Charlotte T. Armstrong (née Lubman; June 17, 1924 – November 24, 2008) was 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 ...

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 ...

. Listed at , 145 lb., Armstrong 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 affectionately nicknamed '' Skipper''. A hard

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thro ...

pitcher, Armstrong was one of the top starters in the AAGPBL for two years before jumping to a rival professional league.

Early life

A native of

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, Armstrong was one of two girls in the family of Wilhelm Lubman and Gladyse (née: Nicholson) Lubman. Armstrong grew up in Phoenix, playing

sandlot ball Sandlot ball or sandlot baseball is a competitive and athletic sports game that follows the basic rules and procedures of baseball. It is often less organized and structured, as the name alludes to a makeshift field or an empty lot. History and ...

with the boys of her neighborhood when she was a little girl. "They stuck me in the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball and ...

, so l had to learn to throw", she recalled. As a youngster, she was befriended by local

big leaguer ''Big Leaguer'' is a 1953 American sports film, sports drama (film and television), drama film starring Edward G. Robinson and was the first film directed by Robert Aldrich. Although this story is fiction, Robinson's character in it, Hans Lobert, ...

Hank Leiber Henry Edward Leiber (January 17, 1911 – November 8, 1993) was an American professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1933 to 1942 with the New York Giants and Chicago Cubs. Early life Leiber was ...

, who taught her to pitch.

AAGPBL career

During

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 ...

in early years, the AAGPBL allocated the players to teams for the purpose of maintaining a competitive balance. Assigned to the

South Bend Blue Sox The South Bend Blue Sox was a women's professional baseball team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A founding member, the team represented South Bend, Indiana, and played their home games at Bendix Fi ...

, Armstrong became known as one of the league's best overhand pitchers. She immediately formed part of a strong pitching staff that included

Margaret Berger Margaret Berger (born 11 October 1985) is a Norway, Norwegian singer, songwriter, music director, and DJ. She made her debut on Sony BMG after she placed second on the Idol (Norway)#Season 2, second season of ''Idol (Norway), Norwegian Idol'' in ...

and

Doris Barr Doris "Dodie" Barr (August 26, 1921 – July 12, 2009) was a pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 6", 145 lb., Barr batted and threw left-handed. She was born in Starbuck, M ...

. In 1944, Armstrong posted a 21–15 record with a 1.51

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

, and the following season she went 18–22 with a 1.96 ERA. She later played for the Chicago Bluebirds of the National Girls' Baseball League, before returning to Phoenix, where she attended art studies at

Phoenix College Phoenix College (PC) is a public community college in Encanto, Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1920, it is one of the oldest community colleges in the country. History The college was originally a part of the Phoenix Union High School and Junio ...

and played softball again for the Queens as a member of their national championship teams.Baseball Historian
Charlotte Armstrong died in Phoenix, Arizona at the age of 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Charlotte 1924 births 2008 deaths All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players 20th-century American painters 21st-century American painters Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Phoenix, Arizona Baseball players from Dallas American women painters 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists South Bend Blue Sox players Phoenix College alumni National Girls Baseball League players American female baseball players