Pauline Crawley (September 11, 1924 – September 18, 2003) was a fourth outfielder 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", 145 lb., she batted and threw right handed. Born in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, the diminutive Pauline Crawley was a surehanded outfielder with a strong throwing arm. Unfortunately, she played in parts of only two seasons in the league over a six-year span due to a severe knee injury. Crawley started to play

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 ...

at age 11 in a Phoenix league. Her softball team was a perennial participant in national tournaments. She earned her nickname ″Hedy″ as a teenager, because she kiddingly said that she bore resemblance to Hedy Lamarr, one of her favorite movie stars. Her close friend

Joanne Winter Joanne Emily Winter '' o' (November 24, 1924 – September 22, 1996) was a pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 138 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. Early life A native ...

, 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 had joined the league in its inaugural 1943 season, arranged for her to try out with future

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Max Carey Maximillian George Carnarius (January 11, 1890 – May 30, 1976), known as Max George Carey, was an American professional baseball center fielder and manager. Carey played in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1910 through 1 ...

, by then the league's president. She was accepted by Carey and 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 ...

for the start of the 1946 season.The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League About halfway through her rookie season, Crawley twisted her left knee and was required to have surgery. She even paid for the operation's fuel cost. ''I had injured my knee in Phoenix and I didn't think it was their fault'', she explained in an interview. As a result, the league did not offer her a contract the next year. She then joined the rival National Girls Baseball League in

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

from 1947 through 1950. After that, Crawley took an employment with

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

before deciding to return to the AAGPBL without a guaranteed contract. She was accepted and relocated to 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 ...

, playing for them the entire 1951 season. In 1952, Crawley quit baseball and went on to attend California State University, where she earned a bachelor's degree. She then rejoined United Airlines, working for them as an executive secretary during 32 years. She later worked four years with Northrop Aircraft manufacturer before retiring for good. Over the years, she had four knee surgeries on her knee before she had replaced it in 1993 by Dr. Robert Murphy, a skilled orthopaedic surgeon who replaced the injured knee of former U.S. President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

. Crawley remained living in the area of California for a long time. After retiring, she enjoyed playing

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 ...

and assisted to AAGPBL Players Association reunions. The association was largely responsible for the opening of ''Women in Baseball'', 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 ...

, which was inaugurated in November 1988. In addition, she formed part of the Golden Diamond Girls, a group of former players who attend vintage baseball card shows and sign autographs. Pauline Crawley died in 2003 in Cathedral City, California, a week after her 79th birthday.Intelius.com – Pauline M. Crawley report
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Career statistics

Batting Fielding

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawley, Pauline All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Peoria Redwings players Battle Creek Belles players Baseball players from Phoenix, Arizona California State University alumni 1924 births 2003 deaths 20th-century American women 21st-century American women