Thelma Eisen
Encyclopedia
Thelma Eisen [Tiby] is a former outfielder
who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
. Listed at 5' 4", 130 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.
Thelma Eisen was among the top players in the early years of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A durable player, Eisen averaged 107 games appearances in each of her nine seasons in the league. An All-Star in 1946, she made the playoffs in seven out of nine possible seasons, including the champion team in 1944. Noted for her enthusiastic and great knowledge of the game, she excelled defensively at all three outfield positions, mainly at center field. Regarded as a disciplined hitter and a daring base runner, she posted a career .295 on-base percentage and utilized her stunning speed to snatch 674 stolen base
s in 966 career-games. A fast and fine defensive outfielder, she often took away extra base hit
s from opponents, offering a variety of excellent catches over a substantial period of time. Additionally, she moved from one place to another constantly, playing with four different teams and cities, as the league switched players as needed to help teams to be competitive.
and the Kenosha Comets
, both from Wisconsin
; the Rockford Peaches
from Illinois
, and the South Bend Blue Sox
from Indiana
. Originally, the game was a combination of baseball
and softball
. Differences were only in the distances between the bases, the distance from the pitching mound to home plate, the size of the ball, and pitching styles through the 12 years of existence of the circuit. It was a neglected chapter of sports history at least until the early 1980s, when a group of former AAGPBL members led by June Peppas
organized a retired players association and lobbied to have the circuit recognized in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
at Cooperstown, New York
. After that, filmmaker Penny Marshall
premiered her 1992 film
A League of Their Own
, a fiction
al history centered in the first season of the AAGPBL. Starring Geena Davis
, Tom Hanks
, Madonna
, Lori Petty
and Rosie O'Donnell
, this film brought a rejuvenated interest to the extinct league.
, Thelma Eisen was one of four children into the family of David Eisen, an Austria
n immigrant, and Dorothy (Shechter) Eisen, from New York City
. She grew up in an orthodox Jewish
home playing softball
and was already participating in the semi-professional
level by age 14, starting with the Katzenjammer Kids, named so for their manager George Katzman obviously inspired by the popular comic strip
of same name.
After graduating from high school in 1941, Eisen went out to work to become one of the first Harvey Girls
. An outstanding all-around athlete, at 18 she played in a short-lived professional football
league for women in California as a fullback, but when Los Angeles city council banned tackle football for women, the team she played moved to Guadalajara, Jalisco
. She later applied for work at the Bank of America
in Los Angeles, which sponsored a softball team where she played. By then, she was noted by Bill Allington
, a former ballplayer and advanced scout
for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
By 1944 the AAGPBL added two teams, the Milwaukee Chicks
and the Minneapolis Millerettes
. Eisen attended a tryout arranged by Allington, who would join the circuit for the upcoming season as manager
of the Rockford team. She was one of six girls from Los Angeles who traveled to Peru, Indiana
for the tryout. The girls passed the test and were rewarded with a contract to play in the league. Eisen joined the Chicks, along with Alma Ziegler
, while Faye Dancer
, Annabelle Lee
, Lavonne Paire
and Dorothy Wiltse
were allocated to the Millerettes.
, included in their roster remarkable players as Josephine Kabick
, Merle Keagle
and Connie Wisniewski
, among others. Eisen batted a modest .204 average in 107 games, driving in
41 runs while scoring
55 times, but stole 91 bases and provided stellar defense at outfield. The Chicks had the best overall record (70-45), after leading the league in runs scored
(492), batting average
(.207), stolen bases (739), and tying for first in home run
s (12). The best offensive support came from Keagle, who hit .264 with 47 runs batted in, while topping the AAGPBL hitters in home run
s (7) and total bases
(145). The one-two pitching staff was led by Kabick, who posted a 26-19 record for a .578 winning percentage
and led all pitchers in wins and innings pitched
(366), while Wisniewski went 23-10 (.697) with a 2.23 earned run average
. The Chicks then went on to win the Championship Title, beating the Kenosha Comets in the postseason. During the seven-game series Wisniewski went 4-1 with a 0.40 ERA in five complete games, including two shutout
s, two one-run games and one two-run game, winning three of four matchups with Kenosha's Helen Nicol
, who finished with a 17-11 mark (.607) and had led the league with a minuscule 0.93 ERA. Eisen hit .250 in the Series, including the only home run for her team.
