Daisy Junor 'nee'' Knezovich(July 10, 1919 – April 29, 2012) was a Canadian outfielder who played in the

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...

. Listed at 5' 6", 140 lb., she batted and threw left-handed. Basically a line-drive hitter and a fine defensive player, outfielder Daisy Junor was one of the 68 girls from Canada who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during its 12-year history. Her elder sister,

Ruby Knezovich Ruby Knezovich ''Martz(March 18, 1918 – August 1, 1995) was a Canadian catcher who played from 1943 to 1944 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 2", 130 lb., she batted and threw right handed. Born in Hamilt ...

, also played in the league. Daisy was one of four children born into the family of Chris and Marina Knezovich. She was born and raised in Regina and lived her entire life in the province of Saskatchewan, with the exception of many winters she spent with her spouse Dave Junor in

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. Basically a line-drive hitter and speedy base runner, Junor was also a fine defensive player at all three outfield positions, playing mainly as a

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

for three different teams during her four seasons in the league.The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League She entered the league in 1946 with the

South Bend Blue Sox The South Bend Blue Sox was a women's professional baseball team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A founding member, the team represented South Bend, Indiana, and played their home games at Bendix Fi ...

, playing for them two and a half years before joining the Springfield Sallies (1948) and the Fort Wayne Daisies (1949). Her most productive season came in her rookie year, when she posted career-highs in games played (99), runs (30),

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(60), RBIs (22) and

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s (41), while ranking 10th among all outfielders with 17 assists. After returning to Regina, Junor became an accomplished bowler and golfer. From there, she was a member of the provincial bowling team that represented Saskatchewan in the Western Canada Five Pin Bowling Championships three times, winning both city and provincial titles. In addition, she won five golf club championships, two city championships and a provincial senior ladies golf title. In 1988, Junor received further recognition when she became part of ''Women in Baseball'', a permanent display based at the

Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-re ...

Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...

, which was unveiled to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. During her life, she was also honoured several times in recognition of her outstanding contribution to sport regionally, nationally and internationally, gaining inductions into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame (1989), the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (1998), the Regina Sports Hall of Fame (2004), and the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame in North Battleford. Shortly before her death in 2012, the City of Regina honoured Daisy with the naming of Junor Drive in northwest Regina.

Career statistics

Batting Fielding

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Junor, Daisy All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players South Bend Blue Sox players Springfield Sallies players Fort Wayne Daisies players Canadian baseball players Canadian ten-pin bowling players Canadian female golfers Golfing people from Saskatchewan Baseball players from Regina, Saskatchewan Canadian expatriates in the United States 1919 births 2012 deaths 20th-century Canadian sportswomen