Vivian Anderson ''Sheriffs(April 21, 1921 – December 21, 2012) was an

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

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 the season. Listed at , 140 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.Vivian Sheriffs – Biography / Obituary
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''. Retrieved 2019-04-11. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Vivian Anderson played with her hometown

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 ...

in their championship season. Unfortunately, she severely injured two fingers of her throwing hand that shortened her playing career in her rookie year. At age of 13, Vivian began playing softball in a league which required its players to be 16. "I cheated on my age a little," she admitted in an interview. She attended West Division High School in Milwaukee, where she played in the school baseball and basketball teams. In 1942 she married Daniel Anderson, her assistant coach, just when she turned 21 years old. She was spotted by AAGPBL scouts while playing in a Milwaukee league, and sent her an invitation to the league's

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

camp at

Peru, Illinois Peru is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The population was 9,896 at the 2020 census, down from 10,295 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. Peru and its twin city, LaSalle, make up ...

.The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League ״Andy״, as her teammates nicknamed her, tried out at third base and learned the skills of the game from Chicks'

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

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 ...

, to become the first player from her hometown on the Milwaukee team. The strong-armed third sacker was later joined by pitcher

Sylvia Wronski Sylvia Wronski traka (December 2, 1924 – November 28, 1997) was a pitcher who played for parts of two seasons in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 140 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. A member of ...

, making them the only two Milwaukee natives to play for their hometown Chicks. On May 27, 1944, Anderson started at third base and batted eighth in the order during the Chicks’ inaugural game at Borchert Field, a home contest. She scored the first-ever Chicks’ run, after reaching base on an infield single, in a 5–4, 11-inning loss to 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 ...

. But her baseball career ended abruptly in a round trip during her 11th game of the season. ''The ball, the base and the runner all came together at the same time'', she explained. As a result, she fractured her index and middle fingers on her right hand. A doctor advised immediate amputation of her fingers, but another said he could fix them. She would choose the second option, being replaced in the Chicks roster by

Doris Tetzlaff Doris Tetzlaff ��Tetz″(January 1, 1921 – April 11, 1998) was an infielder and chaperone in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5'5", 155 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. Little is known about this woman wh ...

. Milwaukee clinched the 1944 AAGPBL title with a best-of-seven series victory over the Kenosha Comets. Always a team player who wanted to support her manager and teammates, Anderson accompanied the Chicks to all seven of those games played at Kenosha's Lake Front Stadium, because the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

were using Borchert Field for their American Association league playoffs. After healing, Anderson moved to Chicago and played for the National Girls Baseball League Chicago Bluebirds for the next two years. She then returned to her hometown, eventually landing with the semi-professional Milwaukee Jets. She divorced her husband after World War II and worked for Allied Van Lines moving company in office management, the secretarial field, public relations, loan closing, dispatching, and credit/collections. At age 83, she worked part-time in an office, namely for a national furniture mover, Barrett Moving and Storage Co., agent for

United Van Lines United Van Lines is an American moving and relocation company and a subsidiary of UniGroup, Inc. Background The concept which evolved into United Van Lines originated in 1928 when Return Loads Service, Inc. was formed in Cleveland, Ohio, to arra ...

, just to keep busy, before retiring in 2010 at the age of 89. In her spare time, Anderson continued to be active in sports playing field hockey and basketball. Also a talented bowler for 50 years, she belonged to the local 600 club. She 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 ...

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 in 1988 to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Besides this, in 2001 she was honored by having her name added to the Wall of Honor inside Miller Park, home of the National League

, during what turned out to be the first induction in the ballpark. The same year she participated in the SABR convention held in Milwaukee. Vivian Anderson never left her hometown area and continued to live in her own home as late as 2012.

Career statistics

Batting Fielding All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Vivian All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Milwaukee Chicks players Baseball players from Milwaukee 1921 births 2012 deaths National Girls Baseball League players 21st-century American women American female baseball players