Vivian Caroline Kellogg €³Kelly″(November 6, 1922 – December 13, 2013) was an American baseball player who played
first base
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
from through 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 ...
. She batted and threw right-handed.
Kellogg was born and raised in
Jackson, Michigan
Jackson is the only city and county seat of Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534, down from 36,316 at the 2000 census. Located along Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127, it is approxi ...
. She grew up playing sandlot ball with her neighborhood kids at an early age, most of them boys, but did not start playing organized softball until she was 16. Kellogg graduated from Jackson High School in 1943 and was approached by a scout of the AAGPBL when she was playing softball for the Jackson Regent Cafe team in a state tournament. After school she had played basketball, volleyball, tennis, and field hockey in addition to softball. Kellogg signed a contract offer for $75 a week plus food expenses when she first joined the league, because that figure doubled her pay as a Bell Telephone operator at the time.
Kellogg entered the AAGPBL in 1944 with the expansion
Minneapolis Millerettes
The Minneapolis Millerettes were an expansion All-American Girls Professional Baseball League team that played for one season in 1944 based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Millerettes played home games at Nicollet Park, home of the men's minor lea ...
. She hit a .202 batting average in 111 games, including 46 runs batted in while scoring 20 runs. The Millerettes, managed by former major leaguer Bubber Jonnard, compiled the worst mark of the league (45–72) and finished last in both halves of the season, 8½ games back of fifth place overall, 26½ out of first. The team did have some good performances from
Helen Callaghan
Helen Callaghan Candaele St. Aubin (March 13, 1923 – December 8, 1992) was a left-handed center fielder who appeared in five seasons in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), playing under the name Helen Callaghan.
and
Faye Dancer
Faye Katherine Dancer (April 24, 1925 – May 22, 2002) was a center fielder who played from through for three teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 145 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.
Women i ...
, two of the top batters in the league, while the pitching staff was led by Dorothy Wiltse, who posted a 20–16 record with a 1.88 earned run average (fourth in the league), and Annabelle Lee, who finished 11–14 with a 2.43 ERA and hurled the first perfect game in the league's history. Due to the lack of fan support and close competition, the Millerettes folded at the end of the season and were replaced by the Fort Wayne Daisies in 1944.
Kellogg spent the rest of her career in the league with the Daisies, averaging 100 or more games at first base in five of her six seasons for them, with a career-high 126 games in 1948. In that year, she also posted career-numbers in average (.248),
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 ...
(117), runs (52) and RBI (43), while leading the league with most
at-bat
In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...
s (472) and games played at first base. Both durable and dependable defensive player, she missed a significant part of the 1946 season after suffering a severe knee injury. She earned trips to the playoffs in 1945 and from 1948 through 1950, but Fort Wayne struggled in the post-season and never won a championship title. She was forced to retire in 1951, due to a recurrent knee injury.
Following her baseball career, Kellogg returned to her home town of Jackson, Michigan. She eventually moved to the nearby village of Brooklyn in 1968. After baseball she worked as a dentist receptionist for 30 years, retiring in 1979, while continuing to participate in many sport activities, mainly bowling. Her prowess in this area led to her induction into the Jackson Bowling Hall of Fame in 1992, being also named as Grand Marshal in a parade. After that she became a
Little League Baseball
Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizationVivian Kellogg Field was dedicated at the Little League complex of Brooklyn.
Kellogg is part of the AAGPBL 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 ...
, which was inaugurated in in honor of the entire league rather than individual baseball personalities. She remained a Brooklyn resident and the field containing her namesake is the current home of the Columbia Central High School softball program.
On December 13, 2013, Kellogg died at the age of 91.
Career statistics
Batting
Fielding
''All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book'' – W. C. Madden. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2000. Format: Paperback, 294pp. Language: English.