Betty Wagoner
Encyclopedia
Betty Ann Wagoner was a right fielder
and pitcher
who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
. Listed at 5' 2", 110 lb., she batted and threw left handed.
An All-Star and a member of two championship teams, Betty Wagoner played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the final seven years of its existence. For most of her career Wagoner hit for batting average
, moving along baserunners
as an occasional slugger and often appeared among the league’s top twenty hitters. A smart and alert runner, she moved aggressively in the right situations to take the extra base. Armed with a strong, accurate throwing arm, she had good range at right field, catching almost everything that came her way and always knew what to do with the ball. Eventually, she played at center field or first base, serving also as an occasional starting pitcher
. She posted a 8-20 record in 32 pitching appearances, while her .271 batting average ranks her eleventh in the AAGPBL all-time list.
In 1942, chewing gum magnate and Chicago Cubs
owner Philip K. Wrigley
decided to start a women's professional softball
league fearing that World War II
would force a cancellation of the Major League Baseball
season. Wrigley had scouts
all over the United States
, Canada
and even Cuba
signing girls for tryouts. The circuit was initially called the All-American Girls Softball League, though early in the first season the name was changed to All American Girl's Baseball League. In its twelve years of history the AAGPBL evolved through many stages progressing far enough to become a regulation baseball game. These differences varied from the beginning of the league in 1943, progressively changing the pitching style, extending the length of the base paths and pitching distance and decreasing the size of the ball until the final season of play in 1954.
A native of Lebanon, Missouri
, Wagoner was a 1948 graduate of Bolivar High School
. She started to play softball
in Phillipsburg
on the boy's softball team in grade school and later joined the girl's softball team at Bolivar, playing also for the YWCA team of Springfield
during two summers.
Wagoner read about the AAGPBL in Life
magazine when she was 12 years old. I told my parents that someday I'd like to play in that league (if I was good enough), she recalled in an interview. After graduating at 17, she attended a tryout at Chicago. She passed the test and was rewarded with a contract to play in the circuit.
In 1948 the AAGPBL expanded to a historical peak of ten clubs divided into two divisions representing Eastern and Western zones. The Eastern division included the Chicago Colleens
, Fort Wayne Daisies
, Grand Rapids Chicks
, Muskegon Lassies
and South Bend Blue Sox
teams, while the Kenosha Comets
, Peoria Redwings
, Racine Belles
, Rockford Peaches
and Springfield Sallies
played in the Western Division. At the same time, the league made the switch from side-arm to overhand pitching.
Wagoner entered the league with the Lassies, playing for them only four days before joining South Bend for the rest of her career. In her rookie season, she hit a combined .278 (69-for-284) in 84 games for both teams. South Bend, with Marty McManus
at the helm, ended in third place with a 57-69 record and lost to Grand Rapids in the first round of the playoffs, three to two games. In Game 1, Jean Faut
pitched 20 innings to beat Alice Haylett
and Grand Rapids, 3–2, in which has been reported as being the longest game in AAGPBL post-season history. Grand Rapids won Game 2 in 11 innings, 3–2, to tie the series, but Lillian Faralla
hurled a four-hit, 2–1 victory in Game 3. In another extra-inning duel, Haylett took revenge in Game 4, defeating Faut and South Bend in 15 innings by a 1–0 score, while in decisive Game 5 Mildred Earp
silenced the South Bend hitters in a one-hit, 1–0 shutout
, and Grand Rapids advanced to the finals.
In 1949 Wagoner became the every right fielder of South Bend. She appeared in a career-high 113 games and hit .230 (87-for-379), scoring
58 runs while driving in
26 more. Throughout the regular season, South Bend, now managed by Dave Bancroft
, waged an up-and-down battle with Rockford for first place. Although South Bend had a four-game lead in August, both clubs tied with identical records of 75-36 at the end of the year. In the playoffs, Rockford eliminated South Bend in four straight games. By edict of league president Max Carey
, the playoff victory also made Rockford the regular season champion team.
By 1950 the advantage began to shift toward the batter. That year, most pitchers were still adjusting to the new 10-inch ball introduced the previous season. Also, the pitching distance, set at 43 feet before 1948 and increased to 50 feet in 1949, was augmented to 55 feet in 1950. Betty Foss
of Fort Wayne topped the league with a .346 average, while Rockford's Eleanor Callow
and Racine's Sophie Kurys
tied with seven home run
s, and Grand Rapids' Pepper Paire
finished with 70 runs batted in. Wagoner enjoyed a solid season, hitting .296 with 61 runs and 39 RBI in 106 games,. She also recorded career-best numbers in at-bats (388) and hits
(115), and was selected for the All-Star Team. South Bend finished in fifth place with a 55-55 mark and dropped out of the playoffs.
