Pauline Pirok
Encyclopedia
Pauline Pirok [pier-ock] (born October 18, 1926) is a former infielder
who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
. Listed at 5' 2", 132 lb., Pirok batted and threw right-handed. She earned the nickname Pinky Pirok.
Chewing gum magnate and Chicago Cubs
owner Philip K. Wrigley
decided, in 1942, to start a women's professional baseball league, concerned that the 1943 Major League Baseball
season might be canceled because of World War II
. Since the only organized ball for women in the country was softball, the league created a hybrid game which included both softball and baseball. Wrigley had scouts
all over the United States
, Canada
and even Cuba
signing girls for tryouts. About 500 girls attended the call. Of these, only 280 were invited to the final try-outs in Chicago, where 60 of them were chosen to become the first women to ever play professional baseball.
The players were placed on the rosters of four fifteen-player teams. Then, four non-Major League cities were selected that were in close proximity to the AAGPBL headquarters in Chicago and close to each other: Rockford
of Illinois
, South Bend
of Indiana
, and Racine
and Kenosha
of Wisconsin
. Publicist
Arthur Meyerhoff
was given the responsibility of coordinating operations with city officials and civic leaders in communities, as well as a projected budget was developed. The first spring training
of the new league was set for May 17, 1943, at Wrigley Field
in Chicago. Pauline Pirok survived the final cut to become one of the original players signed by the league.
A native of Chicago, Illinois, Pirok entered the AAGPBL in 1943 with the Kenosha Comets
, playing for them two and a half years before joining the South Bend Blue Sox
(1945–1948). During six years, she divided her playing time at third base
and shortstop
, making also a few appearances as an emergency pitcher
. Her most productive season came in 1943, when she hit a career-best .234 average
as a 17-year-old rookie. In that same season, Pirok helped Kenosha beat the Blue Sox in a game, 10–0, collecting four hits in five at-bats, including a double
and a triple
. In the following series against the Rockford Peaches
, which the Comets swept, she kept up her hot hitting going 4-for-10, including four of the eight runs that her team scored in the series. During two consecutive years the Comets advanced to the playoffs, but were beaten in the first round. At the end of the season, she was selected to the All-Star Team
.
Pirok started 1945 in good form. At one point during the season she was leading the league with 20 runs batted in, but Kenosha traded her to South Bend along with Phyllis Koehn
in return for Lois Florreich
and Dorothy Schroeder
. After that Pirok injured her ankle and lost the rest of the season. From 1946 to 1948, she was mostly used to fill at infield, outfield
and pinch hit, helping South Bend to made the playoffs in these years, but could not reach the league finals. She was also one of two hundred players to attend the first AAGPBL spring training outside the United States
, which was held in 1947 in Cuba
at the Gran Stadium de La Habana
.
Following her playing career, Pirok worked as a physical education
teacher for 36 years in the Chicago Public School
system. After retiring, she became an avid golf
er to stay active. Pirok is currently living in Orland Park, Illinois
.
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 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", 132 lb., Pirok batted and threw right-handed. She earned the nickname Pinky Pirok.
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, in 1942, to start a women's professional baseball league, concerned that the 1943 Major League Baseball
1943 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over St. Louis Cardinals *All-Star Game, July 13 at Shibe Park: American League, 5-3-Other champions:*Negro League World Series: Homestead Grays over Birmingham Black Barons...
season might be canceled because of 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...
. Since the only organized ball for women in the country was softball, the league created a hybrid game which included both softball and baseball. 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. About 500 girls attended the call. Of these, only 280 were invited to the final try-outs in Chicago, where 60 of them were chosen to become the first women to ever play professional baseball.
The players were placed on the rosters of four fifteen-player teams. Then, four non-Major League cities were selected that were in close proximity to the AAGPBL headquarters in Chicago and close to each other: Rockford
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, South Bend
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...
of Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, and Racine
Racine, Wisconsin
Racine is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city had a population of 82,196...
and Kenosha
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha is a city and the county seat of Kenosha County in the State of Wisconsin in United States. With a population of 99,218 as of May 2011, Kenosha is the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Kenosha is also the fourth-largest city on the western shore of Lake Michigan, following Chicago,...
of Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. Publicist
Publicist
A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album...
