The Minneapolis Millerettes were an expansion

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 ...

team that played for one season in 1944 based in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. The Millerettes played home games at

Nicollet Park Nicollet Park was a baseball ground located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The venue was home to the minor league Minneapolis Millers of the Western League and later American Association from 1896 to 1955. The ballpark opened on June ...

, home of the men's minor league baseball team the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

History

The Millerettes' uniform consisted of a maroon cap and socks and a pink dress uniform with the circular Minneapolis city seal at the center of the chest. Like their expansion counterparts the

Milwaukee Chicks The Milwaukee Chicks were a women's professional baseball team which played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the season. They were managed by Max Carey, former star player for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Brooklyn Robi ...

, the team did not have an official nickname. They were alternately known as "Millerettes", after the city's American Association ballclub, and "Lakers" from Minnesota's nickname, "Land of 10,000 Lakes". That nickname would be adopted by the city's professional basketball team three years later. Halfway through the season, the league gave up on the Minneapolis market and the Millerettes became a traveling team playing all games on the road, earning another nickname, the "Orphans". The team was managed by

Bubber Jonnard Clarence James "Bubber" Jonnard (November 23, 1897 – August 12, 1977) was a Major League Baseball catcher. He played for the Chicago White Sox in 1920, the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1922, the Philadelphia Phillies in 1926, 1927 and 1935, and the St ...

, and finished 26 and a half games out of first place, with a 45–72 record. The most significant players were

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 ...

Dorothy Wiltse, who posted a 20–16 record and a 1.88

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

in 38 appearances, 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 cat ...

Helen Callaghan Helen Callaghan Candaele St. Aubin (March 13, 1923 – December 8, 1992) was a left-handed center fielder who appeared in five seasons in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), playing under the name Helen Callaghan.

, who finished second in the league in

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

(.287) and third in runs (81),

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

(114),

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 (3), and

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 ...

(136). Pitcher

Annabelle Lee Annabelle Lee Harmon (January 22, 1922 – July 3, 2008) was an American female pitcher who played from through with four teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 120 lb, Lee was a switch-hitter and threw ...

threw the first

perfect game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...

in AAGPBL history on July 29, 1944, against the Kenosha Comets. The following year, the Millerettes moved to

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

, where they became 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 ...

All-time players roster

Kay Blumetta Catherine Kay Blumetta 'Swish''(May 1, 1923 – April 25, 1997) was a utility who played for six different clubs in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League between the and seasons. Listed at , 150 lb., she batted and threw righ ...

* Lorraine Borg *

* Margaret Callaghan *

Faye Dancer Faye Katherine Dancer (April 24, 1925 – May 22, 2002) was a center fielder who played from through for three teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 145 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. Women i ...

* Julie Dusanko * Loretta Dwojak * Elizabeth Farrow *

Edna Frank Edna Dummerth (née Frank; June 15, 1924 – October 8, 2017) played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1944.Audrey Haine Audrey Haine Daniels (May 9, 1927 – September 11, 2021) was a pitcher who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League between the and seasons. Listed at 5' 9", 150 lb., she batted and threw right handed.

* Lillian Jackson *

Marguerite Jones Marguerite Jones (later Davis; November 3, 1917 – May 9, 1995) was a Canadian pitcher who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 9", 150 lb., she batted and threw right handed. Born in Regina, Saskatc ...

Vivian Kellogg Vivian Caroline Kellogg ��Kelly″(November 6, 1922 – December 13, 2013) was an American baseball player who played first base from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She batted and threw right-handed. Kellogg ...

Audrey Kissel Audrey Susan Kissel ''Lafser(February 27, 1926 – March 19, 2017) was an American infielder who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She batted and threw right handed.Annabelle Lee Annabelle Lee Harmon (January 22, 1922 – July 3, 2008) was an American female pitcher who played from through with four teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 120 lb, Lee was a switch-hitter and threw ...

* Ruth Lessing *

Elizabeth Mahon Elizabeth B. Mahon (November 18, 1919 – September 6, 2001) was an American outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 135 lb., Mahon batted and threw right-handed. She was born i ...

Anna Meyer Anna L. "Pee Wee" Meyer (later Petrovic; born November 17, 1928) is a former female shortstop who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the 1944 season. Born in Aurora, Indiana, she was one of the youngest players t ...

* Lavonne Paire * Irene Ruhnke * Lorraine Torrison *

Betty Trezza Betty "Moe" Trezza (August 4, 1925 – January 16, 2007) was an American professional baseball player. An infield and outfield utility, she played from through for four different teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. T ...

Margaret Wigiser Margaret M. "Wiggie" Wigiser (December 17, 1924 – January 19, 2019) was a center fielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She batted and threw right-handed. Overview profile Wigiser was a center ...

* Dorothy Wiltse

References

Sources

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League historyAll-American Girls Professional Baseball League official website – 1944 Minneapolis Millerettes seasonAAGPBL Official Website – 1944 Minneapolis Millerettes imageAll-American Girls Professional Baseball League official website – Manager/Player profile search results
*''All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book'' – W. C. Madden. Publisher:

McFarland & Company McFarland & Company, Inc., is an American independent book publisher based in Jefferson, North Carolina, that specializes in academic and reference works, as well as general-interest adult nonfiction. Its president is Rhonda Herman. Its former ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

. Format:

Hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occa ...

, 294pp. Language:

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. *''Women at Play: The Story of Women in Baseball'' – Barbara Gregorich. Publisher:

Harcourt Brace and Company Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. The company was last based in San Diego, California, with editorial/sales/marketing/rights offices in New York City an ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

. Format:

Softcover A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, lea ...

, 214 pp. Language:

. *''The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: A Biographical Dictionary'' – W. C. Madden. Publisher:

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

. Format:

, 295 pp. Language:

. {{All-American Girls Professional Baseball League All-American Girls Professional Baseball League teams 1944 establishments in Minnesota 1944 disestablishments in Minnesota Baseball teams established in 1944 Baseball teams disestablished in 1944 Sports in Minneapolis Professional baseball teams in Minnesota Defunct baseball teams in Minnesota Women's sports in Minnesota