Although the Chicks won the championship, they had no local financial backing and could not compete with the American Association
Milwaukee Brewers
. In fact, the Chicks were forced to play all seven games of the series at Kenosha's Lake Front Stadium because the Brewers were using the Borchert Field
in Milwaukee. In addition, the high ticket prices charged for AAGPBL games failed to encourage significant fan support. Due to lack of community support and skepticism of journalists, the team moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan
prior to the 1945 season, and became the Grand Rapids Chicks
. Eisen raised her average to .240 in 1945, while finishing second in the league with 16 doubles
(one behind Fort Wayne Daisies
' Helen Callaghan
). She also improved considerably in other areas, ending third in total bases (115), fourth in hits
(94) and sixth in batting average, tying for seventh in runs scored (44) and for eight in stolen bases (41). Grand Rapids, managed by Benny Meyer
, finished in third place with a 60-50 and advanced to the playoffs, but lost to Rockford in the first round, three to one games. Eisen hit .357 for the Chicks in a lost cause.
By 1946 Eisen joined the expansion Peoria Redwings
, stealing 128 bases for them while tying for the most triples
(9) along with Racine's Eleanor Dapkus
and Rockford's Rose Gacioch
. She ranked ninth in average (.256), tenth in total bases (120), and finished second in stolen bases behind Racine's Sophie Kurys
, who set a league single-season record with 201 steals in 203 attempts. Eisen garnered All-Star status in the process as the third oufielder behind South Bend's Elizabeth Mahon
and Grand Rapids' Merle Keagle
. In addition, she piloted the Redwings briefly to become the first female manager in AAGPBL history.
In 1947, AAGPBL teams flew from Miami, Florida
to Havana, Cuba for spring training
. All the teams stayed at the Seville Biltmore Hotel and were filmed for Fox Movietone News
going down the steps at the University of Havana
. At the time, the Brooklyn Dodgers
trained in the Cuban capital because Jackie Robinson
, who would be the first Afro-American to play in the Major Leagues, was training with the Dodgers for the first time. By then, city ordinances in Vero Beach, Florida
, where the Dodgers normally trained, prevented blacks and whites players from competing on the same field against each other. Notably, newspaper stories from Havana indicate that the All-American girls drew larger crowds for their exhibition games at Estadio Latinoamericano
than did the Dodgers. Eisen spent part of the year with Peoria, being dealt to Fort Wayne during the midseason in the same transaction that brought Faye Dancer
to the Redwings. Eisen hit a combined .216 with 49 runs and 26 RBI in 111 games for both teams.
Eisen would spend the rest of her career with Fort Wayne. In 1948, she batted .220 with 67 runs and 30 RBI in a career-high 121 games, ending fourth in the league with 88 stolen bases. Fort Wayne, with Dick Bass
at the helm, made the playoffs and defeated the Muskegon Lassies
in the first round and Grand Rapids in the semi-finals, but was beaten by Rockford in the final series, four to one games. Eisen hit .316 in the finals, collecting six of the 20 hits of the Daisies, with the rest of the team hitting a measly .108.
In 1949, Eisen enjoyed the most memorable experience of her career while on an AAGPBL tour of Central and South America, as the teams were feted by both government officials and the common people. In Nicaragua
, she visited the presidential palace and was greeted by the then President Anastasio Somoza
. That year, she hit a low-career .184 in 109 games but belted three home run
s to tie Grand Rapids' Inez Voyce
and Kenosha's Audrey Wagner
for the league lead.
By 1950 Eisen established career numbers in hits (103), runs (87) and doubles (20), while hitting a .238 average and 19 RBI in 106 games. She finished second in runs, third in doubles and tied for second in stolen bases (75). At this point, Fort Wayne, managed by Max Carey
, ended second with a 62-43 mark and advanced to the playoffs. In the first round the Daisies defeated Grand Rapids, three to one games, but lost the final series to Rockford in the maximum seven games. In the first round, Eisen hit .500 (7-for-14) but slumped to .148 in the finals.