In 1951 Karl Winsch
took over as manager of South Bend. By the time the season rolled around, his wife Jean Faut
was a successful and established pitcher. She led the league in strikeout
s (135), tied for seventh in wins
(15), and ranked third in earned run average
(1.33) and in shutouts (seven). Wagoner, who was proficient at hitting line drives, played 110 games and hit a .272 average (102-for-375), driving in 41 runs and scoring 77 times to set career numbers in both categories. Faut reached her peak of the season on July 21, when she hurled a perfect game
against the visiting Rockford Peaches at Playland Park. Ahead 2–0, she struck out five of the last nine hitters, including pitching ace Helen Nicol
to end the game. Faut gave considerable credit for her perfect performance to the flawless fielding of her teammates. I had an extremely good team behind me, she recalled years later. To this day she remembered the shoestring catch Wagoner made on the right field foul line in the second inning. That was the only real scare I had. That was a tremendous catch, adding that Wagoner ran a long way on a dead run to snag it justoff the ground.
While South Bend placed third in the first-half standings, the team finished first in the second half, thus giving them a playoff berth. Their complete season record of 75 and 36 was best in the league in 1951, and the Blue Sox would end the season battling Rockford in the best-of-five championship round. The defending AAGPBL champion Rockford won the first two games, but South Bend won the next three games to clinch the title. Faut collected two of the victories, while Wagoner led all-hitters with a .600 average (6-for-10).
But everything came to a head in 1952, because South Bend manager Winsch became more demanding of his players. That season was to see Faut again lead the league in several pitching categories. She posted a 20-2 record in 23 games to set an all-time record in winning percentage
(.909). She also recorded a career-best 0.93 ERA and led all pitchers with 114 strikeouts, but the fact that her husband managed the team created friction between Faut and many of her teammates. Meanwhile, Wagoner raised her average to .295, including 64 runs and 27 RBI in 97 games. Nevertheless, some of the players bristled under Winsch's leadership, many of them refusing to speak to him or their star pitcher. Dissension within the South Bend team peaked just before the season ended, when flashy infielder Charlene Pryer
was disciplined following a dispute with Winsch. The incident occurred when he suspended Pryer from the team after she responded slowly to his order to pinch-run
late in a game. In protest, five South Bend teammates joined Pryer in a walkout, leaving Winsch's team short-handed for the playoffs. Pryer was reinstated at the club, but she decided to retire for good. The championship series was a repeat of the previous year with South Bend again facing Rockford. It was the second league championship for South Bend and the second time Faut pitched the decisive Game 5. She also hit two triples
and drove in two runs while turning in a 6–3 complete game victory.
In 1953 South Bend was weakened considerably by the player losses at the end of the previous season. The Blue Sox would finish the second from last, compiling a dismal 45-65 record. Wagoner dropped to .239 (84-for-352), driving in 27 runs while scoring 42 times in 97 games. In spite of everything that had gone wrong, Faut still turned in a solid season by leading the league in wins (17), strikeouts (153) and ERA (1.51) in 29 games, to win the Triple Crown
and Player of the Year honors. She was worn down from all the dissension and retired at the end of the season.
Wagoner saw limited action in 1954, but she still batting for average and went 48-for-150 to collect a .320 mark in just only 48 games, joining the All-Star team as a reserve outfielder. South Bend finished second (48-44) and advanced to the playoffs, but was beaten in the first round by the Kalamazoo Lassies
, who would end the season defeating Fort Wayne to become the winning team of the last championship in the league's history.
Following her baseball career, Wagoner took a job at Bendix Corporation
, where she worked as an office supervisor from 1952 to 1986. After retiring, she stayed active by constantly volunteering and by playing bowling
and basketball
. She gained induction into the Hall of Fame in Lebanon, Missouri, and also is part of the AAGPBL permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, New York
, which was inaugurated in in honor of the entire league rather than individual baseball personalities.
Wagoner was a long time resident of South Bend, Indiana
, where she died at the age of 75.
Right fielder
A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...
and pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was a women's professional baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. During the league's history, over 600 women played ball.-History:...
. Listed at 5' 2", 110 lb., she batted and threw left handed.
