August 21, 1950: AAGPBL barnstormers delight Montreal fans with a ‘jeu spectaculaire’

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League’s barnstorming tour of 1950 was not for the faint of heart. The Springfield Sallies and Chicago Colleens were scheduled to play 95 games in just 94 days, traveling by bus throughout the Eastern United States, with a brief foray into Québec.1 The road-weary players had kicked off their trek in Illinois in early June and traveled as far south as Columbus, Georgia. On August 21 they reached Montreal, their northernmost stop on the tour.

A large and enthusiastic crowd came out to witness the first women’s baseball game played at Delorimier Stadium, home of the International League’s Montreal Royals.2 The fans were treated to an entertaining pitchers’ duel between 16-year-old phenom Eleanor “Ellie” Moore (later Warner) and crafty Cuban hurler Migdalia “Mickey” Pérez (later Jinright). Pérez prevailed, tossing a shutout and leading the Sallies to a 4-0 victory. “Many of the onlookers who went to see the girls play out of curiosity, remained to acknowledge them ‘as good to watch as any men’s team,’” observed the Montreal Star.3

The AAGPBL had grown from 8 to 10 teams in 1948 by adding expansion franchises in Chicago and Springfield, Illinois. But the Colleens and Sallies struggled on the field and were a financial drain on the league, so they were disbanded after just one season.4

Arthur Meyerhoff, who had been responsible for the league’s publicity since its inception and had purchased the league from Philip Wrigley in the fall of 1944, came up with the barnstorming idea.5 Using uniforms and equipment from the defunct expansion franchises, the league sent two teams – branded the Chicago Colleens and Springfield Sallies − across the United States to play a slew of games in 1949.6 Although the tour lost roughly $3,500 and attracted an average of fewer than 1,500 fans per game, it was deemed successful enough to repeat in 1950.7

The barnstorming tours served as the AAGPBL’s minor-league system, helping to develop the skills of talented players who were not quite ready to join one of the fixed-location teams. The tours also helped the circuit promote itself in nonleague cities and, perhaps more importantly, recruit new players.8 At most stops on the tour, locals were invited to attend a brief tryout before the game,9 and in several cases they were signed to play on the tour or in the main league.

Less than three weeks before the Montreal game, the Sallies and Colleens had played a pair of contests at Griffith Stadium, home of the Washington Nationals, attracting an average of more than 4,500 fans.10 But perhaps the highlight of the 1950 tour was a three-inning exhibition contest played at Yankee Stadium prior to the August 11 game between the Philadelphia Athletics and New York Yankees.11 For the barnstorming women − most of whom were in their late teens12 − it was an unforgettable experience.

Despite playing on a Monday night in Montreal, the Sallies and Colleens attracted a crowd of roughly 7,000.13 The figure was impressive considering that the Royals led the IL in attendance in 1950 with an average of just over 5,000 fans per game; one week later the second-place Royals drew just 3,724 for a Monday night game against the Buffalo Bisons.14

A newspaper article published on August 19 reported that the Colleens held a 37-35 advantage in the series.15 The nearly identical records were no accident, since players were periodically shifted between the two teams to keep the games competitive.16

At least two Canadians saw action in the Montreal game: Ruth Middleton (later Gentry) and Joan Schatz, both outfielders from Winnipeg, Manitoba.17 Martha “Marty” Rommelaere (later Manning), an outfielder from Edmonton, Alberta, was also on the tour that summer.18

The pitching matchup was a study in contrasts. Moore, who was heading into her senior year of high school, was a tall, hard-throwing righty from Long Point, Illinois.19 The diminutive Pérez,20 a right-handed control artist, was one of the more experienced players on the tour. The 23-year-old Havana native had been part of the first wave of Cuban players to come into the AAGPBL in 1948, the first season with overhand pitching.21 Pérez toiled for the last-place Colleens in her rookie season, going 10-17 with a 2.55 ERA − a mediocre performance in the pitching-dominant circuit. Once the league went back down to eight teams, she was assigned to the 1949 and 1950 barnstorming tours.

Moore and Pérez kept the game scoreless through the first five innings. Although the newspaper coverage provided limited play-by-play details, we do know that Springfield second baseman Mary Moore was credited with the game’s first hit.22 In one of the innings, Eleanor Moore received an ovation when she snared a hard comebacker to escape a bases-loaded jam.23

The Sallies got to Moore in the sixth for a pair of runs, the first of which scored on a perfectly executed squeeze play by an unnamed player. Springfield tallied another run on the front end of a double steal.24

The Sallies increased their lead to 4-0 with another couple of runs in the eighth.