Eisen posted a .195 average in 1951, including a career-high 88 runs to tie for fourth place in the league. She also ranked third in doubles (17) and stolen bases (88), while appearing in 104 games. She then batted .300 (3-for-10) in the first round of the playoffs, as Fort Wayne fell to South Bend in three games.
In 1952, Eisen posted career-highs with a .265 average and 110 hits in 106 games for Fort Wayne, now managed by Jimmie Foxx
. She also ranked second for the most runs scored with 77, only four behind teammate and league's leader Betty Foss
. In addition, Eisen finished third in stolen bases (77) and tied for seventh in hits. The Daisies finished in first place with a 67-42 record and made the playoffs, but were swept in the first round by South Bend in two contests. Eisen went 4-for-13 (.308) in the playoffs, during what turned out to be her last AAGPBL season.
In 1993 Eisen was elected to the board of directors of the AAGPBL Players Association, which established the aforementioned exhibition at the Hall of Fame, and raises funds for reunions and records the stories of players for the historic circuit. She also gained induction into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 2004.
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...
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", 130 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.
Thelma Eisen was among the top players in the early years of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A durable player, Eisen averaged 107 games appearances in each of her nine seasons in the league. An All-Star in 1946, she made the playoffs in seven out of nine possible seasons, including the champion team in 1944. Noted for her enthusiastic and great knowledge of the game, she excelled defensively at all three outfield positions, mainly at center field. Regarded as a disciplined hitter and a daring base runner, she posted a career .295 on-base percentage and utilized her stunning speed to snatch 674 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 966 career-games. A fast and fine defensive outfielder, she often took away extra base hit
Extra base hit
In baseball, an extra base hit , also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire another base runner...
s from opponents, offering a variety of excellent catches over a substantial period of time. Additionally, she moved from one place to another constantly, playing with four different teams and cities, as the league switched players as needed to help teams to be competitive.
Brief history
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League operated between 1943 and 1954 and started with four teams: the Racine BellesRacine 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:...
and 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...
, both from 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...
; 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....
from 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,...
, and 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...
from 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...
. Originally, the game was a combination of 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...
and 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...
. Differences were only in the distances between the bases, the distance from the pitching mound to home plate, the size of the ball, and pitching styles through the 12 years of existence of the circuit. It was a neglected chapter of sports history at least until the early 1980s, when a group of former AAGPBL members led by 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:...
organized a retired players association and lobbied to have the circuit recognized in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
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...
. After that, filmmaker Penny Marshall
Penny Marshall
Penny 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...
premiered her 1992 film
1992 in film
The year 1992 in film involved many significant films. -Top grossing films:-Awards:Academy AwardsGolden Globe AwardsNational Film Awards...
A League of Their Own
A League of Their Own
A 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...
, a fiction
Fiction
Fiction 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,...
al history centered in the first season of the AAGPBL. Starring Geena Davis
Geena Davis
Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis is an American actress, film producer, writer, former fashion model, and a women's Olympics archery team semi-finalist...
, Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
, Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
, Lori Petty
Lori Petty
Lori Petty is an American film and television actress best known for playing "Tyler Endicott" in Point Break in 1991, "Kit Keller" in A League of Their Own in 1992, and the title role in Tank Girl in 1995.-Early life:...
and Rosie O'Donnell
Rosie O'Donnell
Roseann "Rosie" O'Donnell is an American stand-up comedian, actress, author and television personality. She has also been a magazine editor and continues to be a celebrity blogger, LGBT rights activist, television producer and collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company R Family...
, this film brought a rejuvenated interest to the extinct league.