An All-Star and a member of two championship teams, Betty Wagoner played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the final seven years of its existence. For most of her career Wagoner hit for batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
, moving along baserunners
Baserunning
In baseball, baserunning is the act of running around the bases performed by members of the team at bat.In general, baserunning is a tactical part of the game with the goal of eventually reaching home to score a run. In fact, the goal of batting is generally to produce baserunners, or help move...
as an occasional slugger and often appeared among the league’s top twenty hitters. A smart and alert runner, she moved aggressively in the right situations to take the extra base. Armed with a strong, accurate throwing arm, she had good range at right field, catching almost everything that came her way and always knew what to do with the ball. Eventually, she played at center field or first base, serving also as an occasional starting pitcher
Starting pitcher
In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....
. She posted a 8-20 record in 32 pitching appearances, while her .271 batting average ranks her eleventh in the AAGPBL all-time list.
In 1942, chewing gum magnate and Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
owner Philip K. Wrigley
Philip K. Wrigley
Philip Knight Wrigley , sometimes also called P.K. or Phil. Born in Chicago, he was an American chewing gum manufacturer and executive in Major League Baseball, inheriting both those roles as the quiet son of his much more flamboyant father, William Wrigley Jr. After his father died in 1932, Philip...
decided to start a women's professional softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
league fearing that World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
would force a cancellation of the Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
season. Wrigley had scouts
Scout (sport)
In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...
all over the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and even Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
signing girls for tryouts. The circuit was initially called the All-American Girls Softball League, though early in the first season the name was changed to All American Girl's Baseball League. In its twelve years of history the AAGPBL evolved through many stages progressing far enough to become a regulation baseball game. These differences varied from the beginning of the league in 1943, progressively changing the pitching style, extending the length of the base paths and pitching distance and decreasing the size of the ball until the final season of play in 1954.
A native of Lebanon, Missouri
Lebanon, Missouri
Lebanon is a city in Laclede County, Missouri, United States. The estimated population in July 2009 was 14,292. The population was 12,155 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Laclede County. The Lebanon Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of Laclede County.-Geography:Lebanon is located at...
, Wagoner was a 1948 graduate of Bolivar High School
Bolivar, Missouri
Bolivar is the county seat of Polk County, Missouri, United States. The population was 10,325 at the 2010 census. The city was named for Bolivar, Tennessee, home to many of the original settlers, and like that city its name is pronounced to rhyme with Oliver...
. She started to play softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
in Phillipsburg
Phillipsburg, Missouri
Phillipsburg is a village in Laclede County, Missouri, United States. The population was 201 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Phillipsburg is located at ....
on the boy's softball team in grade school and later joined the girl's softball team at Bolivar, playing also for the YWCA team of Springfield
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...
during two summers.
Wagoner read about the AAGPBL in Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
magazine when she was 12 years old. I told my parents that someday I'd like to play in that league (if I was good enough), she recalled in an interview. After graduating at 17, she attended a tryout at Chicago. She passed the test and was rewarded with a contract to play in the circuit.
In 1948 the AAGPBL expanded to a historical peak of ten clubs divided into two divisions representing Eastern and Western zones. The Eastern division included the Chicago Colleens
Chicago Colleens
The Chicago Colleens were a women's professional baseball team who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team represented Chicago, Illinois and played their home games at Shewbridge Field....
, Fort Wayne Daisies
Fort Wayne Daisies
The Fort Wayne Daisies were a women's professional baseball team that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...
, Grand Rapids Chicks
Grand Rapids Chicks
The Grand Rapids Chicks were a women's professional baseball team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1945 to 1954, winning championships in 1947 and 1953....
, Muskegon Lassies
Muskegon Lassies
The Muskegon Lassies were one of the expansion teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in , representing Muskegon, Michigan. The team played their home games at Marsh Field....
and South Bend Blue Sox
South Bend Blue Sox
The South Bend Blue Sox were a women's professional baseball team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...
teams, while the Kenosha Comets
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 Kenosha's Lake Front Stadium, but later moved to Simmons Field.The Kenosha Comets were one...
, Peoria Redwings
Peoria Redwings
The Peoria Redwings were a women's professional baseball team who joined the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the season. The team represented Peoria, Illinois....
, Racine Belles
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 team played its home games at Horlick Field.-History:...
, Rockford Peaches
Rockford Peaches
The Rockford Peaches were a team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing out of Rockford, Illinois for the entire existence of the league from 1943 to 1954....
and Springfield Sallies
Springfield Sallies
The Springfield Sallies were a women's professional baseball team who joined the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the season. The team represented Springfield, Illinois, and played their games at Lanphier Ball Park....
played in the Western Division. At the same time, the league made the switch from side-arm to overhand pitching.
