Anna Meyer

Anna Meyer

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
Shortstop
Born: November 17, 1928 (1928-11-17) (age 83)
Aurora, Illinois
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Anna L. Meyer [Pee Wee] (born November 17, 1928 in Aurora, Illinois) is a former female shortstop who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the 1944 season. She batted and threw right-handed.[1]

Contents

Career

In 1942, chewing gum magnate and Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley decided to start a women's pro softball league, concerned that the 1943 major-league season might be canceled because of World War II. Play in 1943 was a weird hybrid of softball and baseball, and the circuit was initially called the All-American Girls Softball League, though early in the first season the name was changed to All American Girl's Baseball League.[2]

Meyer was one of the youngest players to sign a contract with the newly founded All-American Girls Professional Baseball League at age 15. She was invited to a tryout in the 1944 spring training and immediately was assigned to the Kenosha Comets. Meyer earned the promotion only after her father lied about her age. The league minimum was 16, as she was eight months short of becoming eligible.[3]

During the 1944 midseason, Meyer was traded by Kenosha to the Minneapolis Millerettes in the same transaction that brought Elizabeth Mahon to the Comets. Meyer hit a combined .192 batting average in 142 games. Considering the league was using underhand pitching and a softball with a 12-inch circumference, her average was acceptable for a middle infielder, especially with slick defensive skills. In fact, All-Star outfielder Betsy Jochum clinched the batting title that year with a .296 mark.[4][5]

At the end of the season, Meyer jumped to a rival Chicago circuit to get more playing time and nearly as much money. Meyer, who played for the Chicago Bluebirds during five years, also liked it more because she did not have to travel and could hold down a job.[6]

In 1950 Meyer married with photographer George Petrovic. They raised two sons, David and George, Jr. She is currently living in Tucson, Arizona.[7][8]

Statistics

Batting

GP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP
141 365 38 79 8 2 1 11 33 50 43 .192 .311

Fielding

PO A E DP TC FA
346 63 17 11 426 .953

Fact

Sources

  1. ^ Encyclopedia of women and baseball – Leslie A. Heaphy, Mel Anthony May. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2006. Format: Paperback, 438pp. Language: English. ISBN 0786421002
  2. ^ All-American Girls Professional Baseball League History
  3. ^ Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: A Biographical Dictionary - W. C. Madden. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2005. Format: Paperback, 295 pp. Language: English. ISBN 0786437472
  4. ^ SABR Biography Project – Jim Sargent
  5. ^ All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Player Page
  6. ^ We Were There, Too!: Young People in U.S. History – Phillip M Hoose. Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 2001. Language: English. Format: Hardcover, 276 pp. Language: English. ISBN 0374382522
  7. ^ Star-Collector.net
  8. ^ The Celebrity Black Book 2008 – Jordan Mcauley. Publisher: Mega Niche Media, 2007. Format: Paperback, 744pp. Language: English. ISBN 1604870028
Teams
Awards and Recognitions
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