Cartha Doyle (later Childress) (born October 12, 1929) is a former

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 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 5' 5", 130 lb., she batted and threw right handed.Cartha Childress
''

''. Retrieved 2019-04-11. Doyle saw limited action at

second base In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the infield, between second and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must ...

during her only season in the league.

Biography

Born in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, Doyle attended Young High School in South Knoxville, where she was a member of the

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

squad in her senior year. She also played basketball and

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) ...

in the city league, and was convinced by AAGPBL player Doris Sams to join the league while still in high school. Doyle made a tryout, and later became one of two hundred players to attend the first AAGPBL

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 ...

outside the United States, which was held in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

at Gran Stadium de La Habana before the 1947 season. She made the grade and was assigned to 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 ...

. The 17-year-old played briefly for the Peaches, where she earned the nickname ″Duckie″ (a shortening of ''duck soup''), which players got called when they were an easy out as a batter.The Free Dictionary – duck soup
/ref> At the end of the season she married Albert Lee Childress and decided not to go back to the league the following season.Encyclopedia of Women and Baseball Instead, Doyle played softball in her hometown until 1967. After that she coached and umpired for a long time, retiring in 1982. She developed

arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...

in both knees and had

knee replacement Knee replacement, also known as knee arthroplasty, is a surgical procedure to replace the weight-bearing surfaces of the knee joint to relieve pain and disability, most commonly offered when joint pain is not diminished by conservative sources. ...

surgery. Meanwhile, she gave birth to one daughter, Janet, and helped her husband run a family business. She was widowed in 1975.The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Doyle received further recognition in 1988 when she became part of ''Women in Baseball'', a permanent display based 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 ...

, which was unveiled to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She also was inducted into the Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. As of 2025, she lives in

Maryville, Tennessee Maryville is a city in and the county seat of Blount County, Tennessee. Its population was 31,907 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History The Great Indian Warpath (which was used to build the route U.S. Route 411, US-411) was long ...

Career statistics

Batting Fielding

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doyle, Cartha 1929 births Living people All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Rockford Peaches players Baseball players from Knoxville, Tennessee 21st-century American women