412:(20). Florreich also topped the league in strikeouts for the second consecutive season (171) and finished second in ERA (.118). Risinger went 14–13, ending sixth in innings pitched (231), seventh in strikeouts (90), and tenth in ERA (2.38). In the first round best-of-five series, Grand Rapids lost to Fort Wayne three to one games. Risinger won Game 1, but was credited with the loss in Game 4.
337:, folded at the end of the season because of poor attendance and a lack of local support. The next year, both franchises became rookie training teams. Some players remained in Colleens and Sallies uniforms while travelling, but other players were sent to teams across the league, Risinger among others. From 1949 through 1954 she played for the
278:, and pretty soon she received a letter asking her to attend a tryout at Oklahoma City. Encouraged by the men of her family, with whom she had been playing baseball and perfecting her pitches for years, the reluctant girl attended the training camp and passed the test. After that, she received an offer to play for the
472:
Four teams made the playoffs, which were reduced to a best of three series for both rounds. First place Fort Wayne (69-41) faced third place
Kalamazoo (50-50), while second place Grand Rapids (65-45) battled fourth place Rockford (52-58). In the first round, the Daisies won Game 1 in extra innings,
439:
Risinger had a disappointing season in 1952, going 10–15 with a 2.34 ERA in 27 pitching appearances, even though she ranked fourth in strikeouts (82), eight in innings (192), and ninth in games pitched. Grand Rapids finished in fourth place (50-60) and made the playoffs, but was swept by South Bend
259:
After graduating in 1945, Risinger had few prospects in her own right, because she did not have money to attend college immediately. Instead, she was forced to work for more than two years in local cotton fields earning 50 cents an hour, thinking this might her future as there were no factories or
611:
Doing what you loved and getting paid for it. When I say baseball did everything for me, it's true. Possibly I would still be in Hess, Oklahoma, which isn't a bad place to live if you have a profession and can drive some place to work. At that time, I had nothing, and now I feel satisfied with my
415:
In 1951, Risinger dropped to an 8–8 mark in 28 games, but posted a solid 2.14 ERA in 171 innings of work. Grand Rapids had the best mark in the first half of the season (39-13) and finished fourth in the second half (32-22), to collect the second-best mark (71-40) behind South Bend (75-36). Fort
273:
newspaper without charge. In the spring of 1947, she was reading the newspaper in the store and knew about a traveling All-American Girls baseball team. At the time, she had no idea that girls could play baseball professionally. Then she sent a postcard to the sports page editor, whose by-line
227:
border. She was the oldest of four children into the family of Homer
Francis and Lizzie Mae (née Steen) Risinger, and grew up in a sharecropping family surrounded by hard times. Her father worked in a gas station, and when his salary did not stretch far enough, his skill hunting
567:
singled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning for an 8–7 victory. The
Daisies were facing elimination in Game 2, but Grand Rapids forfeited the game as well as the next to give Fort Wayne the first round. When the league allowed Rockford's catcher
576:, who was sidelined after suffering a broken wrist. The dispute got so heated that managers Allington and English fought about it at home plate before the game. Rissinger started Game 1, allowing three runs in seven innings, but did no have a decision.
31:
456:
In 1953 Risinger compiled a 15–10 record, reversing the misfortune of her previous season, while enjoying career-numbers with a 1.75 ERA and 121 strikeouts. She also finished second in ERA (0.24 behind South Bend's
547:
In
Kalamazoo, with cold weather around 40 degrees and windy, both teams’ managers agreed to play the Game 2 in just seven innings. Risinger started for Grand Rapids and pitched one of the best games of her career.
251:
at an early age, and they played catch almost every day. By the time she was six, Earlene was a regular on Sunday afternoons down at the cow pasture playing ball with her father, her uncles, and her cousins.
