Manzanar Women’s Softball, 1942 Season: These Chicks Came to Play

Coverage of the women’s Spring 1942 softball season in the Manzanar Free Press was somewhat sparse compared to that of their male counterparts. Reasons included a paper shortage that reduced the sports section from two full pages down to just one, a plethora of men’s softball leagues playing at the same time and thus vying for the single page of coverage, and the proclivities of the primarily male sports editors to favor coverage of the men’s teams.

Women’s fastpitch softball at Manzanar during spring through early summer of 1942 consisted of two leagues, the A League and the B League. The following teams made up the two leagues:

 

A LEAGUE	B LEAGUE
Dusty Chicks	Jr. Invaders
Termites	8 Misses and a Hit
Invaders	Whirlwinds
San Fernando	Uptown St.
Pasadena	Small Frys
Jiggerettes
Lucky Strikers

To settle any disputes, the ladies of Manzanar softball agreed to play by the following rules:

1. The runner cannot leave her base until the ball passes home plate.
2. If a batter fails to go up to bat and the next batter takes her turn, the first batter is called out.
3. A runner on third can only be forced or hit into home.
4. On an illegal pitch, all runners advance one base.
5. A foul fly to the catcher is called an out. A foul fly is when the batter hits a fly above her head and behind to the catcher.

It was clear from the outset that the Dusty Chicks (a.k.a. Chickadees) were going to take the A League by storm, regularly battering their opponents under the sun and extreme dry heat, which routinely reached 98 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Chicks faced perhaps their toughest competitor to start the season in the form of the Termites. The Chicks came out firing on all cylinders, scoring five runs in the first inning. However, by the third inning, the Termites had taken the lead thanks to a three-run clout to center field from Kiyo Mio. From there, it was all Dusty Chicks. Led by Chiyo “Butch” Sugimoto, who pitched masterful ball while also contributing a home run and a triple, the Dusty Chicks prevailed by a final score of 14-7.

In a mid-June game against San Fernando, it was once again Chicks superstar Sugimoto who took over the game, blasting four home runs and a triple to lead the onslaught, which resulted in a final score of 40-6. A few days later, the Chicks took on the Lucky Strikers and, in a record-breaking five-inning affair, mercilessly clobbered the Strikers by a score of 63-8.

The Dusty Chicks ended their season undefeated, gaining the A League title after winning a rematch with the Termites by a 14-6 score.

The Termites finished as runners-up, losing only to the Dusty Chicks. During their season, they routed the Invaders and Lucky Strikers by scores of 40-17 and 32-6, respectively. Facing a 21-15 deficit versus the Jiggerettes in the sixth inning, the Termites’ H. Shintoni hit a home run, which opened the floodgates to a 10-run inning and an eventual 25-24 comeback victory.

Though they only finished in the middle of the A League pack, the Invaders featured “Bambino” Fasoka Mizutani who by early June had amassed nine home runs. Bringing up the rear of the league were the Lucky Strikers, referred to by the Manzanar Free Press as the “Luckless” Strikers due to their inability to win games.

Over in the B League, which was more sparsely covered by the Manzanar Free Press than the A League, the Jr. Invaders and 8 Misses and a Hit vied for the top spot. The Jr. Invaders came out strong, winning their first three games, while 8 Misses and a Hit kept pace by winning their first three games as well. In the clash between these two B League titans, it was the Jr. Invaders who stayed undefeated, beating 8 Misses and a Hit by a score of 19-14 thanks to a 12-run fourth inning.

The two teams met again at the end of the season in a best-of-three-games playoff for the B League championship. The Jr. Invaders took game one, before 8 Misses and a Hit tied the series in a game-two thriller by the score of 15-13. No record of the final game was found. However, it was noted in the July 29, 1942 issue of the Manzanar Free Press that at the Victory Dance event, plaques were presented to the girls’ league championship teams including the Dusty Chicks and 8 Misses and a Hit.

