Minneapolis Millerettes

The Minneapolis Millerettes were an expansion AAGPBL team in 1944. Playing their home games in Nicollet Park, the Millerettes could not compete with the Minneapolis Millers. Additionally, Minneapolis, MN was far from the other five cities in the league. Due to these two factors, the Millerettes spent most of the season on the road.

Not only did they draw poorly, they played poorly, finishing last in the first half (23-36), last in the second half (22-36) and 8 and a half back of fifth place overall, 26 and a half out of first. The team did get some good performances - Helen Callaghan was one of the top batters in the league and Faye Dancer also hit well. Dorothy Wiltse was fourth in the circuit in ERA (1.88) and managed a 20-16 record and Annabelle Lee pitched the first perfect game in the league's history. On the other hand, Betty Trezza hit just .108 and several other players failed to reach the Mendoza Line. The team's #3 pitcher (Audrey Haine) went 8-20 with a 4.85 ERA, the second-highest mark in the league. The worst ERA was posted by Elizabeth Farrow, who went 1-12 with a 5.64 for Minneapolis and the Rockford Peaches. The manager of the team was Claude Jonnard, although the position is often wrongly credited to his twin brother Bubber Jonnard.

In 1945 the Millerettes were replaced by the Fort Wayne Daisies.

Further Reading

• Anne Aronson: "Dames in the Dirt: Women's Baseball Before 1945", in Daniel R. Levitt, ed.: Short but Wondrous Summers: Baseball in the North Star State, The National Pastime, Volume 42 (2012), pp. 111-116.
• Gary Belleville: "July 29, 1944: Annabelle ‘Lefty’ Lee tosses AAGPBL’s first perfect game for Minneapolis Millerettes," SABR Baseball Games Project.
• Brenda L. Himrich and Stew Thornley: "Minneapolis Millerettes", in Michael J. Haupert, ed.: Baseball in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, The National Pastime, 2024 Edition, pp. 40-43.