The Springfield Sallies were a women's professional baseball team who were members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1948 season and became a development team. The Sallies were based in Springfield, Illinois and played home games at Jim Fitzpatrick Memorial Stadium .
17-461: The hapless Sallies were the worst in the league, getting roughed up as a last–place expansion club with a 41–84 record, ending 35.5 games behind the 1st place Racine Belles in the Western Division. The club was managed by former bigleaguer Carson Bigbee , but had no All–Stars, and the only players to have a significant year were second sacker Evelyn Wawryshyn , who tied for sixth place with
34-610: 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
51-525: A .266 batting average , and pitcher Doris Barr , who posted a 2.68 ERA with a career-high 116 strikeouts despite her 7–19 record. From 1949 through 1951 the Sallies joined the Chicago Colleens as touring player development teams. Their tours included exhibition contests at Griffith Stadium and Yankee Stadium , then dissolved entirely by 1951. AAGPBL executive Mitch Skupien , who later managed in
68-470: 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
85-638: 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
102-584: 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 . Previously, a minor league team also named Racine Belles played in the Wisconsin–Illinois League from 1909 through 1913, and then in
119-589: The 1943 inaugural season , The Blue Sox finished in third place with a 51–40 mark, only .001 percentage point behind second place Kenosha Comets . Together, pitchers Margaret Berger and Doris Barr threw 79 of the 91 games played by the Sox. Berger was credited with 25 wins and Barr with 15, while Berger posted her greatest triumph in a 13–inning match, which she won 1–0. The next three years, South Bend finished 64–55 (1944), 49–60 (1945), 70–42 (1946), 57–54 (1947) and 57–59 (1948). After falling in their playoff intents, in
136-458: The 1949 season the team posted the best record in with a 75–36 mark. That year they were swept in the playoffs, 4–to–0, by Rockford, after getting a first-round bye along with them. The South Bend club went on to win their next four playoffs in claiming back-to-back championship titles in 1951 and 1952 . After that, the Blue Sox finished in last place both in the 1953 and 1954 seasons. Apart from
153-525: The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League . A founding member, the team represented South Bend, Indiana , and played their home games at Bendix Field (1943–1945) and Playland Park (1946–1954). The Blue Sox were one of two teams to play in every AAGPBL season without relocating, the other being the Rockford Peaches . Often a second-division team, they appeared in six playoff series and won two league titles. In
170-456: The Bi-State League in 1915. It was a Class D team in 1909 and 1915, and a Class C team from 1910 to 1913. The name Racine Belles now refers to a non-profit organization dedicated to the development of girls' fastpitch softball in southeastern Wisconsin. South Bend Blue Sox The South Bend Blue Sox was a women's professional baseball team who played from 1943 through 1954 in
187-402: 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. After eight successful seasons
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#1732884100230204-407: 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
221-518: 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
238-441: 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
255-453: 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
272-423: The league, served as the general manager for both touring teams. Managers Manager–Chaperone Chaperone Racine Belles The Racine Belles were one of the original teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing from 1943 through 1950 out of Racine, Wisconsin . The Belles won the league's first championship. The team played its home games at Horlick Field . In 1943,
289-464: 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
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