Dorothy Mary Naum (later Parker; January 5, 1928 – September 23, 2008) was a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

and

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

who played from through 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 , 112 lb, she batted and threw right-handed. Dorothy Naum played many different positions during her eight seasons in the league. Originally a catcher, she later was moved to the middle infield positions before emerging as a solid

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

. Though her

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

was fairly tepid, she had good control of her

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curv ...

and

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

. She led all pitchers for the best

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

in 1951, and helped her team reach the postseason in 1953. Overall, she posted a 27–19 record in four seasons, while her 2.01 ERA is one of the lowest in league's history.''All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book'' – W. C. Madden. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2000. Format: Paperback, 294pp. Language: English. Born in

Dearborn, Michigan Dearborn is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 109,976. Dearborn is the seventh most-populated city in Michigan and is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States per ...

, Dorothy was the daughter of James and Mary. She learned fundamentals of baseball from her two brothers at an early age, but did not begin playing

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

until she was a 12-year-old young girl. At 18, her team's coach advised her to try out as a catcher, because the league did not have enough good ones. Nevertheless, Naum admittedly was not strong enough to be a good hitter.''The 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. She entered the All-American Girls Professional Baseball 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 one year before joining the

Kenosha Comets Based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Kenosha Comets were a women's professional baseball team that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team played their home games at Kenosha's Lake Front Stadium, but l ...

(1947–1951) and

Kalamazoo Lassies The Kalamazoo Lassies were a team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team represented Kalamazoo, Michigan. Home games were initially played at Lindstrom Field, but later games were played at the ...

(1952–1953). In her first four seasons, Naum had modest hitting numbers, by compiling averages of .194 (1946), .207 (1947), .174 (1948) and .157 (1949). Then in 1950 with Kenosha, Naum was used periodically as a pitcher, which earned her a spot in the rotation. She responded with a 6–4 record and a 2.39 ERA in 19 games. She had an even better season for the Comets in 1951, when she was 5–4 and led the league with a 1.14 ERA. In 1953, Naum topped the Kalamazoo staff with a 14–7 record, while her 2.18 ERA was surpassed only by her teammate

Gloria Cordes Gloria Cordes Elliott (September 21, 1931 – March 13, 2018) was a starting pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 8", 138 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. Overview pro ...

(1.98), helping Kalamazoo reach the postseason to face the

Fort Wayne Daisies The Fort Wayne Daisies were a women's professional baseball team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana that played from through as members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. History The Daisies represented Fort Wayne, Indiana, and ...

in a best-of-three series. Following a twelve-inning 3–1 defeat to

Maxine Kline Maxine Kline (later Randall, September 16, 1929 – June 9, 2022) was a female starting pitcher who played from 1948 through 1954 with the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , , she batted and th ...

and the Daisies in Game 1, Naum was selected to start Game 2. Going in the ninth inning, the Lassies were down 1–0 in their last

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

. Naum stepped up to the plate and helped herself after hitting a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

over the fence to tie the game at 1–1. It was the first and last home run Naum hit in 1628 career AAGPBL at bats, including the postseason. She then set down Fort Wayne in the bottom of the ninth to force the

extra innings Extra innings is the extension of a baseball or softball game in order to break a tie. Ordinarily, a baseball game consists of nine regulation innings (in softball and high school baseball games there are typically seven innings; in Little Lea ...

. In the top of 10th inning, Jean Lovell singled in the winning run in the 10th, Naum retired the side in the bottom and was credited with a 2–1 victory in a complete 10-inning game. In Game 3, Kalamazoo won over Fort Wayne, 5–3, behind strong pitching from Kay Blumetta and two RBI from Lovell, and advanced to the best-of-three final series. Finally, Kalamazoo was defeated in two games by the

Grand Rapids Chicks The Grand Rapids Chicks were a women's professional baseball team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1945 to 1954, winning championships in 1947 and 1953. History The franchise ...

. Following the 1953 season, Naum married Ron Parker, who was going to allow her to play the final season of the league, but she became pregnant with her first child instead. The couple had two sons, Craig and Robert, and two granddaughters. Ron died in 1995, after 42 years of marriage. A resident of

Galesburg, Illinois Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The city is northwest of Peoria. At the 2010 census, its population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County and the principal city of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistic ...

since 1958, Dorothy Naum Parker was a member of the

, which was honored with a permanent display unveiled 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 ...

in October 1988. In her spare time, Dorothy was an avid

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

er . She participated in several Galesburg All-City Championships, while her other hobbies included

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

contract bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions ...

knitting Knitting is a method by which yarn is manipulated to create a textile, or fabric. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine. Knitting creates stitches: loops of yarn in a row, either flat or i ...

needlepoint Needlepoint is a type of canvas work, a form of embroidery in which yarn is stitched through a stiff open weave canvas. Traditionally needlepoint designs completely cover the canvas. Although needlepoint may be worked in a variety of stitches, m ...

and watching sports, especially the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

games. She also was a member of the

Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

. She died in 2008 at the age of 80.

Career statistics

Batting Pitching Collective fielding

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naum, Dorothy All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Baseball players from Michigan Sportspeople from Dearborn, Michigan People from Galesburg, Illinois 1928 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American women 20th-century American people 21st-century American women