Chicago started a promising rally with three hits in the bottom of the eighth, but Pérez wiggled out of trouble with her shutout intact. It was the only point in which she was in any serious danger.25

In the ninth inning, Sallies catcher Jane Moffet broke her finger on a foul ball and had to leave the contest.26 Jacqueline “Jackie” Mattson (later Baumgart) caught the remainder of the game. Eunice “Tuffy” Taylor of the Colleens was behind the plate for all nine innings.

Pérez finished with an eight-hit shutout, five strikeouts,27 and, depending on the source, either one or no walks.28 Eleanor Moore was the hard-luck loser despite tossing a complete game six-hitter. Chicago committed six errors behind her.

Schatz had two hits in the game for the Colleens.29 The Canadian slugger finished the tour with an outstanding .322 batting average, 64 RBIs, and 40 steals in 77 games. Two other Colleens chipped in with a pair of hits in the game, Theresa “Terry” Rukavina and Beatrice “Betty” Bays (later Schuller).30

Coverage of the game in Montreal’s French and English newspapers was overwhelmingly positive. La Patrie was impressed with the players’ fundamentals and their ability to use small-ball tactics “with as much aplomb as major-league players,” leading them to conclude that the exhibition proved that women can play baseball with panache.31 La Presse reported that the fans were surprised by the players’ speed and defensive prowess, notwithstanding Chicago’s fielding miscues.32

The long, meandering tour wrapped up two weeks later with a pair of games scheduled in Lakewood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland.33 The indefatigable barnstormers – helped by 12 rainouts – ended up playing “only” 83 games in 94 days.34

The barnstorming tours of 1949 and ’50 proved crucial in attracting and developing talent. For instance, Glenna “Sue” Kidd and Gloria Cordes (later Elliott) were signed in 1949 after tryouts at tour stops in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Staten Island, New York, respectively, and they eventually became star pitchers in the league.35

Most of the 1950 barnstormers went on to play in the AAGPBL.36 Pérez returned to the league in 1951 and spent four seasons with the Battle Creek Belles and Rockford Peaches. She had her best season in 1953 with the Peaches, finishing ninth in the league with a 2.24 ERA and tossing a no-hitter against the Grand Rapids Chicks on August 10.37

Out of all of the players on the 1950 tour, Eleanor Moore went on to have the most success in the AAGPBL. Other than Maxine Kline (later Randall), no pitcher won more games than Moore in 1953-54, and in both seasons she represented Grand Rapids in the midsummer all-star game.38

Moore’s best season came in 1953 when she tied Jean Faut for the league lead with 17 wins and finished fifth with a 2.00 ERA. After helping the Chicks win the playoff championship, she was named as one of the four pitchers on the league’s end-of-season all-star team.39 On August 7, 1954, Moore threw a seven-inning no-hitter against the Kalamazoo Lassies, which was the first no-hit, no-run game by an AAGPBL hurler using a regulation nine-inch-circumference baseball.40 (The league began using the same size of ball as in men’s professional baseball on July 1, 1954.41)

The extensive barnstorming tour of 1950 turned out to be the final one. The league terminated its association with Meyerhoff prior to the 1951 season, and without him championing and bankrolling the two developmental teams, the barnstorming concept was abandoned.42

The elimination of the touring teams hampered the league’s ability to recruit and develop new baseball players from a talent pool that was largely made up of softballers.43 It was one of several factors, along with a precipitous drop in attendance caused by the rise of television and other societal changes, that led to the league’s decline.44 After suffering heavy financial losses, the AAGPBL ceased operations in January 1955.45

Acknowledgments

The author thanks SABR member Philippe Cousineau for assistance with French translation. This article was fact-checked by Laura Peebles 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 The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. The French phrase in the title of this article was taken from the headline “Jeu Spectaculaire des 2 Clubs Féminins au Stade,” in the August 22, 1950, edition of La Presse. A line score of the game from La Patrie is shown below.

Photo credit

Photos of Ellie Moore and Mickey Pérez courtesy the Trading Card Database.

Notes

1 The only other game scheduled in Canada was on August 19 in Sherbrooke, Québec. W.C. Madden, The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2000), 285.

2 “Jeu Spectaculaire des 2 Clubs Féminins au Stade,” (Montreal) La Presse, August 22, 1950: 27.

