finalyear death_date death_place bats birth_place debutyear team image_size position birth_date image article_title name throws
1954 30 may 2005 los osos , california right chicago , illinois 1944 all-american girls professional baseball league 200px second base / pitcher 09 january 1918 alma ziegler -lrb- 1950 aagpbl mvp -rrb- . jpg alma ziegler
 alma ziegler right
alma ziegler

alma ziegler -lrb- january 9 , 1918 -- may 30 , 2005 -rrb- was an infielder and pitcher who played from through in the all-american girls professional baseball league .
listed at , 125 lb. , ziegler batted and threw right-handed .
alma ziegler was one of the best all-around players in the early years of the all-american girls professional baseball league .
noted for her enthusiastic , high-spirited personality and great knowledge of the game , ziegler excelled at second base , where her range and acrobatic plays impressed baseball fanatics and experts .
in addition , she later developed as a leading overhand pitcher .
a member of three championship teams and three all-star squads , she spent 11 years in the circuit , being named to the player of the year and pitching champion awards in the same season .
regarded as a disciplined hitter and a daring base runner , she posted a career 2.57 walk-to-strikeout ratio -lrb- 641-to-249 -rrb- and utilized her stunning speed to snatch 387 stolen bases .
as a pitcher , she had a 42 -- 21 record for a .667 percentage and collected a solid 1.32 earned run average .
a native of chicago , illinois , the diminutive ziegler was the daughter of frank siegler and mae -lrb- née connal -rrb- ziegler .
at a very early age , she played baseball in chicago .
in 1933 her family had to relocate to the los angeles , california , due to the economic depression .
her father had been a linotype operator in chicago , but went into different work after moving to california , while her mother was a housewife and an avid bridge player .
ziegler had a brother , frank , who was three years older than she .
at that time in california girls were not allowed to participate in interscholastic sports , except tennis .
as expected , ziegler expressed disappointment over very little organized women 's school sport in her new home , but she recalled that various girls athletic associations in the los angeles area provided compensation , as her hectic later teenage years involved memberships on several softball , basketball and speedball teams .
in the late 1930s , she joined the goodrich silvertown , a prestigious softball club sponsored by b. f. goodrich company , one of the largest tire and rubber manufacturers in the world .
in 1939 she helped her team win another southern california championship .
by 1944 the aagpbl added two teams , the milwaukee chicks and the minneapolis millerettes .
ziegler attended a tryout for the aagpbl arranged by scout bill allington , who would join the league for the upcoming season as manager of the rockford team .
ziegler was one of six girls from los angeles who traveled to peru , indiana for the tryout .
the girls passed the test and were rewarded with a contract to play in the league .
ziegler joined the chicks , along with thelma eisen , while faye dancer , annabelle lee , lavonne paire and dorothy wiltse were allocated to the millerettes .
in 1944 ziegler played second base for the debuting milwaukee chicks , a well balanced squad managed by max carey that counted with talented players as josephine kabick , merle keagle and connie wisniewski .
ziegler hit a modest .191 average in 115 games , including 51 runs and 25 rbi , but she established as a flashy defender who made outstandings plays routinely .
the chicks led the league in runs scored -lrb- 492 -rrb- , batting average -lrb- .207 -rrb- , stolen bases -lrb- 739 -rrb- and tied for first in home runs -lrb- 12 -rrb- .
the best offensive support came from keagle , who hit .264 with 47 runs batted in , and led the aagpbl hitters with seven home runs and 145 total bases .
the one-two pitching staff was led by kabick , who posted a 26 -- 19 record for a .578 winning percentage and topped the league in wins and innings pitched -lrb- 366 -rrb- , while wisniewski went 23 -- 10 -lrb- .697 -rrb- with a 2.23 earned run average .
the chicks went 30 -- 26 in the first half of the year , but dominated the second half -lrb- 40 -- 19 -rrb- and had the best overall record -lrb- 70 -- 45 -rrb- .
they then went on to win the championship title , beating the kenosha comets in the postseason .
during the seven-game series wisniewski went 4 -- 1 with a 0.40 era in five complete games , including two shutouts , two one-run games and one two-run game , winning three of four matchups with kenosha 's helen nicol , who finished with a 17 -- 11 mark -lrb- .607 -rrb- and had led the league with a minuscule 0.93 era .
although the chicks won the championship , they had no local financial backing and could not compete with the american association milwaukee brewers .
in fact , the chicks were forced to play all seven games of the series at kenosha 's lake front stadium because the brewers were using the borchert field in milwaukee .
