Gertrude Dunn (September 30, 1933September 29, 2004) was an American baseball player with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, the league made famous by the

1992 film Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...

A League Of Their Own ''A League of Their Own'' is a 1992 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Penny Marshall that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). The film stars Tom Hanks, Geena ...

''.Gertrude Dunn – Profile / Obituary
'' All-American Girls Professional Baseball League''. Retrieved 2019-04-12.

Career

Dunn played

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 wh ...

on two teams, the Battle Creek Belles and the South Bend Blue Sox, and was named " Rookie of the Year" in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

. When the league was unable to continue in 1955, Dunn joined several other players selected by former

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 ...

manager

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 ...

to play in the national touring team known as the All-Americans All-Stars. The team played 100 games, each booked in a different town, against male teams, while traveling over 10,000 miles in the manager's station wagon and a

Ford Country Sedan The Ford Country Sedan is a full-size station wagon that was built by Ford in the United States from 1952 until 1974. It was part of the U.S. Ford full-size car line available in each year.Odin, L.C. ''A concise guide to the Ford and Mercury ful ...

. Besides Dunn, the Allington All-Stars included players as Joan Berger,

Gloria Cordes Gloria Cordes Elliott (September 21, 1931 – March 13, 2018) was a starting pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 8", 138 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. Overview pro ...

Jeanie Descombes Jeneane Descombes Lesko (born March 28, 1935) is a former pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 135 lb., she batted and threw left-handed. She played under the name of Jeanie (or ...

, Betty Foss, Mary Froning,

Jean Geissinger Jean Louise Geissinger (later Harding; June 25, 1934 – June 8, 2014) was an infielder and outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League with the Fort Wayne Daisies (1951-1952 'start'' 1953–1 ...

Katie Horstman Catherine Horstman ��Horsey″(born April 14, 1935) is a former female utility player who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 150 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. Overview profi ...

, Maxine Kline,

Dolores Lee Dolores Margaret Lee (April 21, 1935 – May 14, 2014) was an American female baseball player who played as a pitcher from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 130 lb, she batted and threw right-hande ...

, Magdalen Redman,

Ruth Richard Ruth Richard '' ichie' (September 20, 1928 – May 6, 2018) was an American baseball player who played as a catcher from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 4", 134 lb., she batted left-handed and t ...

Dorothy Schroeder Dorothy "Dottie" Schroeder (April 11, 1928 – December 8, 1996) was a shortstop who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 150 lb., Schroeder batted and threw right-handed. She was born in ...

, Jean Smith,

Dolly Vanderlip Dolly Vanderlip ''Ozburn(born June 4, 1937) is a former pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 140 lb., Vanderlip batted and threw right-handed. She was born in Charlotte, North ...

and

Joanne Weaver Joanne "Joltin' Jo" Weaver (December 19, 1935 – March 19, 2000) was a right fielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 142 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. Overview profile ...

, among others. She later attended

West Chester University West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public research university in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university is accredited by the Middle ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and graduated with the class of 1960. Dunn was a player on the

United States women's national field hockey team The United States women's national field hockey team, represents the United States in international field hockey. The team is currently coached by Anthony Farry. It made its first international appearance in 1920 when a touring team visited Engla ...

. She also coached

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

and was named to the USA Field Hockey Hall of Fame on January 16, 1988.

Career statistics

Batting

Fielding

''All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book'' – W. C. Madden. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2008. Format: Paperback, 302pp. Language: English.

Death and legacy

At the age of 70, on September 29, 2004, Dunn died in

Avondale, Pennsylvania Avondale is a borough in Chester County, in southeastern Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,272 at the 2020 census. Geography Avondale is located on Pennsylvania Route 41 just south of U.S. Route 1. The community is on the East B ...

when the Piper Archer airplane she was solo-piloting crashed shortly after takeoff from

New Garden Airport New Garden Airport , also known as New Garden Flying Field, is a public airport located in Toughkenamon, Chester County, Pennsylvania (about southwest of Philadelphia). The airport serves a large general aviation community, and offers maintena ...

. She was posthumously inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Gertrude 1932 births 2004 deaths People from Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania Baseball players from Delaware County, Pennsylvania All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Battle Creek Belles players South Bend Blue Sox players American female field hockey players American field hockey coaches West Chester Golden Rams baseball players 21st-century American women Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2004 Accidental deaths in Pennsylvania