Audrey Kissel
| Audrey Kissel | |
|---|---|
| All-American Girls Professional Baseball League | |
| Second base | |
| Born: February 27, 1926 St. Louis, Missouri | |
| Died: March 19, 2017 (aged 91) St. Louis, Missouri | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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Audrey Susan Kissel [Lafser] (February 27, 1926 – March 19, 2017) was an American infielder who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She batted and threw right handed.[1][2]
Audrey Kissel played the 1944 season with the Minneapolis Millerettes,[3] but she did not return the next year and opted for married life instead.[4]
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Audrey was one of six siblings born to John and Alma Kissel.[2] Audrey learned to play baseball from her three brothers. She attended Hancock High School in St. Louis, where she played basketball, softball and volleyball, and captained all of those teams.[5]
Audrey then played in a preparatory baseball league until she was 18, and was ready to play in the All-American League. 'Kiss', as her teammates dubbed her, would eventually play second base for the Milleretes. Moreover, the press called her 'Pigtails' because of the way she wore her hair.[4]
A lively fielder and speedy runner, Kissel joined an infield that included Vivian Kellogg (1B), Betty Trezza (SS) and Marge Callaghan (3B).[6] She hit .189 (68-for-360) and stole 47 bases in 102 games, collecting a double, three triples and one home run, while scoring 47 runs with 19 RBI. As a fielder, she hauled in 261 putouts with 182 assists and turned 20 double plays, while committing 37 errors in 480 total chances for a .923 fielding average.[6]
During the off-season, Kissel was notified that her boyfriend, a sailor in the US Navy, had been listed as killed in action. Nevertheless, the news was denied later by government authorities. Aftermath, he returned home to her before she signed a new contract to play in the league.[4]
Audrey married to Frederick Lafser in 1945 and they had five children.[4] A year later, she played for the Parichy Bloomer Girls of the National Girls Baseball League based in Chicago.[5]
In 1988 was inaugurated a permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, New York, that honors those who were part of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Audrey, along with the rest of the girls and the league staff, is included at the display/exhibit.[7] In 1996, she was inducted into the Hancock High School Hall of Fame. Additionally, each year the school presents the Audrey Kissell/Lafser Athletic Award which is named in her honor.[8]
She died in 2017 in St. Louis, Missouri, at the age of 91.
Sources
- ^ "Audrey Lafser – Profile". All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
- ^ a b Obituary. Legacy. Retrieved on May 3, 2017.
- ^ "Dirt on Their Skirts: The Minneapolis Millerettes". forgotten minnesota. 2014-06-27. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
- ^ a b c d Madden, W. C. (2005) The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-2263-0
- ^ a b Heaphy, Leslie A.; May, Mel Anthony 2006). McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-2100-8
- ^ a b Madden, W. C. (2000) All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-0597-8
- ^ Before A League of Their Own. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved on September 5, 2016.
- ^ Hancock High School of Fame Inductees. Hancock Athletic Hall of Fame. Retrieved on May 3, 2017.