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The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley,which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the United States. Over 600 women played in the league,which eventually consisted of 10 teams located in the American Midwest. In 1948,league attendance peaked at over 900,000 spectators. The most successful team,the Rockford Peaches,won a league-best four championships.
The Rockford Peaches were a women's professional baseball team who played from 1943-1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A founding member,the team represented Rockford,Illinois.
Women's baseball is played in several countries. The strongest and most organized women's baseball leagues are in the United States,Australia,Japan,Taiwan,Cuba,Hong Kong,and Canada. Those countries have national governing bodies that support girls' and women's baseball programs. Other countries/regions that currently have organized women's baseball are Germany,France,Netherlands,Croatia,India,South Korea,Venezuela,Argentina,Puerto Rico,Colombia,Brazil,Dominican Republic,and Pakistan. There also is a handful of women playing baseball in Vietnam currently on the Fishanu team at Hanoi University and on the Hanoi Baseball Club.
Dorothy Wiltse "Dottie" Collins was an American professional baseball pitcher for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1944 to 1948 and 1950. Collins played her rookie season (1944) for the Minneapolis Millerettes and spent the rest of her career with the Fort Wayne Daisies. Known as the "Strikeout Queen," she set multiple AAGPBL records throughout her career and led the league with her winning percentage,fielding percentage,and strikeouts. Collins helped form the All-American Girls Professional Baseball league Players Association in 1987 and held many different positions during her tenure with the association.
Helen Callaghan Candaele St. Aubin was a left-handed center fielder who appeared in five seasons in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL),playing under the name Helen Callaghan.
The Grand Rapids Chicks were a women's professional baseball team based in Grand Rapids,Michigan. They played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1945 to 1954,winning championships in 1947 and 1953.
Rose M. Gacioch was a right fielder and pitcher who played from 1944 through 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m),160 lb,Gacioch batted and threw right-handed. She had one of the most successful careers in AAGPBL history and possibly the most well-rounded of any female player. She was of Polish descent.
Nancy Elizabeth Mudge [Cato] was an infielder who played from 1950 through 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m),120 lb.,she batted and threw right-handed.
Maxine Kline was a female starting pitcher who played from 1948 through 1954 with the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m),130 lb (59 kg),she batted and threw right-handed.
Alice Pollitt Deschaine [born Margaret Pollitt] was an infielder who played from 1947 through 1953 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m),150 lb.,she batted and threw right-handed.
Joanne "Joltin' Jo" Weaver was a right fielder who played from 1951 through 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m),142 lb.,she batted and threw right-handed.
Constance Wisniewski (Wiśniewski) was a starting pitcher and outfielder who played from 1944 through 1952 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 8",147 lb.,she batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
Thelma "Tiby" Eisen was an outfielder who played from 1944 through 1952 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 4",130 lb.,she batted and threw right-handed.
An All-Star squad of players was selected by the team managers of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) in the league's inaugural 1943 season and then from 1946 until the league folded in 1954.
Viola Thompson [Griffin] was a pitcher who played from 1944 through 1947 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Listed at 5 feet 5 inches (165 cm),120 pounds (54 kg),she batted and threw left-handed.
Shirley Burkovich was an American professional baseball infielder,outfielder and pitcher who played from 1949 through 1951 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) and 150 pounds (68 kg),she batted and threw right-handed.
The 1949 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season marked the seventh season of the circuit. With the Chicago Colleens and Springfield Sallies turning into rookie development teams after the 1948 season,the AAGPBL was left with eight squads:the Kenosha Comets,Fort Wayne Daisies,Grand Rapids Chicks,Muskegon Lassies,Peoria Redwings,Racine Belles,Rockford Peaches and South Bend Blue Sox. The teams competed through a 112-game schedule.
The 1950 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season marked the eight season of the circuit. The teams Fort Wayne Daisies,Grand Rapids Chicks,Kenosha Comets,Muskegon Lassies,Peoria Redwings,Racine Belles,Rockford Peaches and South Bend Blue Sox competed through a 112-game schedule.
Doris Witiuk [Shero] was a Canadian outfielder who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1950 and 1951. She played under her maiden name of Doris Shero.