952:
466:
151:
392:
By 1950, the AAGPBL took advantage over pitching as evidenced by a collective .228 batting average compared to a .197 mark the previous season. Eight players batted over .300, with Fort Wayne's
473:
but
Kalamazoo won the next two games to upset the season champion. Meanwhile, Grand Rapids looked to be headed for the same fate after losing Game 1 to Rockford, but Risinger hurled a six-hit
579:
In the other series, Kalamazoo lost Game 1 to South Bend before rebouding and taking the next two games. In the finals, the
Lassies defeated the Daisies two to one games. First base-pitcher
329:
in 22 games for the awful
Sallies, who finished as the worst team in the league, getting roughed up as a last-place club with a 41–84 record, ending 35 and a half games behind the
962:
504:
limited the
Lassies to two runs in eight innings for a 5–2 victory. With the score tied 2–2 going into the fourth inning, the Chicks loaded the bases against Lassies’ pitcher
586:
Risinger posted a 73–80 record with 581 strikeouts and a 2.51 ERA in 187 career games. A .172 hitter (80-for-406), she batted four doubles and one triple without home runs.
236:
to fill empty stomachs. Tall and slender, her parents dubbed her ″Beans″ because she liked pork and beans for breakfast. She especially enjoyed watching her father play at
293:, the home of the Peaches. But she became homesick and got only as far as Chicago before returning home. She then went back to the cotton fields to repay the bank loan.
348:, who taught her the finer points of pitching. In 1949 she went 15–12 with a 2.35 ERA, leading her team in wins while bolstering a strong pitching staff along with
189:
39:
220:
88:
68:
967:
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starred for
Kalamazoo, winning her two starts while hitting 6-for-15 with two home runs and three RBI, during what turned out to be the AAGPBL final season.
982:
925:
560:, repeated the regular season title and faced third place Grand Rapids in the first round, while second place South Bend played fourth place Kalamazoo.
957:
556:
Risinger dropped to a 7–13 record and a 4.06 ERA in 1954, ranking fourth in the league for the most innings pitched (153). Fort Wayne, managed by
424:
was the only pitcher to win 20 games for the season. In the first round best-of-three series, Rockford swept the favored Grand Rapids team, as
267:
An avid reader, Risinger stopped daily at the local grocery store after her daily work in the fields, where the sympathetic owner let her read
304:, and the league also expanded to ten teams while creating two divisions. Risinger decided to try again. This time she boarded the train for
987:
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881:
622:
650:
645:
440:
in the first round best-of-three series. Risinger started Game 2 and took the loss, as the Blue Sox made the most of three
524:
extended the lead to 5–2. When the
Lassies first two batters reached base in the final inning, manager English brought
785:
223:, a tiny village of Oklahoma with less than thirty people, located in the southwest part of the state just above the
199:
win a championship title in 1953. Unlike many of the AAGPBL girls she played with, Risinger never played organized
465:, tied with 143), fifth in innings (231) and sixth in complete games (22). In addition, she was selected for the
262:
I started working in the cotton fields so I could have shoes on my feet and clothes to wear. I was with no future
614:
The last few years of her life she spent her winters with family in Oklahoma, where she died at the age of 81.
572:
to play for the Daisies, the Grand Rapids players voted no to play. Richard was a last-minute replacement for
921:
860:
195:
One of the tallest players in the league's history, Earlene Risinger was an All-Star pitcher who helped the
384:
in the semi-final series, three to one games. Risinger went 1–0 with a 0.00 ERA in four innings of relief.
595:
626:
305:
232:
put food on the family table. Meanwhile, her mother was a housewife and had a garden; there were always
876:– W. C. Madden. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2000. Format: Paperback, 294pp. Language: English.
809:"All-American Girls Professional Baseball League website - Earlene Risinger biography by Joyce M Smith"
289:
Delighted with the opportunity to play, Risinger borrowed money from a bank and started on a train for
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808:
373:
338:
309:
196:
134:
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on a sharp grounder to the mound throwing to Voyce at first base for the final out of the game.
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During her early years in the league, Risinger had moved from her hometown to live and work in
877:
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533:
429:
248:
445:
381:
334:
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185:
181:
481:
went the distance and held off the Peaches, 4–3, to send the Chicks into the final series.
765:"All-American Girls Professional Baseball League website - Earlene Risinger autobiography"
665:
629:, which was unveiled to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
602:
sales. For almost forty years she worked professionally and on a volunteer basis with the
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462:
353:
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Baseball ran in the Risinger family, and he taught me to throw 'overhand' from the jump go
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409:
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283:
341:, a team that became her surrogate family based in a town that she came to call home.
