Renae Audrey Youngberg 'Ray''(April 3, 1933 – January 10, 2015) was a third basewoman 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 ...
during four seasons spanning 1949–1954. She batted and threw right-handed.
Little League Baseball
Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizationsandlot ball with the neighborhood kids. Youngberg attended Waukegan Township High School. There no were no sports available there for girls, but she was actively involved in intramural sports, playing basketball, field hockey, volleyball, and softball. Outside of school, she played industrial league basketball, bowling, and independent softball and baseball. Following her graduation, she earned a scholarship to attend
Illinois State Normal University
Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...
.
AAGPBL career
The Chicago Colleens and the Springfield Sallies joined the AAGPBL as expansion teams in 1948. Both teams were the worst of the league and lost their franchises by the end of that season. From 1949 through 1950, the Colleens and Sallies became rookie development teams that played exclusively exhibition games. At age 17, Youngberg joined the 1949 tour as third sacker for Springfield. During sixty-six days, she spent her time playing an itinerary of thirty-one tour cities.
Youngberg did not play in 1950 because she had to spend six months in a sanatorium with a confirmed case of tuberculosis. She received permission to return to the league in 1951 and joined the roster of the Grand Rapids Chicks. She hit .201 (68-for-338) with 26 runs and 31
RBI
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in a career-high 98 games.
In 1952, Youngberg dropped to a .167 average in 86 games, but played solid defense at third while she was in the game. She split time with the
South Bend Blue Sox The South Bend Blue Sox was a women's professional baseball team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A founding member, the team represented South Bend, Indiana, and played their home games at Bendix Fi ...
and Muskegon Lassies in 1953, returning to the Chicks late in the year to be a part of the Championship team. That year, she finished with a combined .222 average in 72 games. Her best season at the plate came in 1954 with Grand Rapids, when she hit a career-high .270 average with eight home runs in 72 games, driving in 50 runs while scoring 50 times.
Kalamazoo Public Schools
Kalamazoo Public Schools is a school district headquartered in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Graduates of the district are eligible to receive scholarships through the Kalamazoo Promise, a program launched in 2005 and funded by anonymous donors. The distri ...
. She stayed active athletically by playing softball, basketball, volleyball and also golfed and bowled.Encyclopedia of Women and Baseball
Since 1988, Youngberg is 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 ...
in
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 rather than individual baseball personalities.
Following her retirement, Youngberg divided her time between a lake home in Portage, Michigan and a mobile home in Placida, Florida. She died in January 2015 in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, at the age of 81.