Marie Wegman
Encyclopedia
Marie Wegman was an utility
infielder
/outfielder
and pitcher
who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
. Listed at 5' 7", 130 lb., she batted and threw right handed.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio
, Marie Wegman had her first contact with baseball at the age of three when her father taught her how to throw and hit a ball. The oldest of seven children, she grew up playing scrub baseball
with her brothers and the neighborhood boys. She did not play organized softball
until she was 14. At the time, softball was not offered at school for girls, so she joined an industrial league and played on several traveling teams.
Wegman was in a drugstore when was spotted by a scout
of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She was offered a contract, but turned it down. Nevertheless, when Wegman found out she would train in Havana, Cuba and that the pay was more than she was making in a factory, she reconsidered. All the AAGPBL teams stayed at the Seville Biltmore Hotel and were filmed for Fox Movietone News
going down the steps at the University of Havana
, while their exhibition games were played at Estadio Latinoamericano
.
Wegman moved around for a while in a brief period of four years, as the AAGPBL shifted players as needed to help teams stay afloat. She entered the circuit in 1947 with the Rockford Peaches
, playing for them one year before joining the Fort Wayne Daisies
(1948) and then found herself on the move again, this time to the Muskegon Lassies
(1949), and then the Grand Rapids Chicks
(1950).
During her first season with the Peaches Wegman got homesick, although she loved baseball. ″Blackie,″ as she was called, played primarly at third base
and second base. Eventually, she also played at outfield
and as a relief pitcher
. She considered herself more of a defensive player. I had problems with curveball
s, she explained.
Wegman was used sparingly in her first three years. Her most productive came in 1950, her final season, when she posted a career-high .234 batting average
in 94 games, driving in
27 runs and scoring
26 times while stealing
22 bases, also career numbers. She was added to the All-Star Team as a replacement player.
In a four-year career, Wegman posted a 180 average and a .231 on-base percentage in 291 games. She pitched briefly in 1948, going 0-0 with a 6.56 earned run average
in three games, including nine walks
and five strikeout
s in 11 innings of work.
She also made two appearances in the post season with Muskegon (1949) and Grand Rapids (1950), going 8-for-31 for a .258 average with three runs, two RBI and two stolen bases in nine games.
Following her baseball career, Wegman returned home to help out her family. She regretted her father's absence, because he died in 1945 and was not able to see her play professional baseball. She attended classes at the University of Cincinnati
while working as a designer of packaging equipment and machinery. She later worked for Lodge & Shipley company until her retirement in 1988. Late in the year, she became part of Women in Baseball, a permanent display based at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York
, which was unveiled to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League rather than individual baseball personalities.
Marie Wegman died of a heart failure in Delhi Township, Ohio
at the age of 78.
Collective fielding
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....
infielder
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...
/outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
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' 7", 130 lb., she batted and threw right handed.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, Marie Wegman had her first contact with baseball at the age of three when her father taught her how to throw and hit a ball. The oldest of seven children, she grew up playing scrub baseball
Scrub baseball
Scrub baseball is a way of playing baseball with no teams. The number of players is variable, and score is not kept, as the idea is "each against all"...
with her brothers and the neighborhood boys. She did not play organized 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...
until she was 14. At the time, softball was not offered at school for girls, so she joined an industrial league and played on several traveling teams.
Wegman was in a drugstore when was spotted by a scout
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...
of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She was offered a contract, but turned it down. Nevertheless, when Wegman found out she would train in Havana, Cuba and that the pay was more than she was making in a factory, she reconsidered. All the AAGPBL teams stayed at the Seville Biltmore Hotel and were filmed for Fox Movietone News
Movietone News
Movietone News is a newsreel that ran from 1928 to 1963 in the United States, and from 1929 to 1979 in the United Kingdom.-History:It is known in the U.S. as Fox Movietone News, produced cinema, sound newsreels from 1928 to 1963 in the U.S., from 1929 to 1979 in the UK , and from 1929 to 1975 in...
going down the steps at the University of Havana
University of Havana
The University of Havana or UH is a university located in the Vedado district of Havana, Cuba. Founded in 1728, the University of Havana is the oldest university in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas...
, while their exhibition games were played at Estadio Latinoamericano
Estadio Latinoamericano
The Estadio Latinoamericano is a stadium in Havana, Cuba. It is primarily used for baseball. Gran Stadium, a spacious pitchers' park with prevailing winds blowing in and boasting a playing surface and lighting system of major-league quality, was built in 1946 as the top baseball park in Latin...
.
Wegman moved around for a while in a brief period of four years, as the AAGPBL shifted players as needed to help teams stay afloat. She entered the circuit in 1947 with the 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....
, 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...
(1948) and then found herself on the move again, this time to the 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....
(1949), and then the 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....
(1950).
During her first season with the Peaches Wegman got homesick, although she loved baseball. ″Blackie,″ as she was called, played primarly at third base
Third Base
is a 1978 Japanese film directed by Yōichi Higashi.-External links:...
and second base. Eventually, she also played at outfield
Outfield
The outfield is a sporting term used in cricket and baseball to refer to the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield...
and as a relief pitcher
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
. She considered herself more of a defensive player. I had problems with curveball
Curveball
The curveball is a type of pitch in baseball thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball causing it to dive in a downward path as it approaches the plate. Its close relatives are the slider and the slurve. The "curve" of the ball varies from pitcher to...
s, she explained.
Wegman was used sparingly in her first three years. Her most productive came in 1950, her final season, when she posted a career-high .234 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 :...
in 94 games, 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...
27 runs and 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...
26 times while stealing
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...
22 bases, also career numbers. She was added to the All-Star Team as a replacement player.
In a four-year career, Wegman posted a 180 average and a .231 on-base percentage in 291 games. She pitched briefly in 1948, going 0-0 with a 6.56 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...
in three games, including nine walks
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...
and five 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 in 11 innings of work.
She also made two appearances in the post season with Muskegon (1949) and Grand Rapids (1950), going 8-for-31 for a .258 average with three runs, two RBI and two stolen bases in nine games.
Following her baseball career, Wegman returned home to help out her family. She regretted her father's absence, because he died in 1945 and was not able to see her play professional baseball. She attended classes at the University of Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
while working as a designer of packaging equipment and machinery. She later worked for Lodge & Shipley company until her retirement in 1988. Late in the year, she became part of Women in Baseball, a permanent display based at 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...
, which was unveiled to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League rather than individual baseball personalities.
Marie Wegman died of a heart failure in Delhi Township, Ohio
Delhi Township, Hamilton County, Ohio
Delhi Township is one of the twelve townships of Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 30,104 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the southwestern part of the county along the Ohio River, it has the following borders:...
at the age of 78.
Career statistics
Batting| 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,... | AB At bat In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance... | 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... | H 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.... | 2B Double (baseball) In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice.... | 3B 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.... | HR 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... | 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... | SB 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... | 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.... | 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 :... | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 291 | 834 | 60 | 150 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 51 | 51 | 102 | 119 | .180 | .272 | .231 |
Collective fielding
| 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,... | PO | A Assist (baseball) In baseball, an assist is a defensive statistic, baseball being one of the few sports in which the defensive team controls the ball. An assist is awarded to every defensive player who fields or touches the ball prior to the recording of a putout, even if the contact was unintentional... | E Error (baseball) In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ... | TC Total chances In baseball statistics, total chances , also called chances offered, represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is calculated as follows: Total Chances = assists + putouts + errors. Chances accepted refers to the total of putouts and assists only. Fielding... | DP 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".... | FA 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... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 247 | 349 | 527 | 92 | 968 | 32 | .905 |