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685:
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Asked what was the best thing about playing professional baseball, Risinger replied,
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to the rescue. Moore promptly retired the next three batters in order, striking out
598:. She continued living in Grand Rapids, where she kept busy helping to prepare for
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winning the batting title with a .346 mark. For the other side, South Bend's
690:
458:
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369:
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in Game 2, leading her team to a 2–0 victory while tying the series. Then
603:
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to put the score in favor of Grand Rapids, 3–2. Another sacrifice fly by
274:
appeared in the article. He forwarded her card to the league's office in
204:
200:
92:
72:
404:(29), and was one of three 20-win leaders (21) along with Fort Wayne's
474:
275:
208:
177:
48:
497:. Grand Rapids swept Kalamazoo to clinch the 1953 Championship Title.
420:
led all hitters for the second year in a row (.368) while Rockford's
861:"SABR Biography Project – Earlene Risinger biography by Jim Sargent"
344:
At Grand Rapids, Risinger improved with the guidance of her manager
192:. Listed at 6' 2", 137 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.
224:
489:
In the best-of-three final series, the Grand Rapids Chicks, with
325:
In her rookie season, Risinger compiled a 3–8 record with a 3.35
229:
922:"SABR Biography Project – June Peppas biography by Jim Sargent"
376:(120). The Chicks advanced to the playoffs and disposed of the
333:
in the Western Division. The Sallies, along with the expansion
436:
rallied to a comeback victory in the tenth inning of Game 2.
380:
in the first round, two to one games, but were beaten by the
563:
In the first series, Grand Rapids won Game 1, after pitcher
911:
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book
874:
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book
786:"All-American Girls Professional Baseball League History"
953:
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players
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905:
903:
901:
899:
897:
895:
893:
891:
889:
828:"The Diamond Angle – Interview with Earlene Risinger"
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at the helm, faced the Kalamazoo Lassies, managed by
461:), third in strikeouts (behind Faut and Rockford's
143:
120:
37:
21:
803:
801:
799:
780:
778:
776:
774:
759:
757:
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296:But in 1948 a second chance came. Risinger was
190:All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
40:All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
368:(210), Grand Rapids' teammate Earp (143), and
8:
963:Baseball players from Grand Rapids, Michigan
247:Mr. Risinger taught her daughter to throw a
163:Women in Baseball – AAGPBL Permanent Display
428:pitched a six-hit shutout in Game 1, while
364:(116), being surpassed only by Rockford's
360:(9-10, 1.88). She also finished fourth in
18:
636:
219:Earlene Risinger was born and raised in
749:
244:team that played on Sunday afternoons.
176:(March 20, 1927 – July 29, 2008) was a
165:Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (1988)
147:
124:
855:
853:
851:
849:
847:
845:
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308:, where she reported to the expansion
256:, she explained in her autobiography.
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820:
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7:
968:People from Jackson County, Oklahoma
448:by scoring her three unearned runs.
260:anything like that anywhere nearby.
621:, a permanent display based at the
612:life, and I am a very happy person.
540:to shortstop Ziegler, and inducing
400:led all pitchers in ERA (1.12) and
160:Six playoff appearances (1949–1954)
983:20th-century American sportspeople
282:, a well-balanced team managed by
207:and entered the league after full
14:
623:Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
29:
928:from the original on 2011-08-06
958:Baseball players from Oklahoma
1:
700:
500:In Game 1, at Grand Rapids,
144:Career highlights and awards
988:21st-century American women
203:when she was growing up in
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617:Since 1988 she is part of
512:drove home one run with a
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125:
116:
98:
78:
55:
46:
28:
157:Championship team (1953)
596:Grand Rapids, Michigan
174:Helen Earlene Risinger
627:Cooperstown, New York
306:Springfield, Illinois
211:was adopted in 1948.
