Alta Lucille Little (May 21, 1923 – March 10, 1999) was an American first sacker and

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who played from 1947 to 1948 in the

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League 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 Uni ...

. She batted and threw right handed. Born in

Gas City, Indiana Gas City is a city in Grant County, Indiana, along the Mississinewa River. The population was 5,965 at the 2010 census. History Gas City was first known as Harrisburg when settled on May 25, 1867, by Noah Harris. It became something of a boom tow ...

,Madden, W. C. ''All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book'' (2005). McFarland & Company. Little grew up in

Muskegon, Michigan Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expa ...

, where her sisters played on a

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

team. She wanted to play along with her sisters, but the team's coach said her that she was too young. As luck would have it, one day the team was short of players and she received a chance to play at the age of 11. She then formed part of the regular lineup thereafter. In 1947, Little was playing in a Muskegon factory league when an AAGPBL scout signed her to a contract, as she went to

Opa-locka, Florida Opa-locka is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,463, up from 15,219 in 2010. The city was developed by Glenn Curtiss. Developed based on a ''One Thousand and One Nights'' theme, Op ...

for

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. She was assigned to her home team,

Muskegon Lassies The Muskegon Lassies were one of the expansion teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1946 season, representing Muskegon, Michigan. The team played their home games at Marsh Field. History The 1946 Muskegon Lassies p ...

, but she was never given enough playing time because already the Lassies had the slick-fielding

Sara Reeser Sara Louise Reeser (born February 11, 1925) is a former infielder who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League between the and seasons. Listed at , 130 lb, she batted and threw left-handed. Noted for her defensive skil ...

at first base. She then was reassigned to the

Fort Wayne Daisies The Fort Wayne Daisies were a women's professional baseball team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana that played from through as members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. History The Daisies represented Fort Wayne, Indiana, and ...

the next season and the same thing happened, as they used outstanding first sacker

Betty Foss Betty "Fossey" Weaver-Foss (May 10, 1929 – February 8, 1998) was an infielder and outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 180 lb., she was a switch-hitter and threw right-hand ...

. Unable to crack the lineup as a regular, Little decided to leave the league. In a sixteen-game career, she collected six hits in 47 at-bats for a .128

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. She also made one pitching appearance. After baseball, Little she went into managing

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

lanes. She eventually moved to

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

and became the director of operations for Don Carter's All Star Lanes.Heaphy, Leslie A.; May, Mel Anthony 2006). McFarland & Company. Little is part of the AAGPBL permanent display at the

Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-re ...

Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...

opened in 1988, which is dedicated to the entire league rather than any individual figure. In 1995, she was invited to

Arlington Stadium Arlington Stadium was a baseball stadium located in Arlington, Texas, United States, located between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. It served as the home for the Texas Rangers (MLB) from 1972 until 1993, after which the team moved into The Bal ...

to throw out the

ceremonial first pitch The ceremonial first pitch is a longstanding ritual of baseball in which a guest of honor throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Originally, the guest threw a ball from their seat in the grandstand to ...

before a game between the home Texas Rangers and the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. Little was a long time resident of

, where she died in 1999 at the age of 75.Texas Deaths Index - The Year 1999
''GenealogyBuff.com''. Retrieved on March 25, 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Little, Alta 1923 births 1999 deaths All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Muskegon Lassies players Fort Wayne Daisies players People from Dallas People from Grant County, Indiana Sportspeople from Muskegon, Michigan 20th-century American women 20th-century American people