” she said.40

Kamenshek died at her home in Palm Desert, California, on May 17, 2010. She was 84 years old.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Kurt Blumenau and copy-edited by Len Levin

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted AAGPBL.org and The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book. Box scores and standings were referenced in the Kenosha Evening News, South Bend Tribune, and Racine Journal-Times.

(Click image to enlarge)

Notes

1 The top four teams in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League qualified for the playoffs in 1947.

2 Kamenshek had won the batting championship and been named the league’s All-Star first baseman in 1946.

3 Dennis McLellan, “Dorothy Kamenshek, 1925-2010; a Star in Women’s Pro Baseball League,” Los Angeles Times, May 22, 2010: 18; John B. Holway, “Kamenshek, the All-American: Was This Baseball’s Greatest Fielding First Baseman?” SABR Baseball Research Journal, Volume 31.

4 “I could have stolen more, but our manager wouldn’t let us steal unless it meant something in the game,” Kamenshek once said. Holway, “Kamenshek, the All-American: Was This Baseball’s Greatest Fielding First Baseman?”

5 Holway.

6 Jim Sargent, We Were the All-American Girls: Interviews with Players of the AAGPBL, 1943-1954 (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2013), 172.

7 Bill Allington had managed the Peaches in 1945 and 1946. They won the league championship in 1945 and went all the way to the final round of the 1946 playoffs before losing to the Racine Belles. Allington didn’t manage in 1947 because he had a job as a technician in a Hollywood movie studio and he needed two more months of service to earn his union card. He returned to manage the Peaches from 1948 to 1952, and they won the league championship in three consecutive seasons (1948-50). He also managed the Fort Wayne Daisies in 1953-54. Allington is the winningest manager in AAGPBL history. Jim Costin, “Jim Costin Says,” South Bend Tribune, April 18, 1947: 33.

8 “Ainsmith Ousted,” South Bend Tribune, August 3, 1947: 31.

9 Rockford had a 31-47 record when Ainsmith was fired. The Peaches had gone 8-10 under Edwards between August 3 and August 17, including winning four of five games from first-place Muskegon just prior to their series with Racine. Edwards finished the season with a managerial record of 17-16. “Peaches Back on Wednesday,” Rockford Register-Republic, August 19, 1947: 13.

10 “Belles Drop Doubleheader to Rockford, 1 to 0, 7 to 5,” Racine Journal-Times, August 19, 1947: 12.

11 All AAGPBL pitchers were required to throw side-arm in 1947. Overhand pitching was introduced in 1948.

12 Side-arm pitching with certain restrictions was introduced to the AAGPBL in 1946. Since not all underhand pitchers were able to effectively transition to the side-arm delivery, it was relatively common for hard-throwing position players to be converted into pitchers in 1946. “Four AAGL Hurlers on All-Star Squad,” Racine Journal-Times, December 19, 1946: 36; Sargent, We Were the All-American Girls: Interviews with Players of the AAGPBL, 1943-1954, 12.

13 Hutchison posted a 27-13 record and a 1.38 ERA in 1947.

14 “Belles Drop Doubleheader to Rockford, 1 to 0, 7 to 5.”

15 The box score in the Racine Journal-Times showed the Belles scoring a run in the bottom of the sixth, but according to the game story in the Rockford Morning Star, that run scored in the bottom of the fifth inning. The box scores in the Rockford Morning Star and Rockford Register-Republic also showed Racine scoring a run in the fifth and none in the sixth. The three newspapers offered no details on how the run scored. Sophie Kurys had an RBI in the game, although she could have driven in a run in either the fifth or seventh inning.

16 “Belles Drop Doubleheader to Rockford, 1 to 0, 7 to 5.”

17 “Peaches Win Doubleheader,” Rockford Morning Star, August 19, 1947: 10.

18 The Racine Journal-Times, Rockford Morning Star, and Rockford Register-Republic provided no details on how the Racine run was scored in the bottom of the seventh.

19 The author deduced that Trezza led off the inning. Paire popped out for the first out of the inning and Eleanor Dapkus (later Wolf) made the second out of the inning with her sacrifice bunt. “Belles Drop Doubleheader to Rockford, 1 to 0, 7 to 5.”

20 The author deduced that Fisher was pulled immediately after the Perlick triple. According to the box score, Florreich recorded two outs in the eighth inning and she didn’t give up any hits in the game. “Belles Drop Doubleheader to Rockford, 1 to 0, 7 to 5.”

