Velma Abbott
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
Second base / Third base
Born: (1929-05-29)May 29, 1929
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Died: January 1, 1987(1987-01-01) (aged 57)
Fair Oaks, California, US
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Teams
Career highlights and awards
  • Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
  • Women in Baseball – AAGPBL Permanent Display
    at Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (1988)

Flora Velma Abbott (May 29, 1929 – January 1, 1987) was a utility infielder who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 2", 110 lb., she batted and threw right handed.[1]

A native of Regina, Saskatchewan Abbott was one of the sixty eight girls from Canada who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during its 12-year history. A light-hitting reserve player, she was able to play at second base and third and showed speed on the bases, while playing for four different teams in a span of two years.[2]

Before joining the league, Abbott played in California with the Alameda Girls, a twice World Champion in amateur softball. She entered the AAGPBL in 1946, dividing her playing time between the Kenosha Comets, Peoria Redwings and Rockford Peaches. She posted a collective .178 batting average in 52 games, driving in five runs while scoring 15 times.[3]

Abbott opened the 1947 season with the Fort Wayne Daisies, playing for them as a regular at third base. She hit .141 with 27 runs and 15 RBI, including 18 stolen bases and her only career home run.[4]

Career statistics

Batting

GP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG
149 438 42 68 2 4 1 20 33 38 43 .155 .227 .185

Fielding

GP PO A E TC DP FA
133 187 239 51 477 16 .893

[1][4]

Facts

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League folded in 1954. It was a neglected chapter of sports history, at least until 1988, when was inaugurated a permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, New York, which is dedicated to the entire league rather than any individual figure.[2]

After that, filmmaker Penny Marshall premiered her 1992 film A League of Their Own, a fictional history centered in the first season of the AAGPBL. Starring Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Madonna, Lori Petty and Rosie O'Donnell, this film brought a rejuvenated interest to the extinct league.[5][6]

Abbott and the other girls that represented Canada in the AAGPBL form part of the aforementioned display at Cooperstown. They also gained induction into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.[7]

Sources

  1. ^ a b "All-American Girls Professional Baseball League – Flora Velma Abbott". Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  2. ^ a b "All-American Girls Professional Baseball League History". Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  3. ^ 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. OCLC 60387152
  4. ^ a b The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
  5. ^ IMDb.com – A League of Their Own (1992)
  6. ^ ESPN Page 2 – Reel Life: A League of Their Own - Article by Jeff Merron
  7. ^ Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
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