Annie Gosbee (December 29, 1935 – December 9, 1976) was an

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

who played 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.Annie Gosbee – Profile / Biography
''

''. Retrieved 2019-04-10. Annie Gosbee played the last two seasons of the All American League with two different clubs and was a member of the 1953 AAGPBL championship team. A native of

Essex, Massachusetts Essex is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, 26 miles (42 km) north of Boston and 13 miles (21 km) southeast of Newburyport. It is known for its former role as a center of shipbuilding. The population was 3,675 at the 2020 ce ...

, Annie was one of six children born to Roy and Maude Gosbee. She had two brothers and three sisters. Since an early age, Annie interested in baseball and enjoyed catching for her elder brother Billy, who wanted to be a

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 ...

and made her his

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

. They would practice regularly after school and whenever school was not in session. Besides, she would play sandlot ball with the local boys after school in a field near the Essex River. Gosbee attended Rufus Choate Elementary School in Essex, where she played for the school baseball team and was the only girl on it. She also played in the girls’ basketball team for four years, eventually being named its captain in her senior year. At the time, the only organized sport open to women was the rifle team competition, and she excelled at that. As a teenager, she played second base on the Essex Legion team in the Cape Ann Junior League Conference, becoming just one of two girls to play on junior league baseball teams in the area. Avis Ruth Murray, a member of the

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

team, was the other. In addition, Annie extended her talents as an all-around woman in golf, tennis and volleyball. But Gosbee pursued her love of baseball by playing on a professional league and attended an All American League tryout held in Everett in 1950, even though she did not succeed in her attempt to join the league. Nevertheless, she tried out again in 1953 during her senior year of high school. She then earned money for the trip west to

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

by washing dishes in a local restaurant before her high school graduation. In her 1953 yearbook, Gosbee had listed three characteristic interests: to play in the All American League, to own the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, and

Babe Zaharias Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias (; Didrikson; June 26, 1911 – September 27, 1956) was an American athlete who excelled in golf, basketball, baseball and track and field. She won two gold medals in track and field at the 1932 Summer O ...

; a prominent athlete who achieved a great deal of success in golf, basketball, baseball and track and field. Finally, Gosbee joined the All American League tryout and broke into the Grand Rapids Chicks team roster in 1953. She was used by

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Woody English primarily as a backup at second base for

Alma Ziegler Alma Ziegler (January 9, 1918 – May 30, 2005) was an infielder and pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 125 lb., Ziegler batted and threw right-handed. Alma Ziegler was one ...

. Madden, W. C. (2000) ''All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book''. McFarland & Company. Moreover, she represented her team in the All-Star Game as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

replacement. At the end of the season, Grand Rapids advanced to the playoffs and beat the

Rockford Peaches The Rockford Peaches were a women's professional baseball team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A founding member, the team represented Rockford, Illinois. The Peaches were one of two teams to pla ...

in the best-of-three series first round, 2–1. The Chicks later swept the

Kalamazoo Lassies The Kalamazoo Lassies were a team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team represented Kalamazoo, Michigan. Home games were initially played at Lindstrom Field, but later games were played at the ...

in the final series, 2–0, to win the championship. Afterwards, Gosbee returned to Essex to complete her high school graduation requirements. In 1954, she split her time between Grand Rapids and Rockford, during what turned out to be the All-American League's final season. In a 75-game career, Annie posted an average of .136 (16-for-118) with 22 runs scored and seven RBI while

stealing Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

one base. She went 0-for-1 in the playoffs. At the field, she recorded 89

putout In baseball statistics, a putout (denoted by ''PO'' or ''fly out'' when appropriate) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner wit ...

s with 87 assists and turned 17

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Leag ...

s, while committing 15 errors in 191 total chances for a combined .922 fielding average. After the league folded, Gosbee moved to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where two of her siblings lived. She then attended Los Angeles City College and continued her involvement in sports, while teaching classes and playing nonprofessional basketball. Additionally, she went to work as a

library technician A library technician or library assistant is a skilled library and information paraprofessional trained to perform the day-to-day functions of a library, and assists librarians in the acquisition, preparation, and organization of information. They a ...

in the area. She died in 1976 in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

, after being hit by a motorist while trying to cross a street. She was 40 years old. In 1988, Annie Gosbee received further recognition when she became part of ''Women in Baseball'', a permanent display based 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 ...

which was unveiled to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.Before A League of Their Own
''National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum'' She also was inducted posthumously into the Gloucester High School Hall of Fame in Essex, Massachusetts.

Career statistics

Batting

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gosbee Annie 1935 births 1976 deaths All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Grand Rapids Chicks players Rockford Peaches players Baseball players from Massachusetts Los Angeles City College alumni People from Essex, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Essex County, Massachusetts Road incident deaths in California 20th-century American women 20th-century American people Pedestrian road incident deaths