Flora Velma Abbott (May 29, 1929 – January 1, 1987) was a

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various s ...

who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 2", 110 lb., she batted and threw right handed. A native of

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 census, Regina had a city populatio ...

Abbott was one of the sixty eight girls from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during its 12-year history. A light-hitting reserve player, she was able to play at second base and third and showed speed on the bases, while playing for four different teams in a span of two years. Before joining the league, Abbott played in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

with the Alameda Girls, a twice World Champion in amateur softball. She entered the AAGPBL in 1946, dividing her playing time between 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 Kenosha's Lake Front Stadium, but l ...

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 a ...

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 ...

. She posted a collective .178

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 52 games, driving in five runs while

scoring Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian m ...

15 times. Abbott opened the 1947 season 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 for them as a regular at

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 ...

. She hit .141 with 27 runs and 15 RBI, including 18 stolen bases and her only career

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 ...

.The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

Career statistics

Batting Fielding

Facts

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League folded in . It was a neglected chapter of sports history, at least until , when was inaugurated a permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, New York, which is dedicated to the entire league rather than any individual figure. After that,

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

Penny Marshall Carole Penny MarshallBorn Carole Penny Marshall in 1943, as per ''My Mother Was Nuts, a Memoir'', p. 10; . Copyright 2012 (October 15, 1943 – December 17, 2018) was an American actress, director and producer. She is known for her role as ...

premiered her

1992 film Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...

A League of Their Own ''A League of Their Own'' is a 1992 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Penny Marshall that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). The film stars Tom Hanks, Geena ...

'', a fictional history centered in the first season of the AAGPBL. Starring

Geena Davis Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis (born January 21, 1956) is an American actor

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

, Madonna,

Lori Petty Lori Petty (born October 14, 1963) is an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She is noted for her roles in the films ''Point Break'' (1991), ''A League of Their Own'' (1992), '' Free Willy '' (1993), and the title role in '' Tank Girl' ...

and

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series '' Star Search'' ...

, this film brought a rejuvenated interest to the extinct league. Abbott and the other girls that represented Canada in the AAGPBL form part of the aforementioned display at Cooperstown. They also gained induction into the

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (french: Temple de la renommée du baseball canadien) is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museum commemorates great players, teams, and accomplishments of baseball in Canada. H ...

in .Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
/ref>

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Velma 1929 births 1987 deaths All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Baseball people from Saskatchewan Baseball second basemen Baseball third basemen Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States Canadian female baseball players Fort Wayne Daisies players Kenosha Comets players Peoria Redwings players Rockford Peaches players Sportspeople from Regina, Saskatchewan 20th-century American women