Fern Shollenberger
Encyclopedia
Fern Shollenberger [Shelly] (May 18, 1923 - December 24, 1977) was a third base
woman who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
. Listed at 5' 4", 125 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.
and number of double play
s turned from 1949 through 1951, as her .942 career fielding percentage
is the highest of any defender at third base in AAGPBL history. She also was selected five times for the All-Star Team
.
, Shollenberger was the daughter of Alvas Shollenberger, a machinist, and Fannie (née Young) Shollenberger. She grew up with three brothers and one sister. One of her brothers, Kenneth, recalled that sporting activity was hugely popular in the household. In her early years, she often played basketball
and baseball
with her brothers. She idolized Babe Ruth
and always dreamed of playing baseball someday; dreamed of the sound of the ball smacking an oiled mitt, the crack of a bat, the fans cheers. At Hamburg High School, she participated energetically in every available sport and starred both in basketball and baseball.
signed Shollenberger after seeing her play in an amateur softball league in Hamburg. She entered the league in 1946 with the Kenosha Comets
, playing for them five years before joining the Kalamazoo Lassies
(1952-'54). While the Comets were invariability low in the standings, their fielding was always among the best in the league, and Shollenberger was one of the key reasons. In her rookie season, she posted a .225 batting average
with 35 runs
, 24 runs batted in, and 35 stolen base
s in 94 games. Between 1947 and 1949 she dropped to .165, .210 and .178 respectively, but rebounded in 1950 with a .254 average, 106 hits
and 48 runs –all career-numbers–, earning the first of her five consecutive All-Star selections. In 1951 she matched her average and runs scored numbers, while driving in 21 runs.
After the Comets folded in 1951 Shollenberger moved on to play with the Lassies, to stabilize an infield
that included June Peppas
(1B), Nancy Mudge
(2B) and Dorothy Schroeder
(SS
). Her most productive season came in 1954, when she posted career-highs in average (.268), home run
s (8) and RBI (58). She also earned her fifth All-Star selection and was a member of the Kalamazoo Lassies Champion team, during what turned out to be the AAGPBL final season. She formed part of some Lassies rallies in the final Series against the Fort Wayne Daisies
, which included a towering home run off Maxine Kline
in Game One.
In 1975, Shollenberger and her father Alvas were killed in a motor vehicle collision.
Third Base
is a 1978 Japanese film directed by Yōichi Higashi.-External links:...
woman 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' 4", 125 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.
Brief profile
Shollenberger was a fine base runner, clever, coaxing batter, and skillful third sacker and hard thrower. She paced the AAGPBL third basewomen in fielding percentageFielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball...
and number of double play
Double play
In baseball, a double play for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two"....
s turned from 1949 through 1951, as her .942 career fielding percentage
Fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball...
is the highest of any defender at third base in AAGPBL history. She also was selected five times for the All-Star Team
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League All-Star Team
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was a women's professional baseball circuit which existed for twelve seasons from through ....
.
Early life
A native of Hamburg, PennsylvaniaHamburg, Pennsylvania
Hamburg is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,114 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Hamburg, Germany.-Geography:Hamburg is located at ....
, Shollenberger was the daughter of Alvas Shollenberger, a machinist, and Fannie (née Young) Shollenberger. She grew up with three brothers and one sister. One of her brothers, Kenneth, recalled that sporting activity was hugely popular in the household. In her early years, she often played 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...
and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
with her brothers. She idolized Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
and always dreamed of playing baseball someday; dreamed of the sound of the ball smacking an oiled mitt, the crack of a bat, the fans cheers. At Hamburg High School, she participated energetically in every available sport and starred both in basketball and baseball.
AAGPBL career
An AAGPBL scoutScout (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...
signed Shollenberger after seeing her play in an amateur softball league in Hamburg. She entered the league in 1946 with 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...
, playing for them five years before joining 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...
(1952-'54). While the Comets were invariability low in the standings, their fielding was always among the best in the league, and Shollenberger was one of the key reasons. In her rookie season, she posted a .225 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 :...
with 35 runs
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...
, 24 runs batted in, and 35 stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
s in 94 games. Between 1947 and 1949 she dropped to .165, .210 and .178 respectively, but rebounded in 1950 with a .254 average, 106 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....
and 48 runs –all career-numbers–, earning the first of her five consecutive All-Star selections. In 1951 she matched her average and runs scored numbers, while driving in 21 runs.
After the Comets folded in 1951 Shollenberger moved on to play with the Lassies, to stabilize an infield
Infield
Infield is a widely used term in sports terminology, its meaning depends on the sport in which it is used.- In baseball :In baseball the baseball diamond plus a region beyond it , has both grass and dirt, in contrast to the more distant, usually grass-covered outfield...
that included June Peppas
June Peppas
June Peppas is a former first basewoman and pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 5", 145 lb., she batted and threw left-handed.-Early life:...
(1B), Nancy Mudge
Nancy Mudge
Nancy Mudge [Cato] is a former second basewoman who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 2", 120 lb., Mudge batted and threw right handed. She was nicknamed ″Smudgie″....
(2B) and Dorothy Schroeder
Dorothy Schroeder
Dorothy Schroeder [″Dottie″] was a shortstop who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 7", 150 lb., Schroeder batted and threw right-handed...
(SS
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
). Her most productive season came in 1954, when she posted career-highs in average (.268), 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 (8) and RBI (58). She also earned her fifth All-Star selection and was a member of the Kalamazoo Lassies Champion team, during what turned out to be the AAGPBL final season. She formed part of some Lassies rallies in the final Series against the 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...
, which included a towering home run off Maxine Kline
Maxine Kline
Maxine Kline [Randall] is a former female starting pitcher who played from through with the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...
in Game One.
In 1975, Shollenberger and her father Alvas were killed in a motor vehicle collision.
Facts
- The AAGPBL folded in 1954, but there is now a permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, New YorkCooperstown, New YorkCooperstown 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...
since November 5, that honors those who were part of this unique experience. Shollenberger, along with the rest of the league's girls, is now enshrined in the Hall.
- A League of Their OwnA League of Their OwnA League of Their Own is a 1992 American comedy-drama film that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League . Directed by Penny Marshall, the film stars Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Tom Hanks, Madonna, and Rosie O'Donnell...
is a 1992 film about the first season of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. While the film does not use real names, filmmaker Penny MarshallPenny MarshallPenny Marshall is an American actress, producer and director.After playing several small roles for television, she was cast as Laverne DeFazio in the sitcom Laverne and Shirley...
seemed to be aiming for realism, as her film includes fake newsreel footage and pseudo-documentary present day scenes at the beginning and end of the fictitiousFictionFiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
story. Like many of her colleagues, Shollenberger, was relatively unknown until the Marshall's film was exhibited for the first time.
Sources
- Biographical Dictionary of American Sports: Q-Z – David L. Porter. Publisher: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000. Format: Hardcover, 672pp. Language: English. ISBN 978-0-313-31176-5
- Encyclopedia of women and baseball – Leslie A. Heaphy, Mel Anthony May. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2006. Format: Paperback, 438pp. Language: English. ISBN 978-0-7864-2100-8