Alice Haylett (April 2, 1923 – March 27, 2004), nicknamed "Al" and "Sis", was a female

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

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 , 155 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.Alice Haylett – Profile/Obituary
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''; retrieved April 15, 2019.

Biography

A native of

Coldwater, Michigan Coldwater is a city in and county seat of Branch County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city had a population of 13,822 at the 2020 census. The city is mostly surrounded by Coldwater Township, but the two are administered autonomously. H ...

, Haylett grew up in a farm family of English,

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch (), also referred to as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania in the United States, Ontario in Canada, and other regions of both nations. They largely originate from the Palatinate (region), Palatina ...

, and Indian ancestry. She graduated from Coldwater High School in 1940, and after taking a summer job in

Battle Creek, Michigan Battle Creek is a city in northwestern Calhoun County, Michigan, United States, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a tota ...

she worked full-time for five years and played

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

for several local teams. She heard about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from Betty Whiting, a fellow softball player who had entered the league in 1945 with the

Milwaukee Chicks The Milwaukee Chicks were a women's professional baseball team which played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the season. They were managed by Max Carey, former star player for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Brooklyn Rob ...

. Haylett attended a tryout for the league in 1946, and was assigned to 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 franchis ...

, playing for them for the next four years. In her

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

season, Haylett hit a .221

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 ...

playing briefly at

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In bat and ball games ...

. Grand Rapids finished in second place that season. In 1947, she joined the pitching staff and posted a 19–11 record, helping her team to clinch the championship. Her most productive season came in 1948, just when the league changed to pitching overhand and adopted a smaller

ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but sometimes ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for s ...

. She made the adjustments, relying on a strong

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

and a breaking

curve In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line, but that does not have to be straight. Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point. This is the definition that ...

that baffled opposite hitters who tried to analyze her pitches. Haylett finished with a 25–5 mark, led the league in

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage or Copeland score is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the to ...

(.833) and

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 number ...

(0.77), and tied with

Joanne Winter Joanne Emily Winter '' o' (November 24, 1924 – September 22, 1996) was a pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 138 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. Early life A nativ ...

in victories. She was named Pitcher of the Year and also earned an All-Star berth. With Haylett at the mound, the Chicks won the 1947 AAGPBL Championship Title and reached the playoffs in 1948 and 1949. However, she ended her career prematurely after developing a sore pitching arm in her last season. Haylett, who never married, worked at the

Kellogg Company Kellanova, formerly known as the Kellogg Company and commonly known as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, US. Kellanova produces and markets convenience foods and snack f ...

in Battle Creek for 30 years and retired to Florida in 1981. She returned to softball briefly, and eventually played golf. She died at her

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...

home on March 27, 2004, three weeks before her 81st birthday.

Career statistics

Pitching Madden, W.C., ''The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: A Biographical Dictionary''. McFarland & Company (2005);
Batting

References

External links

Alice Haylett, Earlene "Beans" Risinger, and Mildred Earp Photograph, 1950
''

National Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United St ...

''. Retrieved 2019-04-15. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayett, Alice 1923 births 2004 deaths All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Grand Rapids Chicks players Baseball players from Michigan People from Coldwater, Michigan Baseball players from Lakeland, Florida 20th-century American sportswomen 21st-century American women