The ultimate culmination of this first round of women’s softball was a Fourth of July exhibition game pitting the undefeated A League champion Dusty Chicks versus an all-star team of players chosen from the remaining pool of A League teams as well as the B League teams. The starting lineups for the game, as presented in the July 2, 1942, Manzanar Free Press, were as follows:

 

DUSTY CHICKS	POSITION
Toni Inouye	pitcher
Rose Maruki	catcher
Miseo Sugimoto	first base
Masa Kunitomi	second base
Tomi Nagao	third base
Chiyo Sugimoto	shortstop
Meye Noma	left field
Peewee Kusunoki	center field
Fuji Kawahara	right field

Reserves: J. Namba; F. Kuwahara; A. Yamamoto

GIRLS ALL STARS	POSITION	TEAM
Francis Tani	pitcher	Termites
Y. Tabuchi	catcher	San Fernando
Fasoka Mizutani	first base	Invaders
S. Hasegawa	second base	San Fernando
C. Hiraoka	third base	Jr. Invaders
H. Hino	shortstop	San Fernando
S. Takeuchi	left field	Termites
T. Ando	center field	Jr. Invaders
J. Hatae	right field	Invaders

Reserves: Yuki Odahara (8 Misses and a Hit); Kyo Mio (Termites); H. Akahoshi (Lucky Strikers)

 

On Saturday evening, July 4, 1942, at Diamond 2, the undefeated A League stalwart Dusty Chicks engaged the Girls’ All-Stars in an epic thriller. Starting on the mound for the Chicks was “Tall” Toni Inouye while the All-Stars sent pitcher Frances Tani to oppose her.

By the third inning, the Chicks found themselves trailing, 5-3, and made the decision to take Toni out, replacing her with “speedball” pitcher (and shortstop) Chiyo Sugimoto. The Chickadees tallied five runs in the fourth inning, pulling ahead of the All-Stars. Thanks to doubles in the fourth and fifth innings, both hit by slugger Yuki Odahara, the All-Stars brought home two runs, pulling them within one run of the Chicks.

The Chicks proceeded to score an insurance run in the sixth inning while keeping the All-Stars scoreless. To the final frame the two teams went, with the Chicks held scoreless and the All-Stars batting in the bottom of the seventh and final inning. The All-Stars had on their side “home run queen” Fuzzy Mizutani who had one hit and one run scored early in the game, but she could find no success against Sugimoto’s fastball. The All-Stars managed to start a rally and scored a run but ultimately fell short as the Dusty Chicks held on to prevail by a score of 12-11.

 

Championship plaque awarded to The Dusty Chicks girls’ softball team for the 1942 season. (Courtesy of County of Inyo, Eastern California Museum)

 

The Dusty Chicks again engaged the Girls’ All-Star team in mid-July, proving that the result of the first matchup was no fluke. The All-Stars played spectacular ball for the first three innings, leading the Dusty Chicks by a score of 9-5. Then came the sixth inning, in which consecutive singles by the Chicks’ Noma, Nagao, Sugimoto, Kuwahara, and Inouye catapulted the Chicks to a 14-11 win. Throughout the season, the Dusty Chicks would prove that they had no equal and were awarded the A League softball champions plaque.

Ladies’ softball began anew in late summer of 1942. Coverage of the games in the newspaper continued to favor the men’s teams, at least until the male sports editors left for furlough. Indeed, the following words were written in the September 28 Manzanar Free Press, “The male contingent of the sports staff’s and recreation department’s departure for the beet fields leaves the spotlight focused on femme sports. Yup, de editor, Mr. Roy Hoshizaki finally lifts the ban on censoring women’s sports and heartily agrees to the gals dominating the page for a while.”

The women’s teams for the late summer through fall season were organized into an American and National League. The American League was populated by teams of older girls while the teams in the National League had younger rosters. The Small Frys likely had their moniker because the average age of the girls on the team was thirteen years old. The two leagues were composed of the following teams:

 

AMERICAN LEAGUE	NATIONAL LEAGUE
8 Misses and a Hit	Jr. Invaders
Unknowns	Small Frys
All-Shots	Cher Amies
Star Dusters	Children’s Village [a.k.a. Fighting Nines]
	Delta Y’s

 

With games starting at 6:30 PM and the moon rising earlier as the calendar reached mid-August, five-inning games were played. Games were called at the end of the fourth inning if darkness fell before the close of the official fifth inning. Another reason given to end games after five innings was “to make it possible for the gals to attend symphonies, dances, movies, and socials in plenty of time.”

