Hermina Franks (September 7, 1914 – April 7, 2010) 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 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 5' 4", 120 lb., Franks batted and threw right handed. She was dubbed 'Irish' by her teammates.Hermina Franks – Biography / Obituary
''

''. Retrieved 2019-04-13. Hermina Franks played briefly in the early years of the All-American League. Born in

Oconto, Wisconsin Oconto is a city in Oconto County, Wisconsin, Oconto County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,609 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part of the Green Bay, Wisconsin, Green Bay Green Bay metropolitan area, Metropol ...

, Hermina went on to work at an aircraft plant based in

Lock Haven, Pennsylvania Lock Haven is the county seat of Clinton County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek, it is the principal city of the Lock Haven Micropolitan Statistical Area, ...

prior to enlisting in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

in 1942. She spent three and a half years in the military, of which one and a half was at overseas installations. While in the service, she also played baseball. Following her discharge, Franks entered the league in 1946 with 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 ...

and appeared in just one game for them. She went hitless in one

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

and did not have a pitching record. Madden, W. C. (2000) ''All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book''. McFarland & Company. Afterwards, she worked at

Abbott Laboratories Abbott Laboratories is an American multinational medical devices and health care company with headquarters in Abbott Park, Illinois, United States. The company was founded by Chicago physician Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 to formulate known dr ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

during 22 years before retiring to her hometown. In 1988 was inaugurated a permanent display 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 ...

, that honors those who were part of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Hermina Franks, along with the rest of the girls and the league staff, is included at the display/exhibit.Before A League of Their Own
''National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum''.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franks, Hermina 1914 births 2010 deaths All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Kenosha Comets players Baseball players from Wisconsin Baseball players from Chicago People from Oconto, Wisconsin Military personnel from Wisconsin United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Abbott Laboratories people American women in World War II 21st-century American women