Wagoner entered the league with the Lassies, playing for them only four days before joining South Bend for the rest of her career. In her rookie season, she hit a combined .278 (69-for-284) in 84 games for both teams. South Bend, with Marty McManus
Marty McManus
Martin Joseph "Marty" McManus was a Major League Baseball infielder who played principally as a second baseman and third baseman .-St. Louis Browns: 1920-1926:...
at the helm, ended in third place with a 57-69 record and lost to Grand Rapids in the first round of the playoffs, three to two games. In Game 1, Jean Faut
Jean Faut
Jean Anna Faut [Winsch/Eastman] is a former female starting pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 4", 137 lb., she batted and threw right handed....
pitched 20 innings to beat Alice Haylett
Alice Haylett
Alice Haylett [Al or Sis] was a female pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 6", 155 lb., she batted and threw right-handed....
and Grand Rapids, 3–2, in which has been reported as being the longest game in AAGPBL post-season history. Grand Rapids won Game 2 in 11 innings, 3–2, to tie the series, but Lillian Faralla
Lillian Faralla
Lillian Faralla [Lil] is a former female pitcher and utility who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She batted and threw right-handed.-A brief history:...
hurled a four-hit, 2–1 victory in Game 3. In another extra-inning duel, Haylett took revenge in Game 4, defeating Faut and South Bend in 15 innings by a 1–0 score, while in decisive Game 5 Mildred Earp
Mildred Earp
Mildred Earp [Mid or Millie] is a former female pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 6", 135 lb., she batted and threw right handed....
silenced the South Bend hitters in a one-hit, 1–0 shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....
, and Grand Rapids advanced to the finals.
In 1949 Wagoner became the every right fielder of South Bend. She appeared in a career-high 113 games and hit .230 (87-for-379), scoring
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
58 runs while driving in
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
26 more. Throughout the regular season, South Bend, now managed by Dave Bancroft
Dave Bancroft
David James "Beauty" Bancroft was an American baseball player who played Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1930. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame....
, waged an up-and-down battle with Rockford for first place. Although South Bend had a four-game lead in August, both clubs tied with identical records of 75-36 at the end of the year. In the playoffs, Rockford eliminated South Bend in four straight games. By edict of league president Max Carey
Max Carey
Max George Carey was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball who starred for the Pittsburgh Pirates and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1961...
, the playoff victory also made Rockford the regular season champion team.
By 1950 the advantage began to shift toward the batter. That year, most pitchers were still adjusting to the new 10-inch ball introduced the previous season. Also, the pitching distance, set at 43 feet before 1948 and increased to 50 feet in 1949, was augmented to 55 feet in 1950. Betty Foss
Betty Foss
Betty Foss [Fossey] was a infielder and outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 10", 180 lb., she was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. She started her career as Betty Weaver but changed her last name to Foss after marrying...
of Fort Wayne topped the league with a .346 average, while Rockford's Eleanor Callow
Eleanor Callow
Eleanor Callow Squirt is a former Canadian female left fielder who played from through for three different teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Callow was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed...
and Racine's Sophie Kurys
Sophie Kurys
Sophie Kurys is a former second basewoman who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 5", 115 lb., Kurys batted and threw right-handed.-Career:...
tied with seven home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s, and Grand Rapids' Pepper Paire
Pepper Paire
Lavonne Paire Davis [″Pepper″] is a former catcher and infielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 4", 138 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.-Overview profile:...
finished with 70 runs batted in. Wagoner enjoyed a solid season, hitting .296 with 61 runs and 39 RBI in 106 games,. She also recorded career-best numbers in at-bats (388) and hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
(115), and was selected for the All-Star Team. South Bend finished in fifth place with a 55-55 mark and dropped out of the playoffs.
In 1951 Karl Winsch
Karl Winsch
Karl Edgar Winsch was a pitcher and manager in Minor league baseball. Listed at 5' 10", 180 lb., Winsch batted and threw right-handed....
took over as manager of South Bend. By the time the season rolled around, his wife Jean Faut
Jean Faut
Jean Anna Faut [Winsch/Eastman] is a former female starting pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 4", 137 lb., she batted and threw right handed....
was a successful and established pitcher. She led the league in strikeout
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
s (135), tied for seventh in wins
Win (baseball)
In professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only...