Arthur Meyerhoff
Arthur Meyerhoff
Arthur E. Meyerhoff was an advertising agency executive and entrepreneur. He was born in Chicago, Illinois.Meyerhoff founded his own agency, Arthur Meyerhoff Associates, in 1932 after persuading the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company that he could arrange for newspapers to place advertisements for Wrigley...
was given the responsibility of coordinating operations with city officials and civic leaders in communities, as well as a projected budget was developed. The first spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
of the new league was set for May 17, 1943, at Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
in Chicago. Pauline Pirok survived the final cut to become one of the original players signed by the league.
A native of Chicago, Illinois, Pirok entered the AAGPBL in 1943 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 two and a half years before joining the 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...
(1945–1948). During six years, she divided her playing time at third base
Third Base
is a 1978 Japanese film directed by Yōichi Higashi.-External links:...
and shortstop
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...
, making also a few appearances as an emergency 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...
. Her most productive season came in 1943, when she hit a career-best .234 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 :...
as a 17-year-old rookie. In that same season, Pirok helped Kenosha beat the Blue Sox in a game, 10–0, collecting four hits in five at-bats, including a double
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....
and a triple
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....
. In the following series against 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....
, which the Comets swept, she kept up her hot hitting going 4-for-10, including four of the eight runs that her team scored in the series. During two consecutive years the Comets advanced to the playoffs, but were beaten in the first round. At the end of the season, she was selected to 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 ....
.
Pirok started 1945 in good form. At one point during the season she was leading the league with 20 runs batted in, but Kenosha traded her to South Bend along with Phyllis Koehn
Phyllis Koehn
Phyllis C. Koehn [″Sugar″] was a pitcher and utility who played from through for six different teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 5", 120 lb., Koehn batted and threw right-handed. She was born in Madison, Wisconsin.By the fall of 1942, World War II...
in return for Lois Florreich
Lois Florreich
Kathleen Lois Florreich [Flash] was a pitcher and utility who played from through for three different teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 5", 140 lb., Florreich batted and threw right-handed...
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...
. After that Pirok injured her ankle and lost the rest of the season. From 1946 to 1948, she was mostly used to fill at infield, 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 pinch hit, helping South Bend to made the playoffs in these years, but could not reach the league finals. She was also one of two hundred players to attend the first AAGPBL spring training outside the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, which was held in 1947 in 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...
at the Gran Stadium de La Habana
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...
.
Following her playing career, Pirok worked as a physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
teacher for 36 years in the Chicago Public School
Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools, commonly abbreviated as CPS by local residents and politicians and officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, is a large school district that manages over 600 public elementary and high schools in Chicago, Illinois...
system. After retiring, she became an avid golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er to stay active. Pirok is currently living in Orland Park, Illinois
Orland Park, Illinois
Orland Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States; it also extends slightly into Will County. The population was 56,767 at the 2010 census. The office of the Assistant Village Manager, Ellen Baer, states that the Will County section of Orland Park is industrial while the Cook County...
.
Batting statistics
| 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... | 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 :... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 559 | 1976 | 226 | 412 | 32 | 14 | 0 | 127 | 223 | .208 |
Facts
- The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League 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. The entire AAGPBL is now enshrined in the Hall rather than any individual player.
- 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. A League of Their Own itself was inspired by the 1987 documentary of the same title, written and produced by Kelly Candaele, one of the five sons of Helen CallaghanHelen CallaghanHelen Callaghan Candaele St. Aubin was a left-handed center fielder who appeared in five seasons in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League , playing under the name Helen Callaghan.As a rookie with the Minneapolis Millerettes Callaghan hit a .287 average in 111...
, who in 1945 won the AAGPBL batting championship with a .299 average. Pauline Pirok, like many of her colleagues, was relatively unknown until the Marshall's film was exhibited for the first time.