21 The game story in the Racine Journal-Times did not mention if it was a suicide squeeze or a safety squeeze.

22 Hutchison pitched an astounding 360 innings in the 1947 regular season. She retired after the 1949 season, her career cut short by arm problems. Amy Sternig, “Former Women’s Pro Baseball Player Dies,” Racine Journal-Times, February 1, 1998: 12.

23 “Peaches Win Doubleheader.”

24 Doris Sams tossed her perfect game against the Fort Wayne Daisies. It was the third perfect game in the history of the AAGPBL. The previous two were thrown by Annabelle Lee of the Minneapolis Millerettes against the Kenosha Comets on July 29, 1944, and Carolyn Morris of the Rockford Peaches against Fort Wayne on July 6, 1945. “Sams, Lassie Pitcher, Hurls Perfect Game,” South Bend Tribune, August 19, 1947: 13.

25 “Grand Rapids and Blue Sox to Start Play; Toss of Coin Sends Thursday Opener to Chicks,” South Bend Tribune, September 3, 1947: 23.

26 Under the Shaughnessy playoff system, the first-place team played the third-place squad in one series and the second- and fourth-ranked teams squared off in the other.

27 “Chicks Shade Belles, 1-0, in Final Playoff Contest,” Racine Journal-Times, September 17, 1947: 18.

28 “Comets Cop Pair; Drop Two Singles,” Kenosha Evening News, September 2, 1947: 8.

29 “Comets Cop Pair; Drop Two Singles.”

30 Racine’s Joanne Winter was five RBIs short of the Triple Crown in 1954.

31 The Kenosha Evening News reported that more than 3,500 fans attended “Kamenshek Night.” “Plans Set for AAGBL Shaughnessy Playoffs,” Kenosha Evening News, August 23, 1950: 12; “Quite a Haul,” Racine Journal-Times, August 21, 1950: 13.

32 The $800 was worth approximately $9,000 in 2021 dollars.

33 “Plans Set for AAGBL Shaughnessy Playoffs.”

34 Chad Brooks, “Kamenshek Retires; Recalls Nine Years as Peaches Star,” Rockford Register-Republic, April 7, 1952.

35 Nicole Sweeney Etter, “A League of Her Own; Marquette Alumna Dorothy ‘Kammie’ Kamenshek, PT ’58, Is Said to Have Inspired Geena Davis’ Character in the Classic Movie,” We Are Marquette, May 30, 2018, https://stories.marquette.edu/a-league-of-her-own-5884a17bdf71, accessed January 6, 2022.

36 Among players with a minimum of 2,000 career at-bats.

37 W.C. Madden, The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2000), 7.

38 Etter, “A League of Her Own; Marquette Alumna Dorothy ‘Kammie’ Kamenshek, PT ’58, Is Said to Have Inspired Geena Davis’ Character in the Classic Movie.”

39 McLellan, “Dorothy Kamenshek, 1925-2010; a Star in Women’s Pro Baseball League.”

40 McLellan, “Dorothy Kamenshek, 1925-2010; a Star in Women’s Pro Baseball League.”

League President Max Carey was keen to eliminate any lingering suspicion that the women’s game was a modified form of softball.4 In 1948 the league introduced overhand pitching, moved the pitching rubber from 43 to 50 feet away from home plate, and reduced the circumference of the ball from 11 to 10⅜ inches.5 Carey defended the regular tweaks to AAGPBL rules. “It has taken men’s baseball 50 years to settle on its distances and rules,” he explained. “We have made tremendous strides in five years and feel that we are well on our way to accomplishing our aims − to bring about the best-looking sports spectacle.”6

After a successful 1947 campaign, the league expanded from eight to 10 teams with the addition of franchises in Springfield and Chicago.

It was no surprise that Springfield manager Carson Bigbee selected Bergmann for the Opening Day start.7 The 23-year-old right-hander was coming off a career year in which she tossed a May 22 no-hitter against the Grand Rapids Chicks and posted a 1.74 ERA for the pennant-winning Muskegon Lassies.8 Since the pitching-rich Lassies could protect only two hurlers in 1948,9 Bergmann was left exposed to reallocation, resulting in her assignment to the expansion Sallies.10

The Daisies’ Opening Day starter was 25-year-old Catherine “Kay” Blumetta. The New Jersey native had come into the league as a first baseman and outfielder in 1944, and she was starting her third season as a full-time pitcher. Blumetta had gone 9-14 with a 2.80 ERA for Peoria and Fort Wayne in 1947.

