Rose Gacioch

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

Outfielder / Pitcher

Born: August 31, 1915
Wheeling, West Virginia

Died: September 9, 2004 (aged 89)
Clinton Township, Michigan

Batted: Right

Threw: Right

debut

1944, for the South Bend Blue Sox

Last appearance

1954, for the Rockford Peaches

Teams

South Bend Blue Sox (1944)
Rockford Peaches (1945–1950[start], 1951–1954)
Grand Rapids Chicks (1950[end])

Career highlights and awards

Four-time AAGPBL Championship Team
(1945, 1948-'50)
Three-time All-Star Team (1951–1953)
Pitched a no-hitter (1953)
All-time season-record for assists by an outfielder (1943)
Ranks eight in the RBI All-Time list (352)
Women in Baseball – AAGPBL Permanent Display
at Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (1988)

Rose M. Gacioch [gay'-sotch] (August 31, 1915 – September 9, 2004) was a right fielder and pitcher who played from 1944 through 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m), 160 lb, Gacioch batted and threw right-handed. She had one of the most successful career in AAGPBL history and possibly the well-rounded of any female player. She was of Polish descent.

During the early 1940s the AAGPBL recruited young women to play baseball to keep the spirit of the game alive while the men fought overseas. The league, created in 1943 by the Chicago Cubs' owner Philip K. Wrigley, gave over 600 women athletes the opportunity to play professional baseball and to play it at a level never before attained. It was a neglected chapter of sports history, at least until 1992, when filmmaker Penny Marshall premiered her film A League of Their Own, which was a fictionalized account of activities in the AAGPBL. Starring Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Madonna, Lori Petty and Rosie O'Donnell, this film brought a rejuvenated interest to the extinct league. In the film, O'Donnell played the character Rosie, as was nicknamed Gacioch by fellow players and fans. The AAGPBL folded in 1954, but there is now a permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum since November 5, 1988 that honors those who were part of this unforgettable experience. Gacioch, along with the rest of the AAGPBL players, is now enshrined in the venerable building at Cooperstown, New York.

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Wikipedia