death_date death_place bats birth_place team image_size position birth_date image article_title name throws
13 july 1999 rockford , illinois right chicago , illinois all-american girls professional baseball league 200 px infield / outfield 30 march 1920 irene_ruhnke . jpg irene ruhnke
 irene ruhnke right
irene ruhnke

irene ruhnke -lsb- sanvitas -rsb- -lrb- march 30 , 1920 -- july 13 , 1999 -rrb- was an infielder and outfielder who played from through in the all-american girls professional baseball league .
listed at , 130 lb. , she batted and threw right-handed .
she was nicknamed ״ ruhnke dunk ״ .
born in chicago , illinois , irene ruhnke was one of the sixty original founding members of the all-american girls professional baseball league .
thanks to her defensive versatility and her ability to hit behind the runner , ruhnke played several positions during her five years in the circuit .
she started as a shortstop and outfielder for the rockford peaches in 1943 , but later in her career she was platooned at second and third base .
her most productive season came in her rookie year , when she posted career numbers in average -lrb- .253 -rrb- , runs -lrb- 54 -rrb- and slugging -lrb- .316 -rrb- .
following her baseball career , she spent the rest of her life in rockford , illinois , where she married and had two sons .
she worked as a machine operator for 27 years at j. l. clark corp. , from which she retired in 1985 .
in 1988 irene ruhnke became part of `` women in baseball '' , a permanent display based at the baseball hall of fame and museum in cooperstown , new york , which was unveiled to honor the entire all-american girls professional baseball league .