Early life
Born in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, Thelma Eisen was one of four children into the family of David Eisen, an Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n immigrant, and Dorothy (Shechter) Eisen, from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She grew up in an orthodox Jewish
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
home 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...
and was already participating in the semi-professional
Semi-professional
A semi-professional athlete is one who is paid to play and thus is not an amateur, but for whom sport is not a full-time occupation, generally because the level of pay is too low to make a reasonable living based solely upon that source, thus making the athlete not a full professional...
level by age 14, starting with the Katzenjammer Kids, named so for their manager George Katzman obviously inspired by the popular comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
of same name.
After graduating from high school in 1941, Eisen went out to work to become one of the first Harvey Girls
Fred Harvey Company
The origin of the Fred Harvey Company can be traced to the 1875 opening of two railroad eating houses located at Wallace, Kansas and Hugo, Colorado on the Kansas Pacific Railway. These cafés were opened by Fred Harvey, then a freight agent for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad...
. An outstanding all-around athlete, at 18 she played in a short-lived professional football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
league for women in California as a fullback, but when Los Angeles city council banned tackle football for women, the team she played moved to Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality...
. She later applied for work at the Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
in Los Angeles, which sponsored a softball team where she played. By then, she was noted by 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....
, a former ballplayer and advanced 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...
for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
By 1944 the AAGPBL added two teams, the Milwaukee Chicks
Milwaukee Chicks
The Milwaukee Chicks were a women's professional baseball team which played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the season. They were managed by Max Carey, former star player for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Brooklyn Robins and a future Hall of Famer.-History:By 1944 the...
and the Minneapolis Millerettes
Minneapolis Millerettes
The Minneapolis Millerettes were an expansion All-American Girls Professional Baseball League team that played for one season in 1944. They played their home games in Nicollet Park, home of the men's minor league team the Minneapolis Millers...
. Eisen attended a tryout arranged by Allington, who would join the circuit for the upcoming season as manager
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...
of the Rockford team. She was one of six girls from Los Angeles who traveled to Peru, Indiana
Peru, Indiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 12,994 people, 5,410 households, and 3,397 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,815.5 people per square mile . There were 5,943 housing units at an average density of 1,287.7 per square mile...
for the tryout. The girls passed the test and were rewarded with a contract to play in the league. Eisen joined the Chicks, along with Alma Ziegler
Alma Ziegler
Alma Ziegler was an infielder and pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 3", 125 lb., Ziegler batted and threw right-handed....
, while Faye Dancer
Faye Dancer
Faye Katherine Dancer was a center fielder who played from through for three different teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...
, Annabelle Lee
Annabelle Lee
Annabelle Lee Harmon was a female pitcher who played from through with four different teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 2", 120 lb, Lee was a switch-hitter and threw left-handed...
, Lavonne 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:...
and Dorothy Wiltse
Dottie Wiltse Collins
Dorothy Wiltse Collins [Dottie] was an American pitcher in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which was in existence from 1943–54....
were allocated to the Millerettes.
AAGPBL career
In 1944 Eisen played outfield for the new team based in Milwaukee. The Chicks, managed by Max CareyMax 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...
, included in their roster remarkable players as Josephine Kabick
Josephine Kabick
Josephine Kabick [Jo] was a female pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 7", 142 lb., Kabick batted and threw right-handed...
, Merle Keagle
Merle Keagle
Merle Patricia Keagle was a center fielder who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League between the and seasons. Listed at 5' 2", 144 lb., she batted and threw right-handed....
and Connie Wisniewski
Connie Wisniewski
Constance Wisniewski was a starting pitcher and outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...
, among others. Eisen batted a modest .204 average in 107 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...
41 runs while 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...
55 times, but stole 91 bases and provided stellar defense at outfield. The Chicks had the best overall record (70-45), after leading the league in runs scored
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...
(492), 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 :...
(.207), stolen bases (739), and tying for first in 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 (12). The best offensive support came from Keagle, who hit .264 with 47 runs batted in, while topping the AAGPBL hitters in 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 (7) and total bases
Total bases
In baseball statistics, total bases refers to the number of bases a player has gained with hits, i.e., the sum of his hits weighted by 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run.Only bases attained from hits count toward this total....
(145). The one-two pitching staff was led by Kabick, who posted a 26-19 record for a .578 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...
and led all pitchers in wins and innings pitched
Innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...
