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24-457: The Redwings made an unsteady start in their inaugural season, going 33–79 to finish last 41 games out of first place in the Western Division. The team improved in 1947 with a 54–57 record, good to finish in fifth place in the eight–team league. Their most productive season came in 1948 , when they finished 71–55 for third place in the division and fourth overall, gaining a playoff spot. In

48-447: A .306 batting average in a close race with Audrey Wagner (.305) of Kenosha. Nevertheless, five no-hitters were recorded during the regular season by Racine's Doris Barr , Muskegon Erma Bergmann , Kenosha's Jean Cione , and Rockford's Margaret Holgerson and Betty Luna . The pitching highlight came from Muskegon's Doris Sams , who hurled the third perfect game in league history . In addition, P/OF Sams posted an 11–4 record and

72-509: A 0.98 earned run average in 19 pitching appearances, while batting a combined average of .280 (97-for-346) in 107 total games. Following the season, Sams was honored with the AAGPBL Player of the Year Award . At the end, Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Racine battled for the regular season title, until Muskegon got the victory with just two days remaining the schedule. Muskegon lost to Racine in

96-602: A 3.24 ERA and made the All-Star team. In between seasons, Cione graduated from high school and went on to study at Eastern Michigan University , University of Illinois and University of Michigan . Pitching Batting Fielding Following her baseball retirement, Cione received a bachelor's degree from Eastern Michigan University before earning her master's degree at the University of Illinois. From there, Cione took up teaching physical education in elementary school for

120-660: A 3–1 advantage in the best of seven series. But the defending champion Racine won the next two games to force a decisive game seven. In a pitching duel, Mildred Earp defeated Hutchison and the Belles on a 1–0, five hit shutout , while driving in the winning run to give Grand Rapids the championship. In 1947 average crowds at AAGPBL games were two to three thousand people, while attendance records were set in Muskegon, Peoria and Racine ballparks . Jean Cione Jean S. Cione [″Cy″] (June 23, 1928 – November 22, 2010)

144-738: A Best of Seven Series. By April 1947, all of the league's players were flown to Havana, Cuba for spring training . At the time, the Brooklyn Dodgers trained in the Cuban capital because Jackie Robinson , who would be the first Afro-American to play in the Major Leagues, was training with the Dodgers for the first time. By then, city ordinances in Vero Beach, Florida , where the Dodgers normally trained, prevented blacks and whites players from competing on

168-570: A decade and then returned to EMU, where she taught sports medicine for nearly three decades. She was EMU's first women's athletic director as her alma mater established a women's athletic program, attaining gender equity in the sports programs there. Jean Cione is part of Women in Baseball , a permanent display based at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York . The exhibition

192-437: A perfect mix of experience and motivated young players, such as Mildred Deegan ( 2B ), Dorothy Ferguson ( 3B ), Rose Gacioch ( P / OF ), Dorothy Green ( C ), Dorothy Harrell ( SS ), Dorothy Kamenshek ( 1B ), Josephine Lenard (OF), Olive Little (P), Carolyn Morris (P) and Margaret Wigiser (OF). Cione was used as a reserve first sacker for Kamenshek. Eventually, she pitched and played at outfield. Rockford took

216-405: The accordion , after being motivated by the piano music of Frankie Carle . As she grew up, Cione showed an intense interest in athletics and outdoor activities, developing a practice that was to continue throughout the rest of his life. When she turned seventeen, she attended an All-American Girls Professional Baseball League tryout held at Racine under the direction of Max Carey . She passed

240-590: The 1946 season. Cione was sent to the Redwings, as the AAGPBL shifted players as needed to help new teams stay afloat. In 1947 she returned to Rockford. It was clear she was back where she belonged. By April 1947, all of the league's players were flown to Havana, Cuba for spring training . That year, Cione responded winning 19 games for the Peaches while posting a stingy 1.30 ERA in her first full pitching season. Besides Cione,

264-482: The AAGPBL pennant with a 67–43 record, surpassing Fort Wayne (62–47), Grand Rapids (60–50), Racine (50–60), South Bend (49–60) and Kenosha (41–69). In the best-of-five Series playoffs, runner-up Fort Wayne defeated fourth-place Racine in four games; first-place Rockford eliminated third-place Grand Rapids in four games, and Rockford won the league championship by beating Fort Wayne in five games. The Muskegon Lassies and Peoria Redwings were added as expansion teams for

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288-493: The film A League of Their Own was released. The film kindled a renewed interest in these trailblazers who have their own places in American history. While the film does not use real names, filmmaker Penny Marshall seemed to be aiming for realism, as her work includes fake newsreel footage and pseudo-documentary present day scenes at the beginning and end of the fictitious story. Since then, Cione and her teammates have become

