Victoria Panos (March 20, 1920 – April 29, 1986)
AAGPBL: Vickie Panos
/ref> was Canadian baseball player who played as an 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 ...
for two different teams 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' 3", 120 lb., Panos batted left-handed and threw left-handed. Sometimes she is credited as ''Vicky Pano''.
Career
A native of Moose Jaw
Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javians ...
, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
, 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 ...
to Greek-Canadian
Greek Canadians ( el, Ελληνοκαναδοί) are Canadian citizens who have full or partial Greek heritage or people who emigrated from Greece and reside in Canada. According to the 2021 Census, there were 262,140 Canadians who claimed Gre ...
parents, Panos is one of three descendants of Greek migrants to play in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, the others being Annastasia Batikis
Annastasia Batikis 'Stash''(March 15, 1927 – March 12, 2016) was a center fielder who played for the Racine Belles of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the season. Listed at , 125 lb., she batted and threw left- ...
and Kay Lionikas
Irene Kay Lionikis (November 5, 1923 – August 7, 1978) was an American professional baseball player from 1948 through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She is sometimes credited as Kay Lionikas or Kay Lionikdas.
Career
A ...
.
Panos entered the AAGPBL in 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 ...
, playing for them in part of the season before joining the eventual league champion 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 ...
. She excelled as one of the team's top offensive stars, ranking near the top in several offensive categories.
In her only season, Panos scored 84 runs with 141 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 in 115 games, both second-most in the league behind the speedy Sophie Kurys
Sophie Kurys (May 14, 1925 – February 17, 2013) was a former second basewoman who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , , Kurys batted and threw right-handed.
Career
A native of Flint, Michig ...
, who scored 87 times and set a league-record with 166 steals
Panos also hit a .263 batting average for sixth place and batted 106 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 ...
for the fifth, while posting a solid .367 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 ...
and a .978 fielding average.
In the postseason, Panos hit .214 with five runs and seven stolen bases for the Chicks, who went on to win the AAGPBL title after beating 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 ...
.
Milestone
*The AAGPBL folded in 1954, but there is now 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 ...
at 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 ...
since November 5, that honors those who were part of this unique experience. But like many of her AAGPBL colleagues, Vickie Panos was relatively unknown until the 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'' by filmmaker 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 ...
was exhibited for the first time.
See also
*Greek Canadians
Greek Canadians ( el, Ελληνοκαναδοί) are Canadian citizens who have full or partial Greek heritage or people who emigrated from Greece and reside in Canada. According to the 2021 Census, there were 262,140 Canadians who claimed Gre ...
References
* ''All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book'' – W. C. Madden. Publisher: McFarland & Company. Format: Paperback, 294pp. Language: English.
External links
AAGPBL Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Panos, Vickie
1920 births
1986 deaths
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players
Baseball people from Saskatchewan
Canadian baseball players
Canadian people of Greek descent
20th-century American women
Canadian expatriates in the United States
Canadian expatriates in Australia