Dorothy Harrell

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Dorothy Harrell
Los Angeles, California
Died: September 15, 2011(2011-09-15) (aged 87)
Cathedral City, California
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
debut
1944
Last appearance
1952
Teams
Career highlights and awards
  • Five-time All-Star Team (1947–1950, 1952)
  • Four-time Championship team (1945, 1948–1950)
  • Six play-off appearances (1945–1946, 1948–1950, 1952)
  • Women in Baseball – AAGPBL Permanent Display at Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (1988)

Dorothy Harrell (February 4, 1924 – September 15, 2011) was a shortstop who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 4", 127 lb., Harrell batted and threw right-handed. After being married she played under the name of Dorothy Doyle.[1][2]

An

at-bats for a very solid 2.14 BB/K ratio.[3]

A native of

Los Angeles, California, Dorothy Harrell was nicknamed ″Snookie″ by her grandmother when she was born. She had an interesting bloodline. Her father, William D. Harrell, was of Irish, Scottish and Cherokee heritage, while her mother, Catherine Harrell, was of Welsh and German ancestry. She received encouragement early in her life from her mother, a huge baseball fan, who gave her a baseball glove and a uniform for Christmas when she was five years old. Harrell graduated from John C. Fremont High School and played organized softball in the Los Angeles area before marrying in 1943 Leonard Isbell. She remained married through 1946.[4][5][6]

Harrell was discovered in 1944 by

Jack Kloza.[7][8]

Entering her first season as the starting shortstop, Harrell was instrumental part of a solid and durable Rockford infield that included

third. After two losing seasons the Peaches led the circuit with a 67–43 record in 1945. During the playoffs, Rockford beat the Grand Rapids Chicks in the first round, three to one games, and defeated the Fort Wayne Daisies in the best-of-seven series, four to one games, behind a strong pitching effort from Carolyn Morris (3–0) and the opportune hitting of Kamenshek (6-for-21, .285, two RBI).[9][10]

In 1946 Rockford finished in fourth place (60-52) and disposed of Grand Rapids in the first round, three-to-two games, but lost the finals to the

Mildred Deegan; stole second base, and, in the midst of stealing third, saw her teammate Betty Trezza hit a single to right field. Kurys tagged and slid at home plate for the only run of the game.[9][11]

Dorothy Harrell, acrobatic All-Star shortstop for the Rockford Peaches, one of the top players in AAGPBL history, who served as an inspiration for the 1992 film A League of Their Own. Photo Credit: Bettmann/CORBIS.

Harrell earned her first All-Star selection in 1947. Starting that year, she led her team in runs batted during four consecutive seasons, batting a career-high .271 average in 1950, and joining the All-Star squad from 1948 to 1950. Rockford returned to the playoffs in 1948, to start a string of three straight championships.[9]

In 1948 Rockford beat Fort Wayne Daisies in the best-of-seven series, four to one games. Helen Nicol won all four playoff games she pitched, including the finale in the championship against Maxine Kline, by a 4–2 score. Throughout the finals Harrell was the best hitter, leading all players with a .432 average (7-for-17).[9]

In 1949, Harrell married David Doyle and played the rest of her career under her married name, Dorothy Doyle. Her husband died in 1963, and she never remarried.[2]

Meanwhile, Rockford continued their torrid pace in 1949, sweeping their longtime rival South Bend Blue Sox in the best-of-seven final series. The defending champion Peaches won again in 1950, this time beating Fort Wayne in the maximum seven games. Notably, the Peaches and the Blue Sox were the only original teams to be active through the 12 years of existence of the circuit. South Bend would break the championship run of Rockford in 1951. In 58 postseason games, Dorothy batted an average of .281 (61-for-217) with four

stolen bases, driving in 21 runs while scoring 18 times.[9]

In 1951 Dorothy played with the Phoenix A-1 Queens in an Arizona independent league. She rejoined the Peaches in 1952, earning her fifth All-Star berth during what turned out to be her last AAGPBL season. After that she returned to the Queens for the 1953 and 1954 seasons, and also played for the Orange Linoettes fastpitch softball team of California from 1956 to 1960, participating in Major National Tournaments.[12][13]

Harrell graduated from

El Camino Junior College. Following her baseball retirement, she taught mathematics and worked as counselor and physical education teacher at Compton Unified School District in the Los Angeles area, retiring in 1984 after 26 years of service.[14]

After retiring, she joined the Golden Diamonds Girls, a group of former AAGPBL players who made frequent appearances at reunions, card shows and sign autographs. She also became an avid golfer and remained close friends with her infield teammates Deegan, Kamenshek and Pollitt.[15]

Since 1988 she is part of Women in Baseball, a permanent display based at the

Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. She was a longtime resident of Cathedral City, California, where she died at the age of 87.[2]

Career statistics

Batting

GP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB TB BB SO BA OBP
SLG
799 2922 326 667 56 37 9 306 229 824 203 95 .228 .278 .282

Fielding

GP
PO
 A E TC DP FA
792 1620 2148 337 4105 179 .918

[9]

References

  1. ^ Dorothy Doyle Archived 2019-04-01 at the Wayback Machine. All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
  2. ^ a b c "MyDesert.com Obituary – Dorothy Harrell Doyle, in a league of her own". Archived from the original on 2011-10-26.
  3. ^ "Baseball Historian – AAGPBL Archives". Archived from the original on 2011-09-27.
  4. ISBN 0-7864-3747-2
  5. ISBN 978-0-313-29884-4
  6. ^ "Women's Sports Foundation". Archived from the original on 2010-07-06.
  7. ^ Biographical Dictionary of American Sports
  8. ^ 1944 Rockford Peaches Archived 2019-03-26 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
  9. ^
    ISBN 0-7864-3747-2
  10. ^ 1945 Rockford Peaches Archived 2019-03-30 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
  11. ^ "SABR Project – Sophie Kurys biography by Jim Sargent". Archived from the original on 2011-08-06. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  12. ^ What ever happened to the Phoenix A-1 Queens? – Article by B. Lewis Archived July 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Women's Major Fastpich National Tournaments Archived 2008-08-20 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
  15. ^ The Rock River Times – First-ever Rockford Peaches cruise

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dorothy_Harrell&oldid=1140319118"