312-467: The first round, three games to one, behind a strong pitching effort from Anna Mae Hutchison , who was credited with all three victories for Racine. By the other side, Grand Rapids defeated South Bend in five games guided by Connie Wisniewski , who pitched a win, stole home plate for another win, and collected an average of .318 (7-for-22). The second round was a tight fight, when the first three contests all went to extra innings and Grand Rapids held

336-566: The league folded in 1954, Cione taught sports medicine and physical education at the university level for 29 years, earning inductions into several halls of fame across the United States. Cione attended grades 1–12 in the Rockford Public School System, where she graduated in 1946. At school she used to play softball . Cione later worked at J. L. Clarke, where she played on the company's girls team. She also taught herself

360-536: The move again, this time to Kenosha (1948–1951), and then the Battle Creek Belles (1952) and Muskegon Belles (1953), before returning to Rockford in the league's final year (1954). Her most productive season came in 1950, when she won 18 games and hurled a pair of no-hitter in August: a 12–inning game against Grand Rapids and a seven-inning game against her former Rockford teammates. In 1952 she went 2–5, but sported

384-645: The playoffs, the Redwings were swept by the Racine Belles in three straight games. Peoria fell to 36–43 and last place in 1949 , and next–to–last in 1950 after ending 44–63–2. They went 48–56–2 in 1951 , their last season, having finished over .500 once in six years of existence. Some players of note included pitchers Doris Barr , Dorothy Mueller and Mary Nesbitt ; infielders Margaret Callaghan , Betty McKenna and Dorothy Stolze ; outfielders Eleanor Callow and Thelma Eisen , and OF/P Mary Reynolds . Eventually, Eisen and Reynolds served as player/managers for

408-506: The roster of the Peaches included top notch veterans as Deegan, Ferguson, Gacioch, Green, Harrell and Kamenshek, as well as the newly arrived Lois Florreich (P) and Alice Pollitt (3B). Unfortunately, Rockford finished in sixth place with a 48–63 mark, out of contention. During the postseason, Grand Rapids defeated South Bend in five games while Racine ousted Muskegon in four games. In the final Series, Grand Rapids disposed of Racine in seven games. The next year Cione then found herself on

432-464: The same field against each other. Notably, newspaper stories from Havana indicate that the All-American girls drew larger crowds for their exhibition games at Estadio Latinoamericano than did the Dodgers. In addition to the eight team practices, nearly 55,000 Cuban fans attended a round-robin tournament which took place at Estadio Latinoamericano at the end of the training. The Racine Belles won

456-414: The successful transition from underhand to overhand through the many stages of the league, although she hurled on awful expansion teams that did not give her much run support. An All-Star, she posted a 76–65 record with a 2.33 earned run average in 169 career games and pitched two no-hitters in the same month. In addition, she was a member of a champion team and turned in an unassisted triple play . After

480-493: The team. 1947 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season The 1947 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season marked the fifth 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. The final Shaugnessy playoffs faced second place Grand Rapids against third place Racine in

504-723: The test and was offered a contract to play in the league. Cione entered the AAGPBL in 1945 with the Rockford Peaches , a team based in her hometown of Rockford which was managed by Bill Allington . Other five teams competed in the 110–game regular season: the Fort Wayne Daisies , the Grand Rapids Chicks , the Kenosha Comets , the Racine Belles , and the South Bend Blue Sox . The 1945 Peaches roster featured

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528-470: The tournament and received a commemorative trophy from Esther Williams , American competitive swimmer and MGM movie star . All in all, the rules, strategy and general play were the same in 1947. The sidearm pitching was strictly used, as the league was moving toward full overhand delivery for the next season. The sidearm throwing allowed the hitters more of an advantage than previous seasons. Rockford's Dorothy Kamenshek repeated her batting crown with

552-631: Was a pitcher who played from 1945 through 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League . Listed at 5' 8", 143 lb., She batted and threw left-handed. Born in Rockford, Illinois , Jean Cione was a dominant lefty pitcher who enjoyed a prolific career over ten seasons in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Cione is regarded one of the few pitchers to make

576-798: Was unveiled on November 5, 1988 , to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League rather than individual baseball personalities. She gained inductions into the Eastern Michigan University Athletic Hall of Fame (1986) and the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame (2003), and also served as vice president of the AAGPBL Players Association while supervising the organization's website. The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League folded in 1954. Lady pitchers, catchers, and fielders drifted into obscurity until 1992 when

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