Alice Pollitt Deschaine orn Margaret Pollitt(July 19, 1929 – March 15, 2016) was an

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

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 , 150 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. A native of

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

, Margaret Pollitt was born to John and Mary (née Miller) Pollitt. She grew up in a home where sport was considered of vital importance. Her father, who had been a professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

before coming to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, was also an avid baseball fanatic and motivated her to play the game at a very early age. A two-time All-Star, Pollitt was discovered by an AAGPBL

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, sect ...

while she was playing in her hometown and entered the league in 1947. She played all seven of her AAGPBL seasons with the

Rockford Peaches The Rockford Peaches were a women's professional baseball team who played from 1943 to 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A founding member, the team represented Rockford, Illinois. The Peaches were one of 2 teams to p ...

, helping them win three championships pennants by combining a sharp defense and provided stability through the middle of the batting order. Pollitt started at

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

in her rookie season, then anchored

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

for six years as part of a solid and durable Rockford infield that included Dorothy Kamenshek at

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 ...

, Mildred Deegan at

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

and Dorothy Harrell at shortstop. Her most productive season came in 1951, when she collected a .299

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 ...

and tied with

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 ...

' Betty Foss and teammate Eleanor Callow for the most

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s (four). Pollitt also ranked fourth in

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hit (baseball), hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single (baseball), single, 2 for a double (baseball), double, 3 for a triple (baseball), triple and 4 ...

(158), fifth in

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 ...

(121) and runs (88), seventh in average, while tying for second in

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

with Kamenshek (9) behind

' Eleanor Callow (10). In addition, she gained her first selection for the All-Star Team.All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book In 1952, Pollitt batted .270 and stole 35 bases, being selected to the All-Star Team as a reserve infielder. She then posted career-numbers with a .315 average and 14 doubles in 1953, her last year in the league.

Personal life

After marrying in 1951 Glenmore Deschaine (who died in 1991), the couple had two children, a son and a daughter.Margaret Deschaine obituary
, legacy.com; accessed March 19, 2016. In November 1988, Alice along with her former teammates and opponents, received their long overdue recognition, when 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 a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and the 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 ...

, dedicated a permanent display to the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. Alice died on March 15, 2016, at Bay Bluffs,

Harbor Springs, Michigan Harbor Springs is a city and resort community in Emmet County, Michigan, United States. The population was 1,274 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Harbor Springs is in a sheltered bay on the north shore of the Little Traverse Bay on ...

. She was survived by her children, Rick and Dawn (Mrs. Patrick Keiser), and extended family.

Career statistics

Batting Collective fielding

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollitt, Alice 1929 births 2016 deaths All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Baseball players from Lansing, Michigan People from Harbor Springs, Michigan Sportspeople from Emmet County, Michigan 20th-century American sportswomen Rockford Peaches players