Peoria Redwings

The Peoria Redwings were a women's professional baseball team who joined the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1946 season. The team represented Peoria, Illinois.

The Redwings made an unsteady start in their inaugural season, going 33-79 to finish last 41 games out of first place in the Western Division. The team improved in 1947 with a 54-57 record, good to finish in fifth place in the eight-team contest.

Their most productive season came in 1948, when they finished 71-55 for third place in the division and fourth overall, gaining a playoff spot, but were swept by the Racine Belles in three straight games.

Peoria fell to 36-43 and last place in 1949, and next-to-last in 1950 after ending 44-63-2. They went 48-56-2 in 1951, their last season, having finished over .500 just once in six years of existence.

Some players of note included pitchers Doris Barr, Dorothy Mueller and Mary Nesbitt; infielders Margaret Callaghan, Betty McKenna and Dorothy Stolze; outfielders Eleanor Callow and Thelma Eisen, and OF/P Mary Reynolds. Eventually, Eisen and Reynolds served as player/managers for the team.

All-time roster

                        1946 Peoria Redwings
Front row, L-R: Dorothy Ferguson, Terry Donahue, Rita Meyer, Betty Tucker, Mary Wood, Annabelle Lee. Second row, L-R: Irene Ines (chaperone), Mary Moriarity, Kay Blumetta, Jean Cione, Thelma Eisen, Katherine Buccor, Bill Rodgers (manager). Back row, L-R: Donna Stageman, Norma Metrolis, Mary Reynolds, Frances Sloan, Mary Rountree, Pauline Crawley.
Bold denotes members of the inaugural roster

Managers

* Bill Rodgers 1946 [first half]
* Thelma Eisen 1946 [second half]
* Johnny Gottselig 1947 [first half]
* Leo Schrall 1947 [second half]
1948
1949
* Leo Murphy 1950 [first half]
* Mary Reynolds 1950 [second half]
* Johnny Rawlings     1951

Sources

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