Mildred Meacham (May 5, 1924 – January 7, 2017) 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 ...

. Listed at 5' 8", 160 lb., Meacham batted and threw right handed. She was nicknamed ″Meach″. Mildred Meacham was a fast base runner and showed good defensive skills at

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 ...

during her two seasons in the league. Born in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, Meacham grew up playing

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

while at high school. She played in the National Girls Baseball League of Chicago before joining the AAGPBL in 1947 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 ...

. During the midseason she was traded to the

Racine Belles The Racine Belles were one of the original teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing from through out of Racine, Wisconsin. The Belles won the league's first championship. The team played its home games at Horlick Fi ...

, as the league shifted players as needed to help some teams stay afloat. In 1948 Meacham became a regular with the

Springfield Sallies The Springfield Sallies were a women's professional baseball team who were members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1948 season and became a development team. The Sallies were based in Springfield, Illinois and played ...

, as part of a solid indield that included

Evelyn Wawryshyn Evelyn Wawryshyn itwin/Moroz(November 11, 1924 – February 3, 2022) was a Canadian second base who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 3", 130 lb., Wawryshyn batted and threw right-ha ...

at second base,

Doris Neal Doris M. Neal (August 30, 1928 – July 7, 2012) was an infielder and outfielder who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 4", 128 lb., she batted and threw right handed. Doris Neal was a light-hitti ...

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

, and

June Schofield June Rose Schofield (June 1, 1926 – June 24, 2002), nicknamed Moneybags, was a Canadian-American infielder who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She batted and threw right handed. Born in Toronto, Ontario, June Sc ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

. She posted a career .179

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

with 24

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 97 games, while driving in 10 runs and

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 ...

26 times.The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League In 1988, Meacham received further recognition when she became 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 to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Meacham, who lived in Charlotte, North Carolina, was one of the oldest living former AAGPBL players. She died January 7, 2017.Mildred Meacham Obituary
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Career statistics

Batting Fielding

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meacham, Mildred 1924 births 2017 deaths All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Baseball players from Charlotte, North Carolina 21st-century American women