Gertrude Dunn

Gertrude Alice Dunn
(Gertie or Gerty)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 2", Weight 125 lb.
• Schools West Chester University
• Born September 30, 1933 in Sharon Hill, PA USA
• Died October 6, 2004 near Avondale, PA USA

Biographical Information

Gertrude Dunn was a shortstop for in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1951 to 1954. Originally with the Battle Creek Belles, she was soon playing for the South Bend Blue Sox and played most with the team through the end of the league. She was the league's Rookie of the Year in 1954. She is fourteenth among players in career batting average at .261. She debuted with a .185/~.309/.219 batting line for the Battle Creek Belles and South Bend Blue Sox. In 1952, she hit .236/~.303/.294 as South Bend's shortstop and fielded .910. She went 5 for 28 in the post-season with five runs and three errors but South Bend still won the title. She only managed a .179/~.329/.322 line in 112 games for South Bend in 1953. She stole 26 bases and fielded .923. In the playoffs, she went 3 for 11 with 3 runs and 3 RBI, but made two errors as well. In her final year, when league offensive totals exploded, she hit .299/~.391/.441 and stole 25 bases. She fielded .925 that year. Overall, she fielded .919 in the regular season, had an OBP around .336 and slugged .324.

After the league folded in, Dunn attended West Chester University and played on the national women's field hockey and lacrosse teams. She also coached and refereed field hockey and was named to the U.S. Field Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988. She later became a physical education teacher for several years. At the age of 72, Dunn died in Avondale, PA when the single-engine airplane she was solo-piloting crashed shortly after takeoff.

Sources include The AAGPBL Record Book by W.C. Madden