The Battle Creek Belles were a women's professional baseball team that 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:...

. The Belles represented Battle Creek, Michigan

Battle Creek, Michigan

Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Calhoun county...

, and played their home games at Bailey Park.

Michigan baseball fanatics had their first chance to enjoy All-American Girls Professional Baseball League action in when the 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...

 team moved from Milwaukee to Grand Rapids

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...

. The only team to make the playoffs every year in AAGPBL history, the Chicks was one of the most successful franchises of the circuit. A year after the Chicks came to Grand Rapids, Muskegon

Muskegon, Michigan

Muskegon is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 38,401. The city is the county seat of Muskegon County...

 joined the league with its 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 1950 the Lassies moved to Kalamazoo

Kalamazoo, Michigan

The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...

, and Battle Creek joined the list of AAGPBL host cities in 1951 when the original Belles

Racine 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:...

moved to Battle Creek from Racine, Wisconsin

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 kept the same nickname.

In 1951, the Belles finished last in the first half of the season with a 11-45 record before improving to 19-35 in the second half for a 30-80 overall. The team posted a 43-67 record in 1952, and finished in last place. Joe Cooper served 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...

 in both years.

The club moved to Muskegon for the season and was renamed the Muskegon Belles

Muskegon Belles

The Muskegon Belles were a women's professional baseball team that played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the season....

.

All-time roster

• Agnes Allen
• Isabel Alvarez
  Isabel Álvarez
  Isabel Álvarez [Lefty] is a former female pitcher and outfielder who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League between the and seasons...
  
  
• Phyllis Baker
  Phyllis Baker
  Phyllis J. Baker [Wise] was a pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...
  
  
• Fern Battaglia
• Erma Bergmann
• Rita Briggs
  Rita Briggs
  Rita Briggs [Maud] was a female catcher who played from through for seven different teams in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 3", 120 lb., Briggs batted left-handed and threw right-handed...
  
  
• Patricia Brown
• Marge Callaghan
  Marge Callaghan
  Margaret Callaghan Maxwell was an infielder who played from 1944-1951 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 3", 112 lb., she batted and threw right-handed....
  
  
• Jean Cione
  Jean Cione
  Jean S. Cione [″Cy″] was a pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 8", 143 lb., She batted and threw left-handed.-AAGPBL rules of play:...
  
  
• Donna Cook
• Bonnie Cooper
• Betty Jean Cornett
• Pauline Crawley

• Gloria Cordes
  Gloria Cordes
  Gloria Cordes [Elliott] is a former starting pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...
  
  
• Betty Jane Cornett
• Pauline Crawley
• Gertrude Dunn
  Gertrude Dunn
  Gertrude Dunn was an American baseball player with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, the league made famous by the 1992 movie A League Of Their Own. She played shortstop on two teams, the Battle Creek Belles and the South Bend Blue Sox, and was named "Rookie of the Year" in . ...
  
  
• Mary Froning
• Josephine Hasham
  Josephine Hasham
  Josephine Hasham [״Jo״] is a former pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Hasham batted right handed and threw left handed....
  
  
• Beverly Hatzell
• Ruby Heafner
• Jean Holderness
• Frances Janssen
• Marilyn Jones
• Erma Keyes
• Glenna Sue Kidd

• Jaynie Krick
  Jaynie Krick
  Jaynie Krick [Red] is a former pitcher and utility infielder who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League between the and seasons. She was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed....
  
  
• 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:...
  
  
• Noella Leduc
• Marie Mansfield
  Marie Mansfield
  Marie Mansfield [Kelley] is a former pitcher who played from 1950 through 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 7", 140 lb., she batted and threw right handed....
  
  
• Mirtha Marrero
• Betty McKenna
  Betty McKenna
  Betty McKenna [Mac] was a third basewoman who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. McKenna batted and threw right-handed. She was born in Lisbon, Ohio....
  
  
• Naomi Meier
• Ruth Middleton
• Jane Moffet
  Jane Moffet
  Jane Moffet is a former utility who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 10", 151 lb., Moffett batted and threw right handed. She was born in Pitman, New Jersey....
  
  
• Mary Moore
• Nancy Mudge
  Nancy Mudge
  Nancy Mudge [Cato] is a former second basewoman who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 2", 120 lb., Mudge batted and threw right handed. She was nicknamed ″Smudgie″....
  
  
• Dolly Niemieck
• Anna Mae O'Dowd

• Barbara Payne
• Marguerite Pearson
  Marguerite Pearson
  Marguerite Pearson [Tesseine] was an utility who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League between the and seasons. Listed at 5' 5", 125 lb., Pearson batted and thew right handed...
  
  
• 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:...
  
  
• Migdalia Pérez
  Migdalia Pérez
  Migdalia Pérez was a Cuban pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She batted and threw right handed...
  
  
• Ernestine Petras
  Ernestine Petras
  Ernestine Petras [״Tenny״] is a former infielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 5", 125 lb., Petras batted and threw right handed...
  
  
• Marjorie Pieper
• Janet Rumsey
  Janet Rumsey
  Janet Jeree Rumsey was a pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 8", 135 lb., she batted and threw right handed....
  
  
• Margaret Russo
  Margaret Russo
  Margaret Russo [née Jones] was a shortstop who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 4", 130 lb., she batted and threw right handed....
  
  
• Gloria Schweigerdt
• Doris Shero
• Helen Waddell
• Margaret Wenzell
• Betty Whiting
  Betty Whiting
  Elizabeth Jane Whiting was a utility who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5'6", 147 lb., Whiting batted and threw right handed...
  
  

Manager

• Joe Cooper

Chaperone

• Patricia Barringer

Sources

• All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book – W. C. Madden. Publisher: McFarland & Company. Format: Paperback, 294pp. Language: English. ISBN 0786437472