(366), while Wisniewski went 23-10 (.697) with a 2.23 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...
. The Chicks then went on to win the Championship Title, beating the Kenosha Comets in the postseason. During the seven-game series Wisniewski went 4-1 with a 0.40 ERA in five complete games, including two 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....
s, two one-run games and one two-run game, winning three of four matchups with Kenosha's 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...
, who finished with a 17-11 mark (.607) and had led the league with a minuscule 0.93 ERA. Eisen hit .250 in the Series, including the only home run for her team.
Although the Chicks won the championship, they had no local financial backing and could not compete with the American Association
American Association (20th century)
The American Association was a minor league baseball league at the Triple-A level of baseball in the United States from to and to . Together with the International League, it contested the Junior World Series which determined the championship team in minor league baseball, at least for the...
Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee Brewers (minor league baseball team)
The Milwaukee Brewers were a Minor League Baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They played in the American Association from 1902 through 1952.-A Milwaukee Tradition:...
. In fact, the Chicks were forced to play all seven games of the series at Kenosha's Lake Front Stadium because the Brewers were using the Borchert Field
Borchert Field
Borchert Field was a baseball park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was the home field for several professional baseball clubs for most of the years from 1888 through 1952....
in Milwaukee. In addition, the high ticket prices charged for AAGPBL games failed to encourage significant fan support. Due to lack of community support and skepticism of journalists, the team moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
prior to the 1945 season, and became 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....
. Eisen raised her average to .240 in 1945, while finishing second in the league with 16 doubles
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....
(one behind 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...
' Helen Callaghan
Helen Callaghan
Helen 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...
). She also improved considerably in other areas, ending third in total bases (115), fourth in 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....
(94) and sixth in batting average, tying for seventh in runs scored (44) and for eight in stolen bases (41). Grand Rapids, managed by Benny Meyer
Benny Meyer
Bernhard Meyer born in Hematite, Missouri, was a baseball outfielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers , Baltimore Terrapins , Buffalo Blues and Philadelphia Phillies ....
, finished in third place with a 60-50 and advanced to the playoffs, but lost to Rockford in the first round, three to one games. Eisen hit .357 for the Chicks in a lost cause.
By 1946 Eisen joined the expansion 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....
, stealing 128 bases for them while tying for the most 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....
(9) along with Racine's Eleanor Dapkus
Eleanor Dapkus
Eleanor Dapkus [Wolf] was a center fielder and pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 6", 160 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.-Women in baseball:...
and Rockford's Rose Gacioch
Rose Gacioch
Rose M. Gacioch [gay'-sotch] was a right fielder and pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 6", 160 lb., Gacioch batted and threw right-handed...
. She ranked ninth in average (.256), tenth in total bases (120), and finished second in stolen bases behind 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:...
, who set a league single-season record with 201 steals in 203 attempts. Eisen garnered All-Star status in the process as the third oufielder behind South Bend's Elizabeth Mahon
Elizabeth Mahon
Elizabeth B. Mahon [″Lib″] was a female outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 7", 135 lb., Mahon batted and threw right-handed. She was born in Greenville, South Carolina.-Early life:Lib Mahon was one of six children of David...
and Grand Rapids' Merle Keagle
Merle Keagle
Merle Patricia Keagle was a center fielder who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League between the and seasons. Listed at 5' 2", 144 lb., she batted and threw right-handed....
. In addition, she piloted the Redwings briefly to become the first female manager in AAGPBL history.
In 1947, AAGPBL teams flew from Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
to Havana, Cuba for 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...
. All the 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...
. At the time, the Brooklyn Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
trained in the Cuban capital because Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
, who would be the first Afro-American to play in the Major Leagues, was training with the Dodgers for the first time. By then, city ordinances in Vero Beach, Florida
Vero Beach, Florida
Vero Beach is a city in Indian River County, Florida, USA. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2006 estimates, the city had a population of 16,939. It is the county seat of Indian River County...
