Eleanor Engle

• Weight 132 lb.

Eleanor Engle was a 24-year-old stenographer and local softball player when she was signed by the Harrisburg Senators on June 21, 1952. She played shortstop in practice the next day but manager Buck Etchison opposed her appearance on the club and said he had not been consulted about the signing. George Trautman, president of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, with the support of Ford Frick, cancelled the contract and said any further attempts to sign female players would face harsh penalties. Engle never played in a game for Harrisburg. It is unknown whether she had the required talent - she never appeared in the AAGPBL, though its operation covered the years she would have been a viable player. One scout said "she threw like a girl" and one director of the Harrisburg team said she could hit better than some of the other Senators. Bob Hope and Leo Durocher sent her telegrams of support. The 1953 Baseball Guide writes off the incident as a publicity stunt.

Sources: 1953 Baseball Guide, The Sporting News Baseball Trivia 2, article about Engle on Minor League Baseball.com