(15), and ranked third in earned run average
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
(1.33) and in shutouts (seven). Wagoner, who was proficient at hitting line drives, played 110 games and hit a .272 average (102-for-375), driving in 41 runs and scoring 77 times to set career numbers in both categories. Faut reached her peak of the season on July 21, when she hurled a perfect game
Perfect game
A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any...
against the visiting Rockford Peaches at Playland Park. Ahead 2–0, she struck out five of the last nine hitters, including pitching ace Helen Nicol
Helen Nicol
Helen Nicol is a Canadian former baseball pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League . Listed at 5' 3", 120 lb., Nicol batted and threw right-handed...
to end the game. Faut gave considerable credit for her perfect performance to the flawless fielding of her teammates. I had an extremely good team behind me, she recalled years later. To this day she remembered the shoestring catch Wagoner made on the right field foul line in the second inning. That was the only real scare I had. That was a tremendous catch, adding that Wagoner ran a long way on a dead run to snag it justoff the ground.
While South Bend placed third in the first-half standings, the team finished first in the second half, thus giving them a playoff berth. Their complete season record of 75 and 36 was best in the league in 1951, and the Blue Sox would end the season battling Rockford in the best-of-five championship round. The defending AAGPBL champion Rockford won the first two games, but South Bend won the next three games to clinch the title. Faut collected two of the victories, while Wagoner led all-hitters with a .600 average (6-for-10).
But everything came to a head in 1952, because South Bend manager Winsch became more demanding of his players. That season was to see Faut again lead the league in several pitching categories. She posted a 20-2 record in 23 games to set an all-time record in winning percentage
Winning percentage
In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win...
(.909). She also recorded a career-best 0.93 ERA and led all pitchers with 114 strikeouts, but the fact that her husband managed the team created friction between Faut and many of her teammates. Meanwhile, Wagoner raised her average to .295, including 64 runs and 27 RBI in 97 games. Nevertheless, some of the players bristled under Winsch's leadership, many of them refusing to speak to him or their star pitcher. Dissension within the South Bend team peaked just before the season ended, when flashy infielder Charlene Pryer
Charlene Pryer
Charlene Barbara Pryer [Mayer] was a female utility in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, playing mainly at second base and center field from through . Listed at 5' 1", 105 lb., Pryer batted and threw right-handed...
was disciplined following a dispute with Winsch. The incident occurred when he suspended Pryer from the team after she responded slowly to his order to pinch-run
Pinch runner
A pinch runner is a baseball player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing a player on base. In the typical case, the pinch runner is faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been substituted...
late in a game. In protest, five South Bend teammates joined Pryer in a walkout, leaving Winsch's team short-handed for the playoffs. Pryer was reinstated at the club, but she decided to retire for good. The championship series was a repeat of the previous year with South Bend again facing Rockford. It was the second league championship for South Bend and the second time Faut pitched the decisive Game 5. She also hit two triples
Triple (baseball)
In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
and drove in two runs while turning in a 6–3 complete game victory.
In 1953 South Bend was weakened considerably by the player losses at the end of the previous season. The Blue Sox would finish the second from last, compiling a dismal 45-65 record. Wagoner dropped to .239 (84-for-352), driving in 27 runs while scoring 42 times in 97 games. In spite of everything that had gone wrong, Faut still turned in a solid season by leading the league in wins (17), strikeouts (153) and ERA (1.51) in 29 games, to win the Triple Crown
Triple crown (baseball)
In Major League Baseball, a player earns the Triple Crown when he leads a league in three specific statistical categories. For batters, a player must lead the league in home runs, run batted in , and batting average; pitchers must lead the league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average...
and Player of the Year honors. She was worn down from all the dissension and retired at the end of the season.
Wagoner saw limited action in 1954, but she still batting for average and went 48-for-150 to collect a .320 mark in just only 48 games, joining the All-Star team as a reserve outfielder. South Bend finished second (48-44) and advanced to the playoffs, but was beaten in the first round by the Kalamazoo Lassies
Kalamazoo Lassies
The Kalamazoo Lassies were a team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team represented Kalamazoo, Michigan. Home games were initially played at Lindstrom Field, but later games were played at the Catholic Athletic Association Field, now the...
, who would end the season defeating Fort Wayne to become the winning team of the last championship in the league's history.
Following her baseball career, Wagoner took a job at Bendix Corporation
Bendix Corporation
The Bendix Corporation was an American manufacturing and engineering company which during various times in its 60 year existence made brake systems, aeronautical hydraulics, avionics, aircraft and automobile fuel control systems, radios, televisions and computers, and which licensed its name for...
, where she worked as an office supervisor from 1952 to 1986. After retiring, she stayed active by constantly volunteering and by playing bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. She gained induction into the Hall of Fame in Lebanon, Missouri, and also is part of the AAGPBL permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...
, which was inaugurated in in honor of the entire league rather than individual baseball personalities.
Wagoner was a long time resident of South Bend, Indiana
South Bend, Indiana
The city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...
, where she died at the age of 75.