Marjorie L. Pieper �Peeps״(August 2, 1922 – February 6, 2008) 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. ...

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 ...

and

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 , 140 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. Born in Clinton, Michigan, Marjorie Pieper saw action with seven different teams during her seven years in the league. She was used as an infield/outfield utility, playing mainly at

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 ...

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

right field 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 ...

, and eventually served as a spot starting pitcher. She also was a consistent hitter and showed good speed on the bases and in the field. Pieper moved around for a while, as the AAGPBL shifted players as needed to help teams stay afloat. Unfortunately, she never achieved a playoff berth to set an all-time record for the most years in the league without playing in the postseason. While growing up in Clinton, Pieper played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

and

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

. She graduated in

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and also worked in a local bookstore. In addition, she was a member of two Michigan State softball champion teams in 1944 and 1945 before playing in the AAGPBL.The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Pieper entered the league in 1946 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 ...

, playing one and a half years for them before joining 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 ...

(1947–1948) and 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 game ...

(1948). She played exclusively at shortstop in Fort Wayne and Kenosha, hitting a .173

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 ...

in her rookie season. She notably improved in 1947, batting .225 in a career-high 109 games, while collecting 119

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, while ...

and a .322 of

slugging Slugging, also known as casual carpooling, is the practice of forming ad hoc, informal carpools for purposes of commuting, essentially a variation of ride-share commuting and hitchhiking. A driver picks up these non-paying passengers (known as ...

. She also tied for fourth in doubles (11) and belted five

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, being surpassed only by Kenosha's teammate

Audrey Wagner Genevieve "Audrey" Wagner udrey(December 27, 1927 – August 31, 1984) was an outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 145 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. Brief profile ...

(7) and

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 ...

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 ...

(6).All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book She opened 1948 in Kenosha, mainly as a back up for

Fern Shollenberger Fern Shollenberger '' helly' (May 18, 1923 – December 24, 1977) was a third basewoman who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 125 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. Brief profil ...

at third base. Then found herself on the move again in the midseason, this time to the

, where she backed up

Marge Villa Margaret Villa-Cryan (born December 21, 1924) is an American former utility player who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 115 lb., Villa batted and threw right-handed. She was born in ...

at shortstop. Pieper hit a combined .190 average in 107 games, while collecting a career-high 57

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s. Pieper returned to Fort Wayne in 1949, but was sent to 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 ...

at the end of the year. She finished with a low-career .163 in just 69 games, most of them playing at right field. She came back to Kenosha in 1950, for a short time, because she was assigned to the

Peoria Redwings The Peoria Redwings was a women's professional baseball team who joined the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1946 season and remained in the league through 1951. The team represented Peoria, Illinois, playing home games at ...

(1950–1951) before joining the

Battle Creek Belles The Battle Creek Belles were a women's professional baseball team that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The Belles represented Battle Creek, Michigan, and played their home games at Bailey Park. Histor ...

(1951–1952). Pieper enjoyed a career year in 1952, when she posted career numbers in average (.253),

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

(44),

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(47),

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

(.336) and slugging (.382), while leading Battle Creek in home runs (4) and RBI. She stayed with the franchise when it was renamed the

Muskegon Belles The Muskegon Belles were a women's professional baseball team that played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the 1953 season. The Belles were based in Muskegon, Michigan. History The Muskegon Belles played in 1953, wi ...

in 1953, her last season. This time she played at

center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the Baseball positions, baseball and softball fielding position between Left fielder, left field and Right fielder, right field. In the numberi ...

, while collecting a .229 average with three homers and 38 RBI in 92 games. Following her baseball career, Pieper taught physical education at the

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

and

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

levels. In her spare time, she was an avid

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

er. In 1988, she became part of ''Women in Baseball'', a permanent display based 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 ...

, which was unveiled to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Marjorie Pieper was a longtime resident of

Citrus Springs, Florida Citrus Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) in Citrus County, Florida, United States. The population was 8,622 as of the 2010 census, up from 4,157 in 2000. Geography Citrus Springs is located in northern Citrus County at (28.993539, -82 ...

, where she died in 2008 at the age of 85.Pieper, Marjorie (8/22/1922 – 1/6/2008) – Published at Citrus County Chronicle, Citrus County, FL
/ref>

Career statistics

Batting Pitching Fielding

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pieper, Marjorie All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Baseball players from Michigan People from Citrus County, Florida People from Clinton County, Michigan University of Michigan alumni 1922 births 2008 deaths Muskegon Belles players Fort Wayne Daisies players Kenosha Comets players Chicago Colleens players Racine Belles (1943–1950) players Peoria Redwings players Battle Creek Belles players 20th-century American women 21st-century American women