Minneapolis Millerettes

Minneapolis Millerettes
(1944) Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minor league affiliations
Previous leagues	All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
Team data
Name	Lakers, Orphans
Colors	Maroon, pink, white
Previous parks	Nicollet Park
Owner(s)/ Operator(s)	AAGPBL

The Minneapolis Millerettes were an expansion All-American Girls Professional Baseball League team that played for one season in 1944 based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Millerettes played home games at Nicollet Park, home of the men's minor league baseball team the Minneapolis Millers.

History

The Millerettes' uniform consisted of a maroon cap and socks and a pink dress uniform with the circular Minneapolis city seal at the center of the chest.

Like their expansion counterparts the Milwaukee Chicks, the team did not have an official nickname. They were alternately known as "Millerettes", after the city's American Association ballclub, and "Lakers" from Minnesota's nickname, "Land of 10,000 Lakes". That nickname would be adopted by the city's professional basketball team three years later. Halfway through the season, the league gave up on the Minneapolis market and the Millerettes became a traveling team playing all games on the road, earning another nickname, the "Orphans".

The team was managed by Claude "Bubber" Jonnard, although the manager has often been incorrectly identified as Claude's brother Clarence Bubber Jonnard,.

The most significant players were pitcher Dorothy Wiltse, who posted a 20–16 record and a 1.88 ERA in 38 appearances, and outfielder Helen Callaghan, who finished second in the league in average (.287) and third in runs (81), hits (114), home runs (3), and total bases (136). Pitcher Annabelle Lee threw the first perfect game in AAGPBL history on July 29, 1944, against the Kenosha Comets.

The following year, the Millerettes moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where they became the Fort Wayne Daisies.

All-time players roster

              1944 Minneapolis Millerettes
Back, L-R: Bubber Jonnard (Manager), Dorothy Wiltse (P), Vivian Kellogg (1B), Audrey Haine (P), Lavonne Paire (C), Kay Blumetta (P/1B), Lillian Jackson (OF), Ada Ryan (Chaperone).
Middle, L-R: Faye Dancer (OF), Elizabeth Farrow (P), Margaret Callaghan (3B), Audrey Kissel (2B), Margaret Wigiser (OF). Front, L-R: Ruth Lessing (C), Annabelle Lee (P), Helen Callaghan (OF), Betty Trezza (IF/OF).

• Kay Blumetta
• Lorraine Borg
• Helen Callaghan
• Margaret Callaghan
• Faye Dancer
• Julie Dusanko
• Loretta Dwojak
• Elizabeth Farrow
• Edna Frank
• Audrey Haine
• Lillian Jackson
• Marguerite Jones
• Vivian Kellogg
• Audrey Kissel
• Annabelle Lee
• Ruth Lessing
• Elizabeth Mahon
• Anna Meyer
• Lavonne Paire
• Irene Ruhnke
• Lorraine Torrison
• Betty Trezza
• Margaret Wigiser
• Dorothy Wiltse

Sources

• All-American Girls Professional Baseball League history
• All-American Girls Professional Baseball League official website – 1944 Minneapolis Millerettes season
• AAGPBL Official Website – 1944 Minneapolis Millerettes image
• All-American Girls Professional Baseball League official website – Manager/Player profile search results
• All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book – W. C. Madden. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2000. Format: Hardcover, 294pp. Language: English. ISBN 0-7864-0597-X
• Women at Play: The Story of Women in Baseball – Barbara Gregorich. Publisher: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1993. Format: Softcover, 214 pp. Language: English. ISBN 978-0-15-698297-9
• The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: A Biographical Dictionary – W. C. Madden. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2005. Format: Softcover, 295 pp. Language: English. ISBN 978-0-7864-2263-0