3 “Sallies Beat the Colleens,” Montreal Star, August 22, 1950: 26.

4 The Sallies attracted so few fans early in 1948 that beginning in June they played the remainder of their games on the road. The Colleens played all of their home games in Chicago in 1948. Lois Browne, Girls of Summer; In Their Own League (Toronto: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd., 1992), 172; Gary Belleville, “May 9, 1948: Springfield Sallies Drop Inaugural Game as AAGPBL’s Overhand Pitching Era Begins,” SABR Games Project, https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/may-9-1948-springfield-sallies-drop-inaugural-game-as-aagpbls-overhand-pitching-era-begins/, accessed December 4, 2023; “Colleens Hit Home to Make Last Stand,” (Chicago) Daily Calumet, August 24, 1948: 6.

5 Merrie A. Fiddler, The Origins and History of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2006), 51, 105.

6 Jim Sargent, We Were the All-American Girls: Interviews with Players of the AAGPBL, 1943-1954 (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2013), 16.

7 Fiddler, 105. Fiddler lists total attendance for the 1949 tour at 112,661 fans. She also states that 76 games were played and the average attendance was 1,238 per game. But 112,661 divided by 76 games is 1,482 and 112,661 divided by 1,238 is 91 games. The author was unable to confirm if 76, 91, or some other number of games was played on the 1949 tour. In any event, the average attendance was less than 1,500 per game.

8 Tim Wiles, “We Were the Only Girls to Play at Yankee Stadium,” Yankee Stadium 1923-2008: America’s First Modern Ballpark (Phoenix: SABR, 2023), 77-82, https://sabr.org/journal/article/special-excerpt-we-were-the-only-girls-to-play-at-yankee-stadium, accessed December 4, 2023.

9 “To Hold Tryouts Here for Girl Baseball Players,” Nashua (New Hampshire) Telegraph, July 28, 1950: 11; Ed Nichols, “Shore Sports,” Salisbury (Maryland) Times, June 30, 1950: 16.

10 The first game in Washington drew 6,000 fans. Attendance was 3,152 for the second contest. “Colleens’ Best Hurler to Face Sallies in Powder-Puff Finale,” Washington Evening Star, August 5, 1950: B-9; “Colleens Win, 4-3, Over Sallies in 10th,” Washington Evening Star, August 6, 1950: B-5.

11 Wiles, “Special Excerpt: ‘We Were the Only Girls to Play at Yankee Stadium.’”

12 Patricia L. Brown, A League of My Own: Memoir of a Pitcher for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2003), 43.

13 A crowd of about 7,000 appears to be the most likely attendance figure. La Presse reported that attendance was more than 8,000. Both English-language dailies pegged the attendance at 7,000. The smallest attendance was reported by La Patrie; it said only 5,800 people were at the game. “Jeu Spectaculaire des 2 Clubs Féminins au Stade”; “Sallies Beat Colleens in Girls’ Baseball, 4-0,” Montreal Gazette, August 22, 1950: 16; “Sallies Beat the Colleens,” Montreal Star, August 22, 1950: 26; “Les Sallies Ont Raison des Colleens,” (Montreal) La Patrie, August 22, 1950: 27.

14 Lou Miller, “Shuba Belts 9th Inning Homer as Royals Nose Out Bisons 7-5,” Montreal Gazette, August 29, 1950: 14.

15 “Club Féminins au Stade Lundi,” (Montreal) La Presse, August 19, 1950: 42.

16 Sargent, 148.

17 “Sallies Beat the Colleens”; “Les Sallies Ont Raison des Colleens.”

