Carolyn E. Morris (September 28, 1925 – February 20, 1996) 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 , 157 lb., Morris batted and threw right-handed. She was nicknamed ''India'' by her teammates and close friends. A hard-throwing, underhand pitcher, Carolyn Morris had a brief but relevant career in the AAGPBL. She hurled a perfect game, three

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

s, twelve innings of no-hit ball in a final championship series, and averaged 26 wins in each of her three seasons in the circuit. In addition, she was a member of a champion team and earned an All-Star berth. A native of

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, Morris was a smiling attractive brunette who pursued a modeling career before turning all of her attention to baseball. She started pitching

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 ...

in grammar school, and stayed in school competition right up to and through high school. After that, she hurled in the Phoenix area in male teams. In addition, Morris was an accomplished musician and devoted to classical music. She entered the AAGPBL after graduating from school in 1944 and was allocated to the Rockford Peaches. In 1944 Morris joined a Rockford team managed by Nap Kloza. The Peaches finished fourth in the first half of the year (28-32), but improved to third the second half (26-31) after collecting the fourth overall record (53-65) out of six teams. Morris gave a great contribution to the team, hurling two no-hitters and finishing with a 23–18 record for a .561

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 ...

in 44 pitching appearances. She struggled with her control,

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an " inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults o ...

133 batters while

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112. for a 0.84 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Proving her rookie season was not a fluke, Morris excelled in 1945. Overall, she had a solid season, going 28–12 (.700) and improved her K/BB to a solid 2.16 (119-to-55). In addition, during the midseason she pitched a perfect game against the Fort Wayne Daisies. The Rockford team, now with Bill Allington at the helm, clinched the first place with a 67–43 record. In the first round of the playoffs, the Peaches disposed of the Grand Rapids Chicks, three to two games, with Morris winning 1–0 and 2–0 shutouts decisions against stellar Connie Wisniewski and the Chicks. Then, in the final series Rockford beat the Daisies in five games, with Morris winning three of the four victories for her team. But Morris was even better in her final season. In 1946, she posted a 29–13 record (.690 W%) with a 1.42

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 ...

in 49 games, striking out 240 batters while walking only 98 (2.45 K/BB). Her numbers included a third no-hitter and career-highs in wins, strikeouts and ERA. Rockford finished in fourth place (60-52), advanced to the playoffs, and defeated the Grand Rapids Chicks in the first round, three to two games. In the final series against the

Racine Belles The Racine Belles were one of the original teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing from through out of Racine, Wisconsin. The Belles won the league's first championship. The team played its home games at Horlick F ...

, Morris pitched a no-hitter for nine innings in Game 6 and was not removed until the bottom of the twelfth inning. Belles pitcher

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 ...

allowed thirteen hits, but Racine could not put them together to produce a run. The scoreless game went into the bottom of fourteen, until Sophie Kurys of the Belles got a hit off reliever Mildred Deegan, stole second base, and, in the midst of stealing third, saw her teammate Betty Trezza hit the ball to right field. Kurys slid home to score the winning run and the Belles won the championship title. At the end of the season, Morris was selected for the All-Star Team. Following her baseball career, Morris worked as a

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and, relatedly, a notary public. She also became 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 , which is dedicated to the entire league rather than any individual player. She died in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The population was 504,258 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Arizona, third-most populous city in Arizona, after Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, T ...

at the age of 70.

Pitching statistics

AAGPBL perfect games

''All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book'' – W. C. Madden. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2000. Format: Paperback, 294pp. Language: English.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Carolyn All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Baseball players from Phoenix, Arizona 1925 births 1996 deaths 20th-century American sportswomen Pitchers who have pitched a perfect game