, where the Dodgers normally trained, prevented blacks and whites players from competing on the same field against each other. Notably, newspaper stories from Havana indicate that the All-American girls drew larger crowds for their exhibition games 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...
than did the Dodgers. Eisen spent part of the year with Peoria, being dealt to Fort Wayne during the midseason in the same transaction that brought Faye Dancer
Faye Dancer
Faye Katherine Dancer was a center fielder who played from through for three different teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...
to the Redwings. Eisen hit a combined .216 with 49 runs and 26 RBI in 111 games for both teams.
Eisen would spend the rest of her career with Fort Wayne. In 1948, she batted .220 with 67 runs and 30 RBI in a career-high 121 games, ending fourth in the league with 88 stolen bases. Fort Wayne, with Dick Bass
Dick Bass (baseball)
Richard William "Dick" Bass was a Major League Baseball pitcher. Bass played for the Washington Senators in . In 1 career game, he had a 0-1 record, with a 6.75 ERA. He batted right and threw left-handed....
at the helm, made the playoffs and defeated 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....
in the first round and Grand Rapids in the semi-finals, but was beaten by Rockford in the final series, four to one games. Eisen hit .316 in the finals, collecting six of the 20 hits of the Daisies, with the rest of the team hitting a measly .108.
In 1949, Eisen enjoyed the most memorable experience of her career while on an AAGPBL tour of Central and South America, as the teams were feted by both government officials and the common people. In Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, she visited the presidential palace and was greeted by the then President Anastasio Somoza
Anastasio Somoza García
Anastasio Somoza García was officially the President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1937 to 1 May 1947 and from 21 May 1950 to 29 September 1956, but ruled effectively as dictator from 1936 until his assassination.-Biography:Somoza was born in San Marcos, Carazo Department in Nicaragua, the son of...
. That year, she hit a low-career .184 in 109 games but belted three 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 to tie Grand Rapids' Inez Voyce
Inez Voyce
Inez Ferne Voyce [Lefty] is a former first basewoman who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...
and Kenosha's Audrey Wagner
Audrey Wagner
Genevieve Wagner [Audrey] was an outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 7", 145 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.-Brief profile:...
for the league lead.
By 1950 Eisen established career numbers in hits (103), runs (87) and doubles (20), while hitting a .238 average and 19 RBI in 106 games. She finished second in runs, third in doubles and tied for second in stolen bases (75). At this point, Fort Wayne, managed by 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...
, ended second with a 62-43 mark and advanced to the playoffs. In the first round the Daisies defeated Grand Rapids, three to one games, but lost the final series to Rockford in the maximum seven games. In the first round, Eisen hit .500 (7-for-14) but slumped to .148 in the finals.
Eisen posted a .195 average in 1951, including a career-high 88 runs to tie for fourth place in the league. She also ranked third in doubles (17) and stolen bases (88), while appearing in 104 games. She then batted .300 (3-for-10) in the first round of the playoffs, as Fort Wayne fell to South Bend in three games.
In 1952, Eisen posted career-highs with a .265 average and 110 hits in 106 games for Fort Wayne, now managed by Jimmie Foxx
Jimmie Foxx
James Emory "Jimmie" Foxx , nicknamed "Double X" and "The Beast", was a right-handed American Major League Baseball first baseman and noted power hitter....
. She also ranked second for the most runs scored with 77, only four behind teammate and league's leader 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...
. In addition, Eisen finished third in stolen bases (77) and tied for seventh in hits. The Daisies finished in first place with a 67-42 record and made the playoffs, but were swept in the first round by South Bend in two contests. Eisen went 4-for-13 (.308) in the playoffs, during what turned out to be her last AAGPBL season.
Life after baseball
Following her AAGPBL career, Eisen settled in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles, and starred in softball with the perennial champions Orange Lionettes until 1957.In 1993 Eisen was elected to the board of directors of the AAGPBL Players Association, which established the aforementioned exhibition at the Hall of Fame, and raises funds for reunions and records the stories of players for the historic circuit. She also gained induction into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 2004.
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... | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 966 | 3705 | 594 | 830 | 80 | 25 | 11 | 241 | 674 | 375 | 175 | .224 | .295 | .268 |