History
In 1943, the Belles claimed the first Championship Title in the league's history. This team was characterized by strong pitching, solid defense, timely hitting and speed on the bases.
Racine won the first half with a 33–10 mark, and finished the regular season with an overall record of 55 wins and 38 losses. Mary Nesbitt led the pitching staff with a 26–13 record for a .667 winning percentage (fifth-best of the league), including 308 innings of work in 47 appearances. She also hit .280, scored 34 runs, and drove in 29 more in 73 games. At a time of the season, Nesbitt put together an 11-game winning streak. Besides Nesbitt, the Belles also counted with Joanne Winter, who posted an 11–11 record, to give the team a strong one-two pitching staff. Slugger right fielder Eleanor Dapkus hit a league-lead 10 home runs, while Sophie Kurys stole a league-best 44 bases and scored 60 runs. Margaret Danhauser, Maddy English, Edythe Perlick and Claire Schillace could be counted on for their bats and solid defense.
The first AAGPBL Championship Series pitted first-half winner Racine against the Kenosha Comets, second-half champ. In the best-of-five series, Racine swept Kenosha to clinch the championship. Nesbitt claimed complete-game victories in Games 1 and 3, and saved Game 2 after Winter ran into trouble in the eight inning. Irene Hickson, who shared the catching duties with Dorothy Maguire, led all-hitters with a .417 average and five RBI in the three games.
In 1946, Anna Mae Hutchison posted a 26–14 record with 102 strikeouts in 51 games, setting an all-time, single-season record for games pitched, and also hurled the first nine-inning no-hitter in Belles history, a 1–0 victory over the Kenosha Comets. Winter finished with a 33–9 record, including 17 shutouts and 183 strikeouts in 46 pitching appearances. The Belles claimed first place with a league-best 74–38 record, and won the semifinal round of playoffs by defeating the South Bend Blue Sox in four games. In Game 1, English drove in the winning run by hitting a double in the bottom half of the 14th inning. Then, in decisive Game 5 she knocked the winning run with a single in the bottom half of the 17th inning. In this first round series she went 11-for-31 for a .353 average, including her two game-winning RBI. After that, the Belles beat the 1945 champions, the Rockford Peaches, four games to two in the final best-of-seven series to clinch the Championship Title. Throughout the playoffs, Kurys led all players in average, stolen bases and runs. On the other hand, Winter collected four wins in the playoffs, including a 14-inning, 1–0 shutout victory over the Peaches in decisive Game Six. The winning run was scored by Kurys on an RBI-single by Betty Trezza, while Danhauser handled 22 chances flawlessly. During the regular season, the Belles again showed a great defense, notably by infielders Danhauser (1B), Kurys (2B) and English (3B), while Perlick (LF), Schillace (CF) and Dapkus (RF) patrolled the outfield. And moreover, fielding ability and speed on the bases were immensely more crucial and challenging in a dominant pitching league.
Racine's biggest newspaper, The Racine Journal Times, covered every Belles game, which contributed to community interest in the team. Many businesses closed during games to encourage its workers and customers to attend. [1]
After eight successful seasons the Belles lacked the financial resources to keep the club playing in Racine and decided to move to Battle Creek, Michigan at the end of the 1950 season. Some founding team members, including Danhauser, Dapkus, English, Kurys, Perlick, Schillace and Winter, were disappointed with the new location and would not make the move. During eight years, the Belles were a close-knit team, always like a family away from home. They thought that all would be different, like a new team, maybe a new manager and, specially, a new location.
After moving, the team was renamed the Battle Creek Belles and played from 1951 to 1952. For their final season, they moved to Muskegon, Michigan and played as the Muskegon Belles.