The Sallies roster was made up largely of rookies,11 and they appeared jittery with more than 4,000 fans in attendance for their inaugural game.12 Fort Wayne took advantage of the situation by pressuring the Sallies defense in the top of the first inning. The game’s first batter, Callaghan Candaele, reached on a bunt single.13 She stole second, went to third on a sacrifice by Vivian Kellogg, and scored on Bergmann’s wild pitch. After Thelma “Tiby” Eisen was hit by a pitch, she stole second and third.14 Eisen scored on Dorothy “Dottie” Schroeder’s single to left field.

Perhaps no player was as nervous as Vialat, Springfield’s 18-year-old catcher.15 The rookie backstop, who was victimized for three stolen bases in the first inning, had just become the first Cuban to appear in an AAGPBL regular-season game.16 Four other Cuban players made their AAGPBL debuts later in the 1948 season.17

In the bottom of the first, Springfield cut the lead to 2-1 when June “Moneybags” Schofield tripled home Doris Neal.

The Daisies continued their aggressive play in the top of the fourth. After Eisen walked and stole second base, Fort Wayne put the hit-and-run on with Schroeder at the plate.18 The 20-year-old star — already in her sixth year in the league — grounded out to shortstop Marge Wenzell. The speedy Eisen kept on running, and she scored all the way from second base, putting Fort Wayne ahead 3-1.

The inexperienced Sallies defense let Bergmann down in the late innings. Fort Wayne scored a single run in the seventh on three Springfield errors. Two more Sallies errors in the top of the ninth led to another unearned run, and the Daisies pulled out in front, 5-1. Three of the five errors were committed by Springfield’s rookie third baseman, Schofield.

Blumetta shut down the Sallies in the bottom of the ninth to earn the complete-game victory. She limited Springfield to five hits and two walks, while striking out seven batters.

Bergmann pitched almost as well as Blumetta, but she was done in by five errors and a whopping eight stolen bases by the Daisies.

Vialat was replaced in the early innings by Dorothy Whalen “in an effort to stave the base thefts,” although it is unclear how many bases were swiped with Vialat in the game.19 Whalen also struggled in her first AAGPBL game, as the rookie from New York went hitless in three plate appearances and was charged with a passed ball. The play of the Springfield catchers was sharply criticized in the Illinois State Journal.20

It was not the first time that Vialat had received negative press. Three weeks earlier, Jim Costin of the South Bend Tribune had been highly critical of Vialat’s defensive skills and her inability to speak English.21 Vialat never appeared in another AAGPBL game. She finished her brief career 0-for-1 at the plate, with no putouts, assists, or errors.22

Terrible weather in the Midwest resulted in all five league games being rained out the next day.23 The Sallies and Daisies wrapped up their abbreviated series on May 11 with a single game, which was won, 4-2, by Fort Wayne.24 The battery of Doris Barr and Whalen managed to hold the Daisies to only two stolen bases. Chilly weather limited the turnout to only 500 fans.

From that point forward, Springfield’s attendance was a major problem, “resulting in practically no cash customers at any game.”25 On June 16 the league decided that at the conclusion of Springfield’s current homestand, it would become a road team for the remainder of the season.26 Like the Minneapolis Millerettes in 1944, the Sallies spent the rest of the season living out of their suitcases.

The Sallies had held their own in the season’s early going − they had a respectable 15-20 record and were only 3½ games out of a playoff spot when the league decided to turn them into road warriors.27 Not surprisingly, the bottom soon fell out of the Sallies’ season, and they went 25-62 (.287) after their final home game. Springfield’s 84 losses set the all-time AAGPBL record for futility.28

Fort Wayne qualified for the playoffs by finishing fourth in the Eastern Division with a 53-72 record. Just before the start of the playoffs, the Daisies fired rookie manager Dick Bass because of a “personal relationship” that he had with one of his players,29 and he was replaced by a triumvirate of player-managers composed of Eisen, Kellogg, and Mary Rountree.30 It was the first — but not the last − time that a woman managed an AAGPBL team.31 The rejuvenated Daisies went on to become the Cinderella team of the playoffs, as they upset Muskegon and Grand Rapids in the first two rounds before dropping the championship series to the powerful Rockford Peaches.