in addition , the high ticket prices charged for aagpbl games failed to encourage significant fan support .
due to lack of community support and skepticism of journalists , the chicks moved to grand rapids , michigan prior to the 1945 season .
ziegler spent from 1945 to 1954 with the grand rapids chicks .
although originally nicknamed `` gabby '' by her teammates , she eventually was called `` ziggy '' by the grand rapids crowds .
her leadership was indisputable since other chicks players considered her playing style somewhat inspirational , which led her to be named captain of the team .
in 1945 the chicks finished in third place -lrb- 60 -- 50 -rrb- and lost the first round of the playoff to rockford , three to one games .
the chicks improved to second in 1946 -lrb- 71 -- 41 -rrb- , but were defeated again by rockford in the first round , this time in five games .
eventually , grand rapids fanatics honored ziegler in an event named `` a night for ziggy '' .
the big adventure of 1947 , recalled fondly by many players , was a spring training trip to cuba .
the aagpbl flew 150 young women from eight clubs to havana , where they trained , played eight days of exhibitions , and were cheered by more than 75,000 fans .
the chicks , now managed by johnny rawlings , ended in second place -lrb- 65 -- 47 -rrb- and secured their return to the playoffs .
in the first round , grand rapids disposed of south bend in five games and later won the championship title , with mildred earp throwing a 1 -- 0 shutout against racine in decisive game seven .
interestingly , in the 1947 grand rapids chicks yearbook ziegler is described as the `` spark plug '' of the team .
in 1948 ziegler posted career-numbers in games played -lrb- 126 -rrb- , runs scored -lrb- 61 -rrb- , hits -lrb- 77 -rrb- , and runs batted in -lrb- 33 -rrb- .
in addition , she led second baggers in fielding percentage , led the league in walks -lrb- 62 -rrb- , and compiled a 9 -- 6 pitching record , helping grand rapids clinch the eastern division with a 77 -- 47 mark .
the chicks beat south bend in the first round of the playoffs , three to two games , but were swept in three games by the expansion fort wayne daisies in the semifinal series .
ziegler played strongly in 1949 , winning the fielding title for the second consecutive year while hitting .181 with 67 hits and scoring 58 runs .
the chicks finished in third place -lrb- 57 -- 54 -rrb- , beat fort wayne in the first round three to two games , but lost the semifinals to rockford three to one games .
once more , the leadership qualities of ziegler were recognized by her chicks teammates .
but her most productive season came in 1950 , considering that most pitchers were still adjusting to the new 10-inch ball introduced the previous year .
that season she posted a pitching record of 19 -- 7 with a solid 1.38 era , leading all pitchers in winning percentage -lrb- .732 -rrb- .
she also tossed 43 straight shutout innings , and finished second in era behind the stellar south bend hurler jean faut -lrb- 1.12 -rrb- , who won the pitcher of the year award after going 21 -- 9 -lrb- .700 w % -rrb- .
the chicks finished fourth with a 59 -- 53 record and advanced to the playoffs , but lost to fort wayne in the first round , three to two games .
for her heroics , ziegler was named aagpbl player of the year and joined the all-star team .
in 1951 ziegler continued her torrid pitching , ending with a 14 -- 8 -lrb- .636 -rrb- record and topping the league with a 1.26 era .
she narrowly surpassed faut , who finished 15 -- 7 -lrb- .682 -rrb- with a 1.33 era .
as an added bonus , ziegler hit .191 with 51 runs and a career-high 35 rbi in 115 games and served as the interim manager for the chicks late in the season .
her team won the first half -lrb- 40 -- 13 -rrb- and finished fourth in the second half -lrb- 31 -- 22 -rrb- , to collect the second-best overall record -lrb- 71 -- 35 -rrb- and a ticket to the playoffs , but was swept by south bend during the first round in just two games .
for the next two years ziegler was plagued by nagging injuries , which slowed her production and development .
in 1952 , she hit .197 with 20 runs and 16 rbi in a career-low 85 games , and earned her second all-star berth .
the chicks finished fourth -lrb- 50 -- 60 -rrb- and lost to south bend in the first round of the playoffs in only two games .
the chicks clinched the aagpbl title in 1953 , led by the strong pitching of eleanor moore , who won 17 games to tie faut for the league lead .
ziegler , who moved to shortstop , contributed with a .168 average in 96 games and made the all-star team again .
grand rapids , with woody english at the helm , finished second in the regular season -lrb- 62 -- 44 -rrb- and faced rockford in the first round of the playoffs in a best-of-three series .
