Lillian Faralla [Lil] is a former female 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...

 and utility

Utility player

In sport, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently, a sort of jack of all trades. Sports in which the term is often used include association football , baseball, rugby, rugby league, water polo and softball....

 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:...

. She batted and threw right-handed.

A brief history

The early 1940s saw unprecedented numbers of women entering the public realm in numerous traditionally male occupations. The 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...

 left scores of businesses, including baseball, without adequate labor. Driven by the fear that 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...

 would be shut down for the duration of the war, 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...

 created a women’s league as a backup plan to keep baseball alive. The circuit existed from 1943 to 1954. It eventually became known as the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL).

Early life

A native of San Pedro

San Pedro, Los Angeles, California

San Pedro is a port district of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was annexed in 1909 and is a major seaport of the area...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, Faralla started playing 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...

 when she was 14 years old for a team in her hometown. She played for six years with four different teams in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, being traded back and forth a couple of times when other teams had injuries, because she was able to fill in since she played a number of positions. A hard-throwing pitcher, she also appeared at second base, third

Third Base

is a 1978 Japanese film directed by Yōichi Higashi.-External links:...

, and right field.

AAGPBL career

Faralla entered the league in 1946 with the 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....

, playing for them one year before joining 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...

 (1947), 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...

 (1948–1949), 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...

 (1950), and coming back to South Bend (1951). She posted a career-high 19 victories in 1949, but her career milestone came in 1948, when she pitched two no-hitters in that season. She reached the playoffs with the Blue Sox in all three seasons she played for them, including the championship team in 1951.

Women should have their own league (...) The game should be adapted for women players (...) Enjoying something you like to do and getting paid for it, Faralla recalled in an interview. It was the lessons of baseball, taught by AAGPBL managers

Manager (baseball)

In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...

 as Bill Allington

Bill Allington

William Baird Allington was an American Minor league baseball player and manager. Listed at 5' 9" , 160 lb., Allington batted and threw right-handed. He was born in St. Clair County, Michigan....

, that the women would remember most about their time in the field of play. After the circuit folded in 1954, many of them would go on to coach softball and baseball themselves for schools and other organizations with teams.

In November 1988, Faralla and the rest of the girls finally received the recognition they deserved, when the entire AAGPBL was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 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...

 rather than any individual player.

Faralla currently lives in Coronado, California

Coronado, California

Coronado, also known as Coronado Island, is an affluent resort city located in San Diego County, California, 5.2 miles from downtown San Diego. Its population was 24,697 at the 2010 census, up from 24,100 at the 2000 census. U.S. News and World Report lists Coronado as one of the most expensive...

.

Statistics

Pitching						|	| Batting
GP Games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although exceptions are made if the pitcher announced in the starting lineup is injured before facing a batter, perhaps while...	W–L	PCT 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...	BB Base on balls A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...	SO 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....	ERA 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...	GP Games played Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...	BA 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 :...	R 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...	RBI 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...
140	55–55	.500	392	238	2.00	266	.209	43	63

Sources