Alta Lucille Little (May 21, 1923 – March 10, 1999) was an American first sacker and

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 1947 to 1948 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 ...

. She batted and threw right handed. Born in

Gas City, Indiana Gas City is a city in Grant County, Indiana, United States, along the Mississinewa River. The population was 6,157 at the 2020 census. History Gas City was first known as Harrisburg when settled on May 25, 1867, by Noah Harris. It became a boo ...

,Madden, W. C. ''All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book'' (2005). McFarland & Company. Little grew up in

Muskegon, Michigan Muskegon ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Muskegon County, Michigan, United States. Situated around a harbor of Lake Michigan, Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, and boating. It is the most populous city along Lake Michigan' ...

, where her sisters played on a

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) ...

team. She wanted to play along with her sisters, but the team's coach said her that she was too young. As luck would have it, one day the team was short of players and she received a chance to play at the age of 11. She then formed part of the regular lineup thereafter. In 1947, Little was playing in a Muskegon factory league when an AAGPBL scout signed her to a contract, as she went to

Opa-locka, Florida Opa-locka () is a Municipality, city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. Spanning roughly , it is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population was 16,463, up fro ...

for

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

. She was assigned to her home team,

Muskegon Lassies The Muskegon Lassies were one of the expansion teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1946 season, representing Muskegon, Michigan. The team played their home games at Marsh Field. The league, its teams, and its story ...

, but she was never given enough playing time because already the Lassies had the slick-fielding Sara Reeser at first base. She then was reassigned to 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 ...

the next season and the same thing happened, as they used outstanding first sacker

Betty Foss Betty "Fossey" Weaver-Foss (May 10, 1929 – February 8, 1998) was an infielder and outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 180 lb., she was a switch-hitter and threw right-hand ...

. Unable to crack the lineup as a regular, Little decided to leave the league. In a sixteen-game career, she collected six hits in 47 at-bats for a .128

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 ...

. She also made one pitching appearance. After baseball, Little she went into managing

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

lanes. She eventually moved to

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

and became the director of operations for Don Carter's All Star Lanes.Heaphy, Leslie A.; May, Mel Anthony 2006). McFarland & Company. Little is part of the AAGPBL 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 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 ...

opened in 1988, which is dedicated to the entire league rather than any individual figure. In 1995, she was invited to

Arlington Stadium Arlington Stadium was a baseball stadium located in Arlington, Texas, United States, located between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. It served as the home of the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1972 until 1993, after which the ...

to throw out the

ceremonial first pitch The ceremonial first pitch is a longstanding ritual of baseball in which a guest of honor throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Originally, the guest threw a ball from their seat in the grandstand to ...

before a game between the home Texas Rangers and the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

. Little was a long time resident of

, where she died in 1999 at the age of 75.Texas Deaths Index - The Year 1999
''GenealogyBuff.com''. Retrieved on March 25, 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Little, Alta 1923 births 1999 deaths All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Muskegon Lassies players Fort Wayne Daisies players Baseball players from Dallas People from Grant County, Indiana Sportspeople from Muskegon, Michigan 20th-century American sportswomen