Other early season American and National League game highlights included an 11-8 victory by the All-Shots over the Star Dusters in which All-Shots’ M. Mikami clubbed the season’s first home run, and a matchup between the Jr. Invaders and Delta Ys in which 42 runs were scored—all by the Jr. Invaders, as they shut out the Delta Ys, 42-0. T. Morishita hit two home runs for the Jr. Invaders while Delta’s “Nuts” Fujimoto committed four errors.

The All-Shots went on to match up with 8 Misses and a Hit, the game staged between firebreaks 2 and 3. (The firebreak is the gap between buildings that is cleared of vegetation to slow down the progress of a potential fire.) Unfortunately for the All-Shots, 8 Misses and a Hit was firing on all cylinders. Their starting pitcher, Haru Hamamoto, struck out nine All-Shot batters, the defense played errorless ball, and the 8 Misses hitting machine blasted the All-Shots’ pitchers for 18 runs in an 18-0 shutout.

The Delta Ys went from experiencing one lopsided loss to yet another when they met up with the Children’s Village team, also referred to as the Fighting Nines. The Fighting Nines’ scoring spree included two home runs by Suzie Matsuno and another from S. Tanaka in support of a 41-4 shellacking.

As the calendar turned to September, the Fighting Nines’ Matsuno continued her power streak, slugging another home run. This time it was against the formidable Jr. Invaders squad. But the home run wasn’t enough as the Fighting Nines played sloppy ball, allowing the Jr. Invaders to take a rather easy 11-5 victory.

In an American League matchup between the All-Shots and Unknowns, Unknowns pitcher Socks Hasegawa was elite in striking out 13 All-Shot batters. Aided by teammate Yo Tabuchi’s four hits in five at-bats, the Unknowns gained a 7-2 win.

The Unknowns went on to dust off the Star Dusters by a score of 21-3 before darkness set in. The offensive onslaught was backed by D. Takada, Yo “Butchie” Tabuchi, and Fasoka Mizutani’s three homers.

Rolling into mid-September, it was 8 Misses and a Hit who led the American League standings with three wins and a loss. The Unknowns, having played one fewer game to that point, followed close behind with two wins and a loss. The All-Shots were playing .500 ball at two wins and two losses while the Star Dusters were lodged in the cellar, having lost their first three games.

Over in the National League, a couple of close contests ensued. The Jr. Invaders, who were leading their league with an undefeated record, edged out the Cher Amies, 7-4, while the Small Frys needed extra innings to take down the Fighting Nines by a score of 7-5.

 

Ladies playing softball. Pictured left to right: Rosie Maruki, Chiyo Tashima, Masa Fujoka. Catcher is Maye Noma, at bat is Tomi Nagao. Marian Fujii stands behind Maye. (Densho Digital Repository, Grace Maruki Wertz Collection)

 

With the month of September getting closer to setting sail, the powerhouse Unknowns again matched up with 8 Misses and a Hit. Both teams faced a common foil, that of darkness, which caused the game to be called with the two teams deadlocked at six runs apiece. Fasoka Mizutani continued to showcase her wares, driving in three of the Unknown runs, with a home run and a single.

Men were not the only ones who chose the opportunity to leave the Manzanar camp on furlough to go to places such as Idaho, where they would work the beet fields for a month. Married women could accompany their husbands, and this was to be the case for Unknowns pitcher Socks Hasegawa who left for the fields following her marriage, leaving the Unknowns to find another ace chucker for the remainder of their season.

Darkness again reared its ugly head in what should have been the American League championship game between the Unknowns and 8 Misses and a Hit on the evening of Monday, September 28, 1942. A home run by the Unknowns’ Fasoka Mizutani as well as eight walks issued by 8 Misses pitcher Hamamoto, along with nine errors by her teammates, had the Unknowns in front of the Misses 11-2 when the game was called after three innings.

Very few games made it to completion as the women’s season wrapped up. In a rare four-inning complete game, the Unknowns shellacked the Star Dusters. “Duchess” Takeuchi had two hits, including a home run to lead the Unknowns to the decisive 16-1 victory. The lone bright spot for the Dusters was a smash hit for Rosie Maruki that she stretched to a four-bagger to score the team’s only run.

