Gloria Schweigerdt
| Gloria Schweigerdt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| All-American Girls Professional Baseball League | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: June 10, 1934 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| Died: July 10, 2014 (aged 80) Wauconda, Illinois, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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Gloria June Schweigerdt [״Tippy״] (June 10, 1934 – July 10, 2014) was an American pitcher who played from 1950 through 1952 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m), 120 lb, she batted and threw right-handed.[1]
Born in Chicago, to Emily (née Hardt) and Gottlieb Schweigerdt,[2] Gloria Schweigerdt started playing sandlot ball with her brother and the boys of her neighborhood at age seven. When she turned fifteen, she went to a league tryout held at Thillens Stadium in Skokie. In 1950, she was assigned to the Chicago Colleens/Springfield Sallies rookie touring teams. She traveled all over the country and posted an 8–7 record while pitching for the Colleens. During the trip, she hurled a no-hitter at the old Yankee Stadium. "No other woman had ever pitched off that mound before me", she recalled in an interview.[3][4]
Schweigerdt was promoted to the Grand Rapids Chicks in the 1951 season and ended up pitching for the Battle Creek Belles during the midseason. In all, Schweigerdt went 3–4 with a 2.72 earned run average in 14 games.[5]
She recalled winning a pitching duel against Jean Faut of the South Bend Blue Sox in the course of the year.[1][5] She had her best statistical season in 1952 with Battle Creek, when she compiled a 10–10 record and a 2.95 ERA. She also set personal bests in strikeouts (44) and innings (180), while tying for fourth in the league for the most games pitched (28).[5]
Personal life[edit]
She did not return to the league after marrying in 1953. After divorcing her husband, she raised two children, Gordon and Gloria, while working as a meat cutter for a long time before retiring in 1996.[5]
Last years/death[edit]
Gloria Schweigerdt lived in Arlington Heights, a suburb of Chicago, and attended AAGPBL Players Association reunions. The association was largely responsible for the opening of Women in Baseball, a permanent display based at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, which was unveiled in 1988 to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.[6] She died in 2014 in Wauconda, Illinois, at the age of 80.[7]
Career statistics[edit]
Pitching
| GP | W | L | W-L% | ERA | IP | H | RA | ER | BB | SO | HBP | WP | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | 13 | 14 | .481 | 2.88 | 256 | 230 | 114 | 82 | 95 | 80 | 10 | 1 | 1.27 |
Batting
| GP | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44 | 87 | 6 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 23 | .126 | .156 | .161 |
Fielding
| GP | PO | A | E | TC | DP | FA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | 12 | 71 | 6 | 29 | 0 | .913 |
Sources[edit]
- ^ a b c "All-American Girls Professional Baseball League official website – Gloria Schweigerdt profile".
- ^ "Schweigerdt – Chicago Tribune". Articles.chicagotribune.com. 2000-07-05. Retrieved 2014-07-12.
- ^ The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: A Biographical Dictionary – W. C. Madden. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2005. Format: Softcover, 295 pp. ISBN 978-0-7864-2263-0
- ^ 1950 Chicago Colleens
- ^ a b c d e The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
- ^ Intelius.com – Gloria J. Schweigerdt report
- ^ Obituary, legacy.com; accessed July 12, 2014.