520:and a RBI single by
408:(23) and Rockford's
300:again, this time by
633:Pitching statistics
590:Life after baseball
485:Championship Series
374:South Bend Blue Sox
339:Grand Rapids Chicks
310:Springfield Sallies
197:Grand Rapids Chicks
135:Grand Rapids Chicks
129:Springfield Sallies
502:Mary Lou Studnicka
378:Fort Wayne Daisies
356:(13-11, 2.18) and
327:earned run average
291:Rockford, Illinois
739:
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619:Women in Baseball
534:Dorothy Schroeder
430:Dorothy Kamenshek
264:, she clarified.
209:overhand pitching
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918:
912:
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884:
871:
865:
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836:
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830:. Archived from
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813:
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788:. Archived from
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769:
768:
761:
637:
382:Rockford Peaches
335:Chicago Colleens
280:Rockford Peaches
180:who played from
85:
65:
63:
42:
33:
24:
23:Earlene Risinger
19:
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635:
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554:
487:
479:Dorothy Mueller
463:Marie Mansfield
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390:
354:Lorraine Fisher
352:(14-10, 1.83),
346:Johnny Rawlings
323:
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302:Shirley Jameson
217:
164:
112:
111:
105:
87:
83:
67:
61:
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38:
22:
17:
16:Baseball player
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5:
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834:on 2011-06-14.
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792:on 2009-08-28.
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558:Bill Allington
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530:Isabel Alvarez
522:Joyce Ricketts
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434:Eleanor Callow
410:Lois Florreich
402:complete games
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366:Lois Florreich
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284:Bill Allington
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86:(aged 81)
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66:March 20, 1927
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565:Eleanor Moore
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531:
527:
526:Eleanor Moore
523:
519:
515:
514:sacrifice fly
511:
507:
506:Gloria Cordes
503:
498:
496:
495:Mitch Skupien
492:
491:Woody English
484:
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467:All-Star Team
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358:Alice Haylett
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351:
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336:
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331:Racine Belles
328:
320:
316:AAGPBL career
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313:
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270:The Oklahoman
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152:All-Star Team
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82:July 29, 2008
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51:
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27:
20:
930:. Retrieved
916:
873:
869:
832:the original
790:the original
740:
618:
616:
610:
608:
593:
585:
578:
570:Ruth Richard
562:
555:
546:
510:Alma Ziegler
499:
488:
471:
455:
438:
422:Rose Gacioch
414:
406:Maxine Kline
391:
350:Mildred Earp
343:
324:
295:
288:
268:
266:
261:
258:
253:
246:
242:sandlot ball
230:jack rabbits
218:
194:
173:
172:
107:
101:
84:(2008-07-29)
79:
56:
47:
978:2008 deaths
973:1927 births
600:real estate
581:June Peppas
574:Rita Briggs
542:June Peppas
532:, retiring
234:pinto beans
137:(1949–1954)
947:Categories
932:2011-03-27
518:Inez Voyce
418:Betty Foss
394:Betty Foss
362:strikeouts
238:first base
215:Early life
62:1927-03-20
459:Jean Faut
426:Helen Fox
398:Jean Faut
388:1950-1952
370:Jean Faut
321:1948-1949
926:Archived
604:Shriners
444:and two
416:Wayne's
249:baseball
205:Oklahoma
201:softball
184:through
93:Oklahoma
73:Oklahoma
744:Sources
538:pop fly
536:with a
508:. Then
475:shutout
372:of the
298:scouted
276:Chicago
188:in the
178:pitcher
102:Batted:
49:Pitcher
880:
735:1.241
446:errors
154:(1953)
131:(1948)
108:Threw:
442:walks
240:on a
225:Texas
121:Teams
110:right
104:right
80:Died:
57:Born:
878:ISBN
720:1073
717:1347
714:2.51
711:.477
696:WHIP
656:W-L%
552:1954
452:1953
432:and
221:Hess
186:1954
182:1948
89:Hess
69:Hess
732:578
729:599
726:379
723:524
702:187
661:ERA
625:in
949::
924:.
888:^
840:^
817:^
798:^
773:^
752:^
708:80
705:73
691:SO
686:BB
681:ER
666:IP
641:GP
606:.
469:.
312:.
286:.
91:,
71:,
935:.
863:.
811:.
767:.
676:R
671:H
651:L
646:W
64:)
60:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
