The Minneapolis Millerettes were an expansion

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 ...

team that played for one season in 1944 based in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. The Millerettes played home games at

Nicollet Park Nicollet Park ( ) was a baseball ground located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The venue was home to the minor league Minneapolis Millers of the Western League and later American Association from 1896 to 1955. The ballpark opened o ...

, home of the men's

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

History

The Millerettes' uniform consisted of a maroon cap and socks and a pink dress uniform with the circular Minneapolis city seal at the center of the chest. Like their expansion counterparts the

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 Rob ...

, the team did not have an official nickname. They were alternately known as "Millerettes", after the city's American Association ballclub, and "Lakers" from Minnesota's nickname, "Land of 10,000 Lakes". That nickname would be adopted by the city's professional basketball team three years later. Halfway through the season, the league gave up on the Minneapolis market and the Millerettes became a

traveling team In professional team sports, a traveling team (also called a road team) is a member of a professional league that never competes in a home arena or stadium. This differs from a barnstorming team as a barnstorming team competes in exhibition games ...

playing all games on the road, earning another nickname, the "Orphans". The team was managed by Claude "Bubber" Jonnard, although the manager has often been incorrectly identified as Claude's brother Clarence

Bubber Jonnard Clarence James "Bubber" Jonnard (November 23, 1897 – August 12, 1977) was a Major League Baseball catcher. He played for the Chicago White Sox in 1920, the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1922, the Philadelphia Phillies in 1926, 1927 and 1935, and the S ...

,. The most significant players were

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Dorothy Wiltse, who posted a 20–16 record and a 1.88

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

in 38 appearances, and

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 catch ...

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.

, who finished second in the league in

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

(.287) and third in runs (81),

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 s ...

(114),

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s (3), and

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hit (baseball), hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single (baseball), single, 2 for a double (baseball), double, 3 for a triple (baseball), triple and 4 ...

(136). Pitcher

Annabelle Lee Annabelle Lee Harmon (January 22, 1922 – July 3, 2008) was an American female pitcher who played from through with four teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 120 lb, Lee was a switch-hitter and threw ...

threw the first

perfect game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New Yo ...

in AAGPBL history on July 29, 1944, against the Kenosha Comets. The following year, the Millerettes moved to

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

, where they became 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 ...

All-time players roster

* Kay Blumetta * Lorraine Borg *

Margaret Callaghan Margaret Ann Jay, Baroness Jay of Paddington, (née Callaghan; born 18 November 1939), is a British politician for the Labour Party and former BBC television producer and presenter. Early life Her father was James Callaghan, a Labour politicia ...

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 in ...

* Julie Dusanko * Loretta Dwojak * Elizabeth Farrow * Edna Frank *

Audrey Haine Audrey Haine Daniels (May 9, 1927 – September 11, 2021) was a pitcher who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League between the and seasons. Listed at 5' 9", 150 lb., she batted and threw right handed.

* Lillian Jackson * Marguerite Jones *

Vivian Kellogg Vivian Caroline Kellogg ��Kelly″(November 6, 1922 – December 13, 2013) was an American baseball player who played first base from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She batted and threw right-handed. Kellogg wa ...

Audrey Kissel Audrey Susan Kissel ''Lafser(February 27, 1926 – March 19, 2017) was an American infielder who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She batted and threw right handed.Annabelle Lee Annabelle Lee Harmon (January 22, 1922 – July 3, 2008) was an American female pitcher who played from through with four teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 120 lb, Lee was a switch-hitter and threw ...

Ruth Lessing Ruth Elizabeth "Tex" Lessing (August 15, 1925 – October 26, 2000) was an American female catcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 128 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. Ruth ...

Elizabeth Mahon Elizabeth B. Mahon (November 18, 1919 – September 6, 2001) was an American outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 135 lb., Mahon batted and threw right-handed. She was born i ...

* Anna Meyer * Lavonne Paire * Irene Ruhnke * Lorraine Torrison *

Betty Trezza Betty "Moe" Trezza (August 4, 1925 – January 16, 2007) was an American professional baseball player. An infield and outfield utility, she played from through for four different teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. T ...

* Margaret Wigiser * Dorothy Wiltse

References

Sources

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League historyAll-American Girls Professional Baseball League official website – 1944 Minneapolis Millerettes seasonAAGPBL Official Website – 1944 Minneapolis Millerettes imageAll-American Girls Professional Baseball League official website – Manager/Player profile search results
*''All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book'' – W. C. Madden. Publisher:

McFarland & Company McFarland & Company, Inc., is an American independent book publisher based in Jefferson, North Carolina, that specializes in academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tert ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. Format:

Hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as casebound (At p. 247.)) book is one bookbinding, bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other clo ...

, 294pp. Language:

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

. *''Women at Play: The Story of Women in Baseball'' – Barbara Gregorich. Publisher:

Harcourt Brace and Company Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. It was known at different stages in its history as Harcourt Brace, & Co. and Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. From 1919 to 1 ...

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

. Format:

Softcover A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardback (hardcover) books are bound with cardboar ...

, 214 pp. Language:

. *''The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: A Biographical Dictionary'' – W. C. Madden. Publisher:

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. Format:

, 295 pp. Language:

. {{All-American Girls Professional Baseball League All-American Girls Professional Baseball League teams 1944 establishments in Minnesota 1944 disestablishments in Minnesota Baseball teams established in 1944 Baseball teams disestablished in 1944 Baseball in Minneapolis Professional baseball teams in Minnesota Defunct baseball teams in Minnesota Women's sports in Minneapolis 1940s in Minneapolis