The AAGPBL had reached its apex in 1948, as league attendance hit close to one million fans. Despite the increase at the turnstiles, profits failed to grow, in part because of the two struggling expansion franchises.32 The league reverted to an eight-team circuit in 1949 by converting the Sallies and Chicago Colleens into development teams. The two squads traveled throughout the United States and Canada over the next two seasons playing exhibition games that also helped promote the AAGPBL.33

Since the Springfield team had been repurposed, Bergmann was reassigned to the Racine Belles in 1949. The St. Louis native toiled with the struggling Belles for three seasons before ending her six-year AAGPBL career with a 64-91 record and a 2.56 ERA.34 Bergmann’s knack for getting assigned to the league’s weaker teams prevented her from ever appearing in a playoff game.35

In 1952 she jumped to the rival National Girls Baseball League, a fast-pitch softball circuit based in Chicago.36 Bergman spent one season with the Chicago Bluebirds and the next two with the Chicago Queens.

After her playing career ended, Bergmann entered the police academy. She graduated in 1956, becoming one of the first female police officers in St. Louis. She retired in 1981 after 25 years of distinguished service.37

In 2007 Bergmann was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

To celebrate her 90th birthday, she tossed out the first pitch at a St. Louis Cardinals game in June 2014. Bergmann died on September 13, 2015, at the age of 91.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Kurt Blumenau and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted AAGPBL.org, The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book, and Ancestry.com. Standings were referenced in the Kenosha Evening News, South Bend Tribune.

Notes

1 Newspaper articles from 1948 referred to her as either Zonia Vialat or Vialat Zonia. She appears in the box score for this game as Zonia. As of December 2021, her name was still believed to be Zonia Vialat. However, three 1948 flight manifests found on Ancestry.com, which are based on travel documents, list her name as Sonia Vialat. The flight manifest from February 25, 1948, lists her full name as Sonia Herrera Vialat. George B. Casey, “4000 See Sallies Drop 5 to 1 Opener to Ft. Wayne; Local Gals Leave 9 on Bases; Outhit Daisies 5-4,” (Springfield) Illinois State Journal, May 10, 1948: 9; Jim Costin, “Blue Sox Break Even in Florida Twin Bill,” South Bend Tribune, April 19, 1948: 18; Zonia Vialat Player Profile, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, https://www.aagpbl.org/profiles/zonia-vialat/462, accessed December 16, 2021.

2 There were five AAGPBL games scheduled on May 9, 1948, but the other four games were rained out. “One Game Played in AAGL Sunday,” Racine Journal-Times, May 10, 1948: 11.

3 The Deadball Era spanned the first five seasons of the AAGPBL (1943-47). Team runs per game increased from 2.9 in 1947 to 3.4 in 1948. W.C. Madden, The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2000), 1, 38, 45.

4 Lois Browne, Girls of Summer; In Their Own League (Toronto: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd., 1992), 138-39.

5 Anika Orrock, The Incredible Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2020), 62-63.

6 Browne, 153.

7 Max Carey had persuaded Bigbee, his former Pittsburgh Pirates teammate, to take the job managing the Springfield Sallies. Initially an AAGPBL skeptic, Bigbee became one of the league’s biggest proponents. Carson Bigbee Profile, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, https://www.aagpbl.org/profiles/carson-bigbee/724, accessed December 16, 2021.

8 “No-Hit Game for Muskegon Hurler in Girls League,” Kenosha Evening News, May 23, 1947: 10.

9 Browne, 141.

10 It is likely that Muskegon pitcher Donna Cook (14-8, 1.42 ERA) was also left unprotected. She was assigned to the Chicago Colleens in 1948. Jim Sargent, We Were the All-American Girls: Interviews with Players of the AAGPBL, 1943-1954 (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2013), 130; “16 Players Get Berths on Colleens,” (Chicago) Daily Calumet, April 28, 1948: 5.

11 Five of the nine players in Springfield’s starting lineup were rookies. Four of the five were playing in their first AAGPBL game, while first baseman Mildred Meacham had only two previous at-bats in the league.

12 According to the (Springfield) Illinois State Journal, attendance was more than 4,000. The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel reported a crowd of 4,400, while the South Bend Tribune had attendance at 3,500. Casey, “4000 See Sallies Drop 5 to 1 Opener to Ft. Wayne; Local Gals Leave 9 on Bases; Outhit Daisies 5-4”; “Daisies Beat Springfield, 5-1; Clash Again Tonight,” Fort Wayne (Indiana) News-Sentinel, May 10, 1948: 8; “Daisies Win, 5-1,” South Bend Tribune, May 10, 1948: 12.