According to the final published National League standings, the Jr. Invaders were crowned champions with a perfect record of four wins and no losses. The Cher Amies took the second spot, recording three wins and one loss. In a very unfortunate incident, the Cher Amies lost their final season game to the Fighting Nines because the Amies showed up to the wrong field. The Small Frys completed their season with two wins and two losses, while the Fighting Nines finished with one win and three losses. The Delta Ys occupied the cellar, having lost all four of their games.

When the end-of-season National League batting records were announced, it was M. Kudo of the Cher Amies who took the crown with an average of .750, albeit in just eight at-bats. Others to post high on the leaderboard were Y. Nishima (.666), R. Oshio (.533), Tak Ando (.500), and Chickie Hiraoka (.429), all Jr. Invaders.

Thanks to games called on account of darkness that necessitated replays, the American League season took longer to wrap up than its counterpart. Final published standings reflected the Unknowns as champions, with a record of 5-1. 8 Misses and a Hit claimed the second spot with four wins and two losses. All-Shots placed third with two wins and three losses while the cellar-dwelling Star Dusters did not win any of their five official contests. Perhaps it was consolation to the Star Dusters when the newspaper noted the Dusters had made some great late showings in games that unfortunately did not count because they were called due to darkness.

Final American League published batting records showed the Unknowns’ Yo Tabuchi taking top honors with a .666 average. Runner-up was teammate Fasoka Mizutani (.467), followed by 8 Misses’ Rose Tamai (.462), and Rose Maruki of the Star Dusters (.429).

The 1942 second-half softball season culminated with an all-star game played between the American and National Leagues. All-stars selected for each league were as follows:

 

NATIONAL LEAGUE	POSITION	TEAM
Ruby Oshio	pitcher	Jr. Invaders
Suzie Morishita	catcher	Small Frys
Alice Nashida	first base	Jr. Invaders
Suzie Matsuno	second base	Fighting Nines
Chickie Hiraoka	third base	Jr. Invaders
Elizabeth Yamane	shortstop	Delta Ys
Marie Akimoto	left field	Jr. Invaders
Tak Ando	center field	Jr. Invaders
Mieko Kudo	right field	Cher Amies

AMERICAN LEAGUE	POSITION	TEAM
Haruko Hamamoto	pitcher	8 Misses
Rose Maruki	catcher	Star Dusters
Rose Tamai	first baseman	8 Misses
Grace Odahara	second base	8 Misses
Junko Hatae	third base	Unknowns
Harumi Hino	shortstop	Star Dusters
Yo Tabuchi	left field	Unknowns
Sets Takeuchi	center field	Unknowns
Donna Takata	right field	Unknowns

 

The all-star game, held on the afternoon of Sunday, October 4, provided plenty of fireworks even if the game itself never seemed in doubt to the American Leaguers. American League starting pitcher Haruko Hamamoto utterly dominated the National Leaguers, holding them to one hit until the bottom of the fourth inning when second baseman Suzie Matsuno touched Hamamoto up for a home run.

Hamamoto starred not just on the mound but at bat as well. She had three hits in five trips to the plate, including home runs in both the third and fifth innings. The National Leaguers were down by a score of 21-1 when their bats finally woke up against pitcher Harumi Hino, who had come in to relieve Hamamoto. The National League proceeded to score 12 runs thanks to home runs by Matsuno and Chickie Hiraoka, whose own backhanded fielding at third base gave thrills to the fans and drew outstanding reviews from the press. However, the onslaught of runs came way too late as the American League held on for a 22-13 victory.

RUSS SPEILLER has been a SABR member since 2023 and could not be more grateful to the writers, editors, and consultants who contributed to this book. Having graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Chemical Engineering, Russ lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with his incredible family. He has contributed to numerous SABR books, the BioProject, and Turnstyle magazine. This is his first time leading the construction of a SABR book and he is appreciative of the SABR publications board for choosing to greenlight this effort. He really hopes you all enjoy and learn from How We Played the Game. To read more of Russ’ work, please visit russspeiller.substack.com.

 

SOURCES

Unless otherwise noted, all information used to construct season summaries was compiled using game summaries and the comments of the sports editors of the Manzanar Free Press newspaper, accessed via digitized copies of the paper found online at the Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn84025948/?st=calendar&year=1942.