The Rockford Peaches were a women's professional baseball team who played from 1943 - 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League . A founding member, the team represented Rockford, Illinois .
13-592: The Peaches were one of 2 teams to play in every AAGPBL season, the other being the South Bend Blue Sox . They played their home games at Beyer Stadium on 15th Avenue in Rockford. The team's uniform consisted of a peach colored dress featuring the Rockford city seal centered on the chest, along with red socks and cap. In later years, the Peaches wore a white home uniform with black socks and cap. One of
26-522: A 13–inning match, which she won 1–0. The next three years, South Bend finished 64–55 (1944), 49–60 (1945), 70–42 (1946), 57–54 (1947) and 57–59 (1948). After falling in their playoff intents, in the 1949 season the team posted the best record in with a 75–36 mark. That year they were swept in the playoffs, 4–to–0, by Rockford, after getting a first-round bye along with them. The South Bend club went on to win their next four playoffs in claiming back-to-back championship titles in 1951 and 1952 . After that,
39-577: The "Shamrocks" by out of town newspapers owing to their green uniforms, a contest to name the team was won by Mrs. Hazel Templeton who chose The Comets which the team officially adopted on June 4. In 1943, the Comets posted the third-best record of the league at 56–52, but had won the second-half title (33–21) and earned a ticket to the playoffs; they were swept in three games by the Racine Belles . Kenosha again placed third in 1944 (62–54) and made
52-462: The All-Star teams from 1946 to 1954 included Dorothy Kamenshek , Lois Florreich , Dorothy Harrell , Carolyn Morris , Alice Pollitt , Ruth Richard , Rose Gacioch , Eleanor Callow , and Joan Berger . Pitcher Olive Little hurled the first no-hitter both in team and league history. In addition, Florreich was the pitching champion in 1949 during the league's overhand era, and Gladys Davis won
65-519: The Blue Sox finished in last place both in the 1953 and 1954 seasons. Apart from the aforementioned Barr and Berger, the South Bend included talented players as Mary Baker ( C ), Jean Faut ( P ) Betsy Jochum ( OF / 1B ), Elizabeth Mahon (OF), Betty Whiting ( IF ), and Dottie Schroeder ( SS ), who played with four teams to become the only girl to play through the 12 years of existence of
78-698: The Rockford Peaches are also centered in the 2022 TV series A League of Their Own . South Bend Blue Sox The South Bend Blue Sox was a women's professional baseball team who played from 1943 through 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League . A founding member, the team represented South Bend, Indiana , and played their home games at Bendix Field (1943–1945) and Playland Park (1946–1954). The Blue Sox were one of two teams to play in every AAGPBL season without relocating,
91-517: The age of 101. The Rockford Peaches feature in the 1992 film A League of Their Own by Penny Marshall . However, all of the characters in the film are fictitious. The team did not play in the 1943 league championship, as depicted in the film. In real life, the Racine Belles faced the Kenosha Comets in 1943; the Peaches won their first title in 1945. The formation of the AAGPBL and
104-479: The circuit. Kenosha Comets The Kenosha Comets were a women's professional baseball team based in Kenosha, Wisconsin that played from 1943 through 1951 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 of the first four teams in the AAGPBL. Unofficially nicknamed
117-610: The first round, three games to zero. In 1949, Kenosha finished fourth (58–55) in the eight–team league, and lost to the Muskegon Lassies in two games during the first round of post–season action. Their most productive season came in 1950, when they finished second with a 64–46 record, three games behind Racine, only to lose for the fifth straight appearance in the first round, this time to the Rockford Peaches in four games. In 1951, Kenosha placed sixth (36–71) in
130-446: The league batting crown in the 1943 inaugural season , while Kamenshek earned the honors in the 1946 and 1947 seasons. When former player Eileen Burmeister was asked why The Peaches supposedly favored theatricality over technical skill, she replied, "If God meant for us to play baseball, He would've made us any good at it.". The last living player of the first Peaches roster in AAGPBL, pitcher Mary Pratt , died on May 6, 2020, at
143-531: The more successful teams in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League , the Dollys won the league championship in 1945 , 1948 , 1949 , and 1950 and had its share of star players. Dyes were hard to come by towards the end of the war and the team chose to dye their white uniforms a light shade of peach, which inspired the team nickname. Olive Little threw the first no-hitter in team and league history, on June 10, 1943. Peaches players who were named to
SECTION 10
#1732775649171156-533: The other being the Rockford Peaches . Often a second-division team, they appeared in six playoff series and won two league titles. In the 1943 inaugural season , The Blue Sox finished in third place with a 51–40 mark, only .001 percentage point behind second place Kenosha Comets . Together, pitchers Margaret Berger and Doris Barr threw 79 of the 91 games played by the Sox. Berger was credited with 25 wins and Barr with 15, while Berger posted her greatest triumph in
169-503: The playoffs, thanks to a first-half title (36–23). The Comets took a 3–2 lead over the Milwaukee Chicks in the best-of-seven series, but lost the decisive Game 7. Kenosha faded after that, placing last in 1945 (41–69), seventh of eight teams in 1946 (42–70), and last in 1947 (43–69). The Comets rebounded in 1948, placing fifth (61–64) in the five–team Western Division and advancing to the playoffs, but were defeated by Racine in
#170829