Muskegon Lassies

The Muskegon Lassies were one of the expansion teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1946, representing Muskegon, Michigan. The team played their home games at Marsh Field.

The Lassies posted a 46-66 record in their first year, and placed sixth in the eight-team league. They improved to 69-43 in 1947, to win a close pennant race with the Grand Rapids Chicks. Muskegon was led by OF/P Doris Sams, who ranked in several offensive categories and also collected 11 victories, including a perfect game, good enough to be named Most Valuable Player of the Year. The team had three of the top four in earned run average with Sams (0.98), Amy Irene Applegren (1.06) and Nancy Warren (1.13), but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Racine Belles.

Muskegon went 66-57 in 1948 to gain a playoff berth, but lost to the Fort Wayne Daisies in the first round. The team dropped to 46-66 in 1949 and was able to reach the playoffs for the third consecutive year. The Belles disposed of the Kenosha Comets in the first round, being defeated in the semifinals by the South Bend Blue Sox.

1950 became a nightmare for Muskegon, after registering the worst record in the league (36-73) and a relocation during the midseason to Kalamazoo, Michigan, where the team was renamed the Kalamazoo Lassies.

All-time roster

Gertrude Alderfer Beatrice Allard Melba Alspaugh Amy Irene Applegren Norene Arnold Phyllis Baker Doris Barr Patricia Barringer Erma Bergmann Jaynne Bittner Shirley Burkovich Helen Campbell Ann Cindric Donna Cook Gloria Cordes Gladys Davis

Pauline Dennert Peggy Fenton Alva Jo Fischer Anita Foss Betty Francis Julie Gutz Helen Hannah Josephine Hasham Alice Hohlmayer Margaret Holgerson Anna Mae Hutchison Arleene Johnson Marilyn Jones Glenna Sue Kidd Marie Kruckel Noella Leduc

Josephine Lenard Sarah Lonetto Therese McKinley Dorothy Maguire Pauline Martin Naomi Meier Norma Metrolis Dorothy Montgomery Ruth Middleton Eileen O'Brien Barbara Payne Marguerite Pearson Betty Petryna Marjorie Pieper Charlene Pryer Sara Reeser

Doris Sams June Schofield Dorothy Stolze Doris Tetzlaff Kathryn Vonderau Betty Wagoner Nancy Warren Marion Watson Evelyn Wawryshyn Marie Wegman Margaret Wenzel Elizabeth Wicken Renae Youngberg

Managers

• Buzz Boyle (1946)
• Bill Wambsganss (1947–1948)
• Carson Bigbee (1949, 1950 first half)

Sources

• The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book – W. C. Madden. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2000. Format: Hardcover, 302pp. Language: English. ISBN 9780786405978
• Encyclopedia of Women and Baseball' – Leslie A. Heaphy, Mel Anthony May. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2006. Format: Paperback, 438pp. Language: English. ISBN 0786421002

External links

• Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame