Charlene Barnett ("Barney") (March 13, 1928 – January 25, 1979) 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 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 ...

. She batted and threw right-handed. Born in

Elgin, Illinois Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook and Kane counties in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. Elgin is located northwest of Chicago, along the Fox River. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 114,797, the seventh-large ...

, Charlene Barnett filled a consistent role during her four seasons in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A three-time champion team member, she was a versatile infielder, playing mainly at second base, while adding deep defense at

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Considered a light hitter, she combined her usual brilliant defense with a decent bit of offense for a hitter placed at bottom of the batting order. Barnett entered the league in 1947 with the

Grand Rapids Chicks The Grand Rapids Chicks were a women's professional baseball team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1945 to 1954, winning championships in 1947 and 1953. History The franchise ...

, playing for them one year. She hit a .115

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 ...

as a rookie, appearing in 33 games as a backup for Alma Ziegler (2B),

Ernestine Petras Ernestine Petras �Teeny״(October 22, 1924 – November 20, 2017) was an infielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 125 lb., Petras batted and threw right-handed. She was born i ...

(3B) and Doris Tetzlaff (SS). Grand Rapids, managed by

Johnny Rawlings John William Rawlings '' ed' (August 17, 1892 – October 16, 1972) was a second baseman and shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for six different teams between the and seasons. Listed at , 158 lb., he batted and threw right-han ...

, defeated the South Bend Blue Sox in the first round of the playoffs, three games to two, and disposed of the

Racine Belles The Racine Belles were one of the original teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing from through out of Racine, Wisconsin. The Belles won the league's first championship. The team played its home games at Horlick Fi ...

in the final series, four games to three, to claim the champion title. Unfortunately, Barnett opened 1948 with the

Chicago Colleens The Chicago Colleens were a women's professional baseball team who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1948 to 1951, evolving into a development team. The team was based Chicago, Illinois and played their home gam ...

, as the league shifted players as needed to help some teams stay afloat. The Colleens, managed by experimented

Dave Bancroft David James Bancroft (April 20, 1891 – October 9, 1972) was an American professional baseball shortstop and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Giants, Boston Braves and the Brooklyn Robi ...

, were the worst in the strong Eastern Division, getting roughed up as a last-place expansion club with a 47–76 record, ending twenty nine and a half games out of the first place spot. Barnett was a regular at second base, appearing in a career-high 106 games, while batting .165 with a .941

fielding average In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, divi ...

. As a result, from 1949 through 1950 the Colleens became a rookie development team that played exclusively exhibition games. Then Barnett found herself on the move again, but this time she found a most positive environment after joining 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 ...

from 1949 to 1950. With

Bill Allington William Baird Allington (October 26, 1903 – August 17, 1966) was an American minor league baseball player and manager. Listed at 5' 9" and 160 pounds, Allington batted and threw right-handed. He was born in St. Clair County, Michigan ...

at the helm, the Peaches were the most successful team in league history, winning four championships titles in twelve seasons, including three in a row between 1948 and 1950.All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book In 1949, Barnett played at second base for Rockford as part of a good-defense infield that included

Dorothy Kamenshek Dorothy "Dottie" "Kammie" Kamenshek (December 21, 1925 – May 17, 2010) was an American All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player. She batted and threw left-handed. Early life A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Kamenshek played outfield ...

(1B),

Dorothy Harrell Dorothy Harrell (February 4, 1924 – September 15, 2011) was a shortstop who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 4", 127 lb., Harrell batted and threw right-handed. After being married she played under ...

(3B) and

Alice Pollitt Alice Pollitt Deschaine orn Margaret Pollitt(July 19, 1929 – March 15, 2016) was an infielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 150 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. A nati ...

(SS). She executed 36

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 only 20 errors in 448 fielding chances for a solid .955 fielding average. In 104 games, she batted .159 and stole 30 bases, driving in 13 runs while

scoring Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian m ...

37 times. In that season, Rockford

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 ...

Lois Florreich Kathleen Lois "Flash" Florreich (April 29, 1927 – September 11, 1991) was a pitcher and utility who played from through for three different teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 140 lb., Florreich batte ...

(0.67) and Helen Fox (0.98) allowed less than one

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

per each nine

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

, while the Peaches had a high powered offense led by

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Eleanor Callow Eleanor 'Squirt' Callow (born August 8, 1927) was a left fielder who played from through for three teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Callow was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. She was born in Winnipeg, Mani ...

and

Rose Gacioch Rose M. Gacioch (; August 31, 1915 – September 9, 2004) was a right fielder and pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. In 1950, Barnett continued to provide good services during her last season, when she posted a career-high batting average (.221) and managed his usual defensive work rate (.943). First place Rockford beat the

Kenosha Comets Based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Kenosha Comets were a women's professional baseball team that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team played their home games at List of defunct amusement parks#Wisc ...

in the first round, three games to one, and followed the next step. The journey became a tough one. In the final best-of-seven series, Rockford battled 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 ...

throughout the tournament. After victories of Rockford in the first two games (3–1 and 7–2), Fort Wayne tied the series (7–3). Rockford responded by winning Game 5 (4–3), while the last two contests were blowouts with Fort Wayne winning Game 6 (8–0) and Rockford taking Game 7 (11–0) to win the championship. Fox won three of these games, including a

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

in the final game. In the series, Barnett combined for a .333 average (9-for-33) with four RBI and four runs in 11 games, committing just two errors in 40 chances (.950). Following her baseball career, Barnett became a

flight attendant A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are prima ...

.''The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: A Biographical Dictionary'' – W. C. Madden. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2005. Format: Paperback, 295 pp. Language: English. In 1988, nine years after her death at age 50, Charlene Barnett became part of ''Women in Baseball'', a permanent display based at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in

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.

Career statistics

Batting Fielding

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnett, Charlene 1928 births 1979 deaths All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Baseball players from Illinois Sportspeople from Elgin, Illinois Grand Rapids Chicks players Chicago Colleens players Rockford Peaches players