Betty McKenna 'Mac''(May 31, 1931 – February 24, 1992) was a

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

woman who played from through 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 ...

. McKenna batted and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

. She was born in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. A solid all-around athlete, McKenna got off to a slow start in the AAGPBL in her

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

season. She entered the league in 1951 with 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 ...

, playing for them in a few games before joining the

Peoria Redwings The Peoria Redwings was a women's professional baseball team who joined the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1946 season and remained in the league through 1951. The team represented Peoria, Illinois, playing home games at ...

during the midseason and ending the year with the

Battle Creek Belles The Battle Creek Belles were a women's professional baseball team that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The Belles represented Battle Creek, Michigan, and played their home games at Bailey Park. Histor ...

, batting .151 in 61 games, including six doubles and one

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

. After hitting .077 in 1952 in just 61 games, McKenna moved with the Belles when they relocated to

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 ...

before the 1953 season. This time she took over the full-time role at third base and blossomed into one of the better defenders of the ''hot corner'' in the league, setting career-numbers in average (.215),

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

(63), runs (31),

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(28),

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s (16) and games (94). Still only 22 years old, she was becoming a full-pledged star player, but the Belles, after two championship titles in the 1940s and two reincarnations in the 1950s, folded after 1953 season while the BBGPBL, too, folded a year later. McKenna died in Ohio at the age of 60.

Sources

*''Encyclopedia of women and baseball'' - Leslie A. Heaphy, Mel Anthony May. Publisher: McFarland & Co., 2006. Format: Paperback, 438 pp. Language: English. *''The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: A biographical dictionary'' - W. C. Madden. Publisher: McFarland & Co., 1997. Format: Paperback, 295 pp. Language: English.

External links

All-American Girls Professional Baseball LeagueBaseball Historian
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenna, Betty All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Baseball players from Ohio People from Lisbon, Ohio 1931 births 1992 deaths Fort Wayne Daisies players Peoria Redwings players 20th-century American women 20th-century American people