Joan Berger ''Knebl(October 9, 1933 – September 11, 2021) was a infielder and
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 c ...
who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 132 lb, she batted and threw right-handed. She was born in Passaic, New Jersey.
An All-Star at second base, Joan Berger played in the last four seasons of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Her accomplishments also included winning the Rookie of the Year Award and playing in the All-American touring team piloted by
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 ...
.The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
Early life
Reflecting on her early influences, Berger explained that her father Slim Berger was a semiprofessional baseball player who helped her learn to play the game. ''My father was a great sportsman, he used to take me to all his games and I went in the field during his practices''. Her father later formed the Garfield Flashettes, which became the first girls' softball team based in Garfield, New Jersey. Berger joined her father's team when she was in eighth grade, and tried out for the AAGPBL as a sophomore at Garfield High School, but she was too young to join the league. She attended to a new tryout the next year, but her father advised her to wait until the next year. Finally, Berger joined the league in 1951 after graduating from high school. She was allocated to 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 ...
, a team managed by the aforementioned Bill Allington.
AAGPBL
Berger entered the league as a
right fielder
A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...
, hitting a .251 average in only 40 games. At this point, she maintained her rookie status for the following season. In 1952 she switched to second base, won Rookie of the Year honors, and was the only rookie to make the All-Star Team. The next season she 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 ...
and second, splitting her playing time between
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 second in 1954, when she hit a career-high .280 during what turned out to be the league's final season. Rockford made the playoffs from 1951 to 1953 but failed to win the championship.
Allington All-Stars
Following her AAGPBL career, Berger joined several other players on Bill Allington's All-American team, a barnstorming remnant of the league. The Allington All-Stars played 100 games between 1954 and 1958, 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 Berger, the Allington All-Stars included players as
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 ...
,
Gertrude Dunn
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 ''A League Of Their Own''.Betty Foss,
Mary Froning
Mary Froning (later O'Meara; August 26, 1934 – November 2, 2014) was an outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 118 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. ...
,
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 €³Horsey″(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
Maxine Kline (later Randall, September 16, 1929 – June 9, 2022) was a female starting pitcher who played from 1948 through 1954 with the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , , she batted and ...
,
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
Magdalen "Mamie" Redman (July 2, 1930 – August 22, 2020) was a catcher and utility infielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 150 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.
Early ...
,
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 ...
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.
Personal life
Berger married Andrew Knebl in 1959 and settled down to raise a family. She had three boys, Andrew Jr., Kevin and Robert, and has five granddaughters. She worked for Ferrero USA for eight years and retired in 1994.
She was part of the AAGPBL permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, New York, opened in , which is dedicated to the entire league rather than any individual player. She lived in
Lodi, New Jersey
Lodi (; ) is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 24,136,