| The All-American Professional Baseball League was formed in 1943 Many of the women in the AAGPBL had great hand-eye coordination, rapid bat speed and possessed surprising batting power... and their equipment was much better than was being used in amateur leagues. Terrie Davis batted .332 in 1943, an average that wasn't topped until Betty Foss hit a robust .346 in 1950, when the pitching mound was raised and moved back and a livelier ball came into the league to emulate the men's major league. In 1946 Dorothy Kamenshek won her first of two consecutive batting crowns with a sterling .316 batting average. Rookie Doris Sams hit a solid .274 in 42 games in 1946 for the Muskegon Lassies who finished in sixth place in the then 8-team league. Sams played eight years in the AAGBL and four times hit over .300 while compiling a .290 career batting mark. In 1949 Jean Faut led the league in batting with .291. Doris Sams was runner-up with .279. Some of the acknowledged stars of Womens League in the '40s and 50s were Betty Fritz, Helen Nelson, Dottie Collins, Pauline Oravets, Dottie Witse, Clara Cook, Dottie Key, Snooky Harrell and Joanne Weaver. baseballhistorian.com - Women Baseball History For more information, type in women into our 'Search our site' located near the bottom of our home page | 
