June Emerson

Summary

June Emerson (June 4, 1924 – October 1, 1990) was a Canadian ballplayer who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 5", 135 lb., Emerson batted left handed and threw right handed. She was nicknamed Venus.[1][2]

June Emerson
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
Right field / First base
Born: (1924-06-04)June 4, 1924
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada
Died: October 1, 1990(1990-10-01) (aged 66)
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
Teams
Career highlights and awards
  • Women in Baseball – AAGPBL Permanent Display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (since 1988)
  • Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Honorary Induction (1998)

Born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan,[1] June Emerson was one of the 68 players born in Canada to join the AAGPBL in its twelve-year history.[3]

Emerson worked as a reporter at the Toronto Star newspaper before joining the league with the Springfield Sallies in its 1948 season, then was dealt to the Peoria Redwings in 1949.[2] During the offseason, she wrote for the newspaper and kept herself in good physical shape swimming and playing basketball.[1]

In a two-season career, Emerson posted a batting average of .139 (26-for-159) with a .300 on-base percentage, driving in five runs and scoring 11 times, while hitting two doubles with seven stolen bases in 68 games.[4]

Afterwards, Emerson served as a director of the Hyde Park YMCA in Chicago. In addition, she worked for an airline during 37 years.[2]

Emerson died in 1990 in Saskatchewan, Canada, at the age of 66.[1]

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League folded in 1954, but there is a permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, New York since November 5, 1988, that honors the entire league rather than any individual figure.[5] In 1998, June Emerson and all Canadian AAGPBL players gained honorary induction into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.[3]

Sources edit

  1. ^ a b c d All-American Girls Professional Baseball League – June Emerson. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
  2. ^ a b c Madden, W. C. (2005) All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-2263-0
  3. ^ a b The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Official Website
  4. ^ Madden, W. C. (2000) All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-0597-8
  5. ^ American Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Official Website