in game 1 of the playoffs , rockford scored early and defeated the visiting chicks , 9 -- 2 .
the peaches lined 13 hits off pitchers eleanor moore and mary lou studnicka .
the action shifted to grand rapids home ballpark for game 2 , and earlene risinger silenced the peaches ' bats to just two measly hits en route to a complete game , 2 -- 0 shutout .
her clutch performance was backed by timely hitting by ziegler , who hit a rbi single in the seventh inning to give her a 1 -- 0 lead , and dolores moore , who drove in the game 's final run with a sacrifice fly in the eight .
in game 3 , grand rapids starter dorothy mueller pitched well enough to beat rockford , 4 -- 3 , and the chicks advanced to the championship series to face the kalamazoo lassies , managed by mitch skupien , who have eliminated fort wayne in the other playoff contention .
in the final series , grand rapids swept kalamazoo in the best of three game set , by the scores of 5 -- 2 and 4 -- 1 .
in game 1 , studnicka started for grand rapids and allowed only two runs in eight innings of work .
with the score tied 2 -- 2 going into the fourth inning , the chicks scored three runs off lassies ' pitcher gloria cordes .
with the bases loaded , ziegler drove home one run with a sacrifice fly to put the score in favor of grand rapids , 3 -- 2 .
another sacrifice fly by inez voyce and a rbi single by joyce ricketts extended the lead to 5 -- 2 .
when the lassies first two batters reached base in the final inning , manager english brought eleanor moore to the rescue .
she promptly retired the next three batters in order , striking out isabel alvarez , retiring dorothy schroeder with a pop fly to shortstop ziegler , and inducing june peppas on a sharp grounder to the mound throwing to voyce at first base for the final out of the game .
in kalamazoo , with cold weather around 40 degrees and windy , both teams ' managers agreed to play the game 2 in just seven innings .
risinger started for the chicks and pitched one of the best games of her career .
grand rapids gave her a one-run lead in the second inning , and wrapped up the scoring by producing three runs in the sixth , keyed by a two-run double off the bat of ricketts .
risinger gave up a rbi single to jean lovell , and yielded only one extra-base hit , a solo home run by doris sams during kalamazoo 's two-run rally in the sixth inning .
in the bottom of the seventh , the lassies tried to rally again .
fern shollenberger opened with a single , but risinger retired the next two batters .
nevertheless , she lost her control temporarily and issued back-to-back walks to schroeder and peppas .
with the bases loaded , woody english was on the verge of yanking risinger , but he instead sent ziegler to the pitching mound .
pulling off her glove , the ziegler looked up at the tall risinger .
`` okay , beansie , can you get her out ? ''
she asked .
blowing on her hand to keep her fingers warm against the fast-chilling night , the pitcher replied , `` i do n't know ziggy '' .
snapping the brim of her cap in place , the diminutive ziegler energetically ordered , `` well do it ! ''
as a result , risinger faced the dangerous sams and struck out her on three straight fastballs .
she fanned nine lassies batters and walked four in completing her pitching gem .
ziegler and the chicks returned in 1954 for what turned out to be the league 's final season .
she raised her average to .200 -lrb- 43-for-215 -rrb- and scored 33 runs with 21 rbi in 86 games .
for the fourth time she was selected at second base for the all-star team .
the chicks finished in third place -lrb- 46 -- 45 -rrb- and advanced to the playoffs to face regular-season champ fort wayne -lrb- 54 -- 40 -rrb- .
but a dispute erupted before the two teams had played the opening game at grand rapids ballpark .
due to an injury to fort wayne 's regular catcher , the league voted to allow the daisies to add rockford all-star ruth richard to the roster .
the chicks , claiming that using a new player was unfair , played the first game under protest , which won by an 8 -- 7 score .
attempting to resolve the matter the next game in fort wayne , chicks manager english and daisies pilot allington ended up fighting at home plate .
after tempers calmed , the entire fort wayne team voted not to play , so the chicks forfeited , allowing fort wayne to advance to the championship round .
in the end , the kalamazoo lassies won the last aagpbl championship series by defeating the daisies three to two games .
first in milwaukee , and later in grand rapids , the chicks made the playoffs every year of their existence .
ziegler was the only player to be on the team during its eleven-year history .
following her baseball career , ziegler went back to california and worked as a court reporter .
ziegler , who never married , had two nieces and two great-nieces .
after retiring she became an avid golfer , was devoted to her family and her cats , and helped out the elderly as an active participant in the meals on wheels program .
alma ziegler was a longtime resident of los osos , california , where she died at the age of 87 .
