Meryle Fitzgerald
| Meryle Fitzgerald | |
|---|---|
 | |
| All-American Girls Professional Baseball League | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: January 24, 1925 Hutchinson, Minnesota | |
| Died: March 4, 2004 (aged 79) Mitchell, South Dakota | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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Meryle Fitzgerald (later LeClaire; January 24, 1925 – March 4, 2004) was a pitcher who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Fitzgerald batted and threw right handed. She was dubbed 'Pinkey' by her teammates.[1]
Born in Hutchinson, Minnesota to Elmer and Virginia Fitzgerald, she was raised in Rapid City, South Dakota. By the age of 10 she was the mascot/batgirl for a baseball team coached by her father. Meryle was 21 when she joined the Fort Wayne Daisies in 1946,[1] but she did not have much of a chance to play during the season. She made two pitching appearances,[2] but additional information is incomplete because there are no records available at the time of the request.[1][2]
In 1988, a permanent display was inaugurated 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. Meryle Fitzgerald is included at the display/exhibit.[3] She later was inducted into the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame.[1]
Sources
[edit]- ^ a b c d All-American Girls Professional Baseball League – Meryle LeClaire – Profile / Obituary. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
- ^ 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 September 5, 2016.