Shirley Jameson (March 29, 1918 – December 29, 1993) was an American

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 ...

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 4' 10¾" (1.49 m), 104 lb. (47 k), Jameson batted

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

and threw

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subject ...

. She was born in

Maywood, Illinois Maywood is a village in Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States in the Chicago metropolitan area. It was founded on April 6, 1869, and organized October 22, 1881. The population was 23,512 at the 2020 United States Census. Histor ...

. Jameson was born in Maywood, Illinois. There she attended Proviso Township High School, graduating in 1935. In high school, Jameson was a superb athlete, who by her junior year was manager of the GAA's softball team. During the 1930s she became one of the elite speed skaters in the country, winning the Silver Skates in 1939, and the Illinois women's state titles in 1939 and 1940. At the same time she was competing in the flourishing Chicago amateur softball scene. After 1940, she dropped speed skating and focused on softball.

AAGPBL career

Of the original four players signed by Wrigley in 1943, Shirley Jameson was the second. The other two, besides

Ann Harnett Ann S. Harnett ( Solowey, August 10, 1920 – 1974) was a female utility player who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 6", 139 lb., Harnett batted and threw right-handed. She was born in ...

and Jameson, were Claire Schillace and Edythe Perlick. These players were carefully selected from the Chicago amateur softball association league to be the role models for the All American Girls' Professional League. The pickup of the right-center fielders, a second position peculiar to softball, was the diminutive Jameson, who had played for the Garden City Brew Maids. At twenty-three, with a middle-class background, she was a college graduate who was working as a

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

teacher in the Morrison, Illinois, school system. Harnett, Jameson, Schillace and Perlick epitomized the carefully constructed image of feminine, attractive, well-manered ballplayers. Press releases and publicity photos showcased them. Notably, Jameson was one of the rare non-pitchers who threw left-handed but batted right-handed. Fast as lightning on the bases or in center field, she had a great throwing arm and was a competent

leadoff hitter In baseball, a leadoff hitter is a batter who bats first in the lineup. It can also refer to any batter who bats first in any inning. Strategy Traditionally, the leadoff hitter has been utilized as a contact-oriented position. The leadoff hit ...

. Usually, opposing pitchers said she was one of the hardest hitters in the league, because of her small frame and her bat speed. Jameson played from 1943 to 1946 with 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 ...

. In the inaugural season, she led the league with 126

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 o ...

s and posted career-numbers in games (105),

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(.271),

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

(108),

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the b ...

(32), and

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted bal ...

(111). At the end of the season, she was selected for the All-Star Team. A light hitter, Jameson posted a career .229

in 385 games, which she compensated with a respectable .359

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

. She had the ability to get on base, by any means, way above than the pure hability to get the

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

. She reached

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

by walks, by a bunt single or being hit by the pitcher. A smart and aggressive baserunner, she stole 401 bases, but also knew when to take the additional base on an overthrow – 41 of her 313 hits were for extrabases, and also walked 279 times. Following her baseball career, she became a talent

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, secti ...

for the All-American. The AAGPBL folded in 1954, but there is now a permanent display 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 ...

since November 5, that honors those who were part of this unforgettable experience. Jameson, along with the rest of the AAGPBL players, is now enshrined in the venerable building of

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 ...

. She died in 1993 at the age of 75.

Career statistics

Batting Fielding

Fact

*The All-American girls were all superb athletes, but their all-male managers expected them to be more. The players were expected to be perfect ladies, as they had chaperones directing their every move. Her feminine uniforms included a knee-length skirt, and to top it all off they had a ''Charm School'' directed by

Helena Rubinstein Helena Rubinstein (born Chaja Rubinstein; December 25, 1870 – April 1, 1965) was a Polish and American businesswoman, art collector, and philanthropist. A cosmetics entrepreneur, she was the founder and eponym of Helena Rubinstein Incorporat ...

, who, with her chain of beauty salons, was synonymous with the feminine ideal.

Sources

* "Morrison Teacher's Picture in Magazine," ''Dispatch,'' August 21, 1942. *''Encyclopedia of Women and Baseball'' – Leslie A. Heaphy, Laura Wulf, Mel Anthony May. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2006. Format: Hardcover, 438pp. Language: English. *''Girls of Summer: The Real Story of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League'' – Lois Browne. Publisher: HarperCollins, 1992. Format: Hardcover, 212 pp. Language: English. *''Women in Baseball: The Forgotten History'' – Gai Ingham Berlage, Charley Gerard. Publisher: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1994. Format: Hardcover, 224pp. Language: English.

External links

* *
Jackie Mitchell: The Girl Who Struck Out Babe Ruth
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jameson, Shirley All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Kenosha Comets players 1929 births 1993 deaths Sportspeople from Maywood, Illinois Baseball players from Cook County, Illinois Place of death missing