#OnThisDay in
#baseballhistory, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL)'s first no-hitter was thrown by Canadian pitcher, Olive Little (née Bend) of Poplar Point, MB. In the game against the Kenosha Comets, the Rockford Ace unleashed her blazing underhand fastball (at this time in the AAGPBL, they were pitching a 12-inch ball underhand, with the mound 40-feet away from home plate) to lead her team to a 7-2 victory.
Later that same season, Little recorded the AAGBL's first no-hit, no-score game in a 2-0 win against the South Bend Blue Sox, who also had a Manitoba-native on the
mound in the 21-year-old lefty, Doris “Dodie” Barr. Incredibly, the pitching duel was not only between Canadians, but between a pair of Canadian batteries, as both catchers (Lloydminster, AB’s Lucella MacLean for South Bend, and Toronto, ON’s Helen Nelson for Rockford) were also from North of the border. Little allowed 3 walks in the game, but none of those came in to score, securing the pitcher’s place in the history books a second time.
Little enjoyed a fabulous 3-year pitching career with the Peaches. Her success included 3 career no-hitters, and enormous popularity with Peaches fans. She was
inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum in 1998 as one of 68 Canadian women who played in the AAGPBL.
#canadianbaseball #nohitter⚾️
@AAGPBL