13 Casey, “4000 See Sallies Drop 5 to 1 Opener to Ft. Wayne; Local Gals Leave 9 on Bases; Outhit Daisies 5-4.”

14 “Daisies Beat Springfield, 5-1; Clash Again Tonight.”

15 As of December 2021, Sonia Vialat’s date of birth was still unknown. She is listed as being 18 years old on the April 7, 1948, flight manifest on Ancestry.com. She is listed as being 17 years old on the February 14, 1948, flight manifest, so she may have turned 18 between February 15 and April 7. However, she is listed as being only 16 years old on the February 25, 1948, flight manifest. It’s possible that she wasn’t 18 years old when this game was played.

16 Eulalia Gonzales was the first Cuban to play in an AAGPBL preseason game. She played for the South Bend Blue Sox and the Racine Belles in the spring of 1947. Gonzales did not play in any regular-season games. Don H. Black, “Havana’s Brightest Diamond Star, Viyalla, Tours with Racine Belles,” Racine Journal-Times, May 7, 1947: 16.

17 The four other Cubans to play in regular-season games in 1948 were Luisa Gallegos, Mirtha Marrero, Migdalia “Mickey” Pérez, and Gloria “Baby Face” Ruiz. Georgina Ríos played in at least one preseason game for the Springfield Sallies in April 1948, although it does not appear that she played in any regular-season games. “Grand Rapids, Racine Tied,” Miami News, April 13, 1948: 27.

18 “Daisies Beat Springfield, 5-1; Clash Again Tonight.”

19 Casey, “4000 See Sallies Drop 5 to 1 Opener to Ft. Wayne; Local Gals Leave 9 on Bases; Outhit Daisies 5-4.”

20 Casey, “4000 See Sallies Drop 5 to 1 Opener to Ft. Wayne; Local Gals Leave 9 on Bases; Outhit Daisies 5-4.”

21 Vialat had played for the South Bend Blue Sox in the preseason. Costin was normally supportive of the
AAGPBL and its athletes. “Blue Sox Break Even in Florida Twin Bill.”

22 As of December 2021, it was unclear whether she returned to Cuba and few details about her were known.

23 “Weatherman Makes Fans, Sox Both Blue,” South Bend Tribune, May 11, 1948: 16.

24 Kenneth Utz, “Sallies Drop 4-2 Tilt to Ft. Wayne,” (Springfield) Illinois State Journal, May 12, 1948: 15.

25 “Springfield Club Becomes Loop ‘Orphan’,” South Bend Tribune, June 17, 1948: 27.

26 Associated Press, “Poor Attendance So Girls Team at Springfield Moved,” Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune, June 17, 1948: 4.

27 Springfield played three more home games after the decision was made to turn the Sallies into a road team. Springfield’s final home game was on June 17. “Sallies Top Chicago in Final Home Game,” (Springfield) Illinois State Journal, June 18, 1948: 35.

28 The 1948 regular-season schedule consisted of 126 games, the longest in AAGPBL history. Springfield’s .328 winning percentage (41-84) was not the lowest in league history. According to The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book, the Battle Creek Belles went 30-79 (.275) in 1951.

29 The player was believed to be 26-year-old second baseman Marge Callaghan. Bass was 43 years old at the time. Browne, 168-69; Sue Macy, A Whole New Ballgame: The Story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1993), 27.

30 Browne, 169.

31 The highest-profile example was Mary “Bonnie” Baker (later George), who was player-manager of the Muskegon and Kalamazoo Lassies in 1950.

32 Browne, 165.

33 Madden, 53, 285-86.

34 Bergmann played two seasons in Racine and one in Battle Creek. The Racine Belles ceased operations after the 1950 season and the franchise was awarded to Battle Creek, Michigan, where they became the Battle Creek Belles. Keith Brehm, “It’s This Way…,” Racine Journal-Times, February 12, 1951: 13.

35 Bergmann was a member of the pennant-winning Muskegon Lassies in 1947. However, her 1.74 ERA ranked fifth on the team and she did not appear in any of Muskegon’s four playoff games. The Lassies were defeated three games to one in the first round by the Racine Belles.

36 Sargent, 134.

37 Sargent, 130.