18 The last game the author was able confirm Rommelaere playing in was on August 14 in Portland, Maine. She appeared in that contest for the Sallies. Rommelaere was not listed on the rosters printed in La Presse and La Patrie on August 21. Barbara Liebrich was listed as the Sallies manager. The Sallies roster included Donna Becker, Laverne Winn, Margaret Hill, Barbara Parks (later Young), Joanne “Jo” McComb, Angel Dwyer, Mary “Sis” Moore, Lenora “Smokey” Mandella, Betty Jane “Curly” Cornett, Mary Lou “Klinky” Kolanko, Agnes “Aggie” Allen, Ruth Middleton (later Gentry), Esther “Schmattze” Morrison (later Gamberdella), Migdalia “Mickey” Pérez (later Jinright), Nancy Mudge (later Cato), Doris “Little Cookie” Cook, and Jacqueline “Jackie” Mattson (later Baumgart). Pat Barringer was listed as the Colleens manager. The Colleens roster included Eunice “Tuffy” Taylor, Joan “Jo Jo” Sindelar, Frances “Be Bop” Vukovich, Theresa “Terry” Rukavina, Eleanor “Ellie” Moore (later Warner), Shirley “Hustle” Burkovich, Ann “Cindy” Cindric, Joan Schatz, Patricia “Pat” Brown, Gloria “Tippy” Schweigerdt, Fern Battaglia, Rose “Monty” Montalbano, Shirley Sutherland, Audrey Schenck, Isabel “Lefty” Álvarez, and Janet “Pee Wee” Wiley (later Sears). Beatrice “Betty” Bays (later Schuller) wasn’t listed on the roster, but she had two hits in the August 21 game for the Colleens. “Girl Nines Return Wednesday,” Portland (Maine) Evening Express, August 15, 1950: 17; “Joute de Baseball Entre 2 Clubs Féminins Ce Soir,” (Montreal) La Presse, August 21, 1950: 27; “Deux Clubs de Baseball Féminins au Stadium des Royaux Ce Soir,” (Montreal) La Patrie, August 21, 1950: 23.

19 The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book lists Moore at 5-feet-10, 165 pounds. “Long Point Girl Climbs in Baseball,” Chicago Daily News, February 26, 1951: 12; Roscoe D. Bennett, “It’s Biggest Swap in Chick History; Two Newcomers in Action Tonight at Bigelow,” Grand Rapids Press, June 4, 1952: 35.

20 La Patrie reported that Pérez weighed no more than 100 pounds. “Les Sallies Ont Raison des Colleens.”

21 Belleville, “May 9, 1948: Springfield Sallies Drop Inaugural Game as AAGPBL’s Overhand Pitching Era Begins.”

22 “Sallies Beat the Colleens.”

23 “Sallies Beat the Colleens.”

24 It is unclear if the steal of home occurred in the sixth or eighth inning. “Les Sallies Ont Raison des Colleens.”

25 “Les Sallies Ont Raison des Colleens.”

26 “Les Sallies Ont Raison des Colleens.”

27 “Sallies Beat Colleens in Girls’ Baseball, 4-0.”

28 La Patrie reported that Pérez gave up one walk, but according to the La Presse game story she didn’t walk any batters. The Montreal Star reported that she walked five batters, although based on her statistics it is far more likely that this was incorrect. “Sallies Beat the Colleens”; “Les Sallies Ont Raison des Colleens.”; “Jeu Spectaculaire des 2 Clubs Féminins au Stade.”

29 “Les Sallies Ont Raison des Colleens.”

30 Bays had a single and a double in the game. “Les Sallies Ont Raison des Colleens.”

31 “Les Sallies Ont Raison des Colleens.”

32 “Les Sallies Ont Raison des Colleens.”

33 “Girls’ Baseball Teams Play Two at Elks’ Field,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 3, 1950: 38; Madden, 285.

34 Wiles, “Special Excerpt: ‘We Were the Only Girls to Play at Yankee Stadium.’”

35 Sargent, 16; Fiddler, 106-07.

36 The author reviewed the players listed on AAGPBL.org as playing on the Sallies and Colleens in 1950 and most played for an AAGPBL team between 1951 and 1954.

37 “Jinright Hurls First No-Hitter of Season,” Rockford Register-Republic, August 11, 1953: 13.

38 Moore won a combined 31 games in 1953-54. Kline won 34. “Daisies Defeat Best in League,” South Bend Tribune, July 15, 1953: 3-3; “Daisies Whip All-Star Nine,” South Bend Tribune, July 10, 1954: 16.

39 The three other pitchers on the 1953 end-of-season All-Star team were Faut, Kline, and Earlene “Beans” Risinger. Madden, 6.

40 “Ellie Moore in No-Hitter for Chicks,” Grand Rapids Press, August 9, 1954: 31.

41 The AAGPBL used a 10-inch ball at the time of the 1950 barnstorming tour. “Blue Sox Shift to Small Ball,” South Bend Tribune, July 1, 1954: 2-3; Madden, 53.

42 Fiddler, 111.

43 Fiddler, 72-73, 111.

44 Leslie A. Heaphy and Mel Anthony May, Encyclopedia of Women and Baseball (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2006), 237.

45 “Girls’ Baseball League Suspends 1955 Operations,” South Bend Tribune, January 31, 1955: 17.