Irene Hickson was a catcher

Catcher

Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...

 who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was a women's professional baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. During the league's history, over 600 women played ball.-History:...

. Listed at 5' 2", 116 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.

At age 27, Irene Hickson became one of the oldest players signed by the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League for its inaugural season. Although averaging .171 lifetime, she was known as an opportune hitter with runners in scoring position during the late innings. Most importantly, Hickson was a solid fielding catcher with a strong throwing arm, and had a reputation as a good handler of pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

s. On the playing field, she collected 2,388 putout

Putout

In baseball statistics, a putout is given to a defensive player who records an out by one of the following methods:* Tagging a runner with the ball when he is not touching a base...

s and 561 assists

Assist (baseball)

In baseball, an assist is a defensive statistic, baseball being one of the few sports in which the defensive team controls the ball. An assist is awarded to every defensive player who fields or touches the ball prior to the recording of a putout, even if the contact was unintentional...

 in 621 games, committing only 130 errors

Error (baseball)

In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...

 in 3,079 chances

Total chances

In baseball statistics, total chances , also called chances offered, represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is calculated as follows: Total Chances = assists + putouts + errors. Chances accepted refers to the total of putouts and assists only. Fielding...

 for a .958 career fielding average

Fielding percentage

In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball...

. A member of two champion teams, she won the batting title in the 1943 championship series and in 1946 set an all-time record with five walks

Base on balls

A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...

 received in a single game.

Early life

Hickson was born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...

. An all-around athlete, in the mid 1930s she pitched and caught for semi-professional softball

Softball

Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

 teams in Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 and North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

. She was credited for hitting 25 home runs in 1939 and also formed part of several State Championship teams.

Besides this, in 1938 Hickson became the only girl boxer

Girl boxers

Girl Boxers are a relatively new form of underwear to come onto the market which is quickly gaining popularity. They are often worn as a modest alternative to thongs, however are considered to be more appealing and attractive than panties. They also have the added benefit of being less likely to...

 to fight in Chatanooga. She also compited and won every field and track event ever held at the Warner Park Zoo

Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park

The Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park, formerly the Warner Park Zoo, is a zoo located in Warner Park in Downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. The zoo was established in 1937 and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.-Exhibits and facilities:...

, including 50-yard dash

Sprint (race)

Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...

, relay race

Relay race

During a relay race, members of a team take turns running, orienteering, swimming, cross-country skiing, biathlon, or ice skating parts of a circuit or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games...

, throwing, long jump

Long jump

The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...

. and horseshoes

Horseshoes

Horseshoes is an outdoor game played between two people using four horseshoes and two throwing targets set in a sandbox area. The game is played by the players alternating turns tossing horseshoes at stakes in the ground, which are traditionally placed 40 feet apart...

. Being a woman and coming from a low-income family, she found a part-time job as a spinning doffer at a yarn

Yarn

Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or...

 processing company. But her ambition was to play ball as long and as well as her idol Ty Cobb

Ty Cobb

Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb , nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Narrows, Georgia...

 and be a catcher like Mickey Owen

Mickey Owen

Arnold Malcolm "Mickey" Owen was a catcher for St. Louis Cardinals in Major League Baseball. Between 1937 and 1954, Owen played for the St. Louis Cardinals , Brooklyn Dodgers , Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox...

 of the Brooklyn Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

.

Hickson later played for a men's team in Chatanooga, where baseball scout

Scout (sport)

In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...

 Jimmy Hamilton was impressed with her talent.

AAGPBL career

In 1943 Hamilton invited Hickson to an All-American Girls Professional Baseball League tryout. After making the league at tryouts held in Wrigley Field

Wrigley Field

Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...

 that May, Hickson was allocated to the Racine Belles

Racine Belles

The Racine Belles were one of the original teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing from through out of Racine, Wisconsin. The team played its home games at Horlick Field.-History:...

, a team managed by Johnny Gottselig

Johnny Gottselig

John Gottselig was a professional ice hockey left winger who played 17 seasons for the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League between 1928 and 1946. He was the second player born in the Russian Empire to play in the NHL, as well as the first European-born head coach in the league's...

. She played for them until Racine lost the franchise after the 1950 season. She was dubbed Choo-choo, a wordplay

Word play

Word play or wordplay is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement...

 presumably inspired in the popular song Chattanooga Choo Choo

Chattanooga Choo Choo

"Chattanooga Choo Choo" is a song by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon . It was recorded in a big-band/swing manner by Glenn Miller and his orchestra and featured in the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade, which starred Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller and his orchestra, The Modernaires, Milton Berle...

, which include her birthplace, and because of the way she ran the bases, like a small wood-burning steam locomotive

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

. During her eight years in in the league, she was considered by her teammates to be a leader and a positive influence in their dugout.

In 1943, Hickson shared catching duties with Dorothy Maguire

Dorothy Maguire

Dorothy Maguire was a catcher and outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Maguire batted and threw right-handed...

, while the Belles claimed the first Championship Title in the league's history. This team was characterized by strong pitching, fine defensive play, timely hitting and speed on the bases, enough to win the first half with a 33-10 mark and finish the regular season with an overall record of 55 wins and 38 losses. Mary Nesbitt

Mary Nesbitt Wisham

Mary Nesbitt [Choo-Choo] is a former pitcher and first basewoman who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 8", 155 lb., Nesbitt batted and threw left handed. She was born Marie Crews Nesbitt in Greenville, South Carolina...

, a knuckleball

Knuckleball

A knuckleball is a baseball pitch with an erratic, unpredictable motion. The pitch is thrown so as to minimize the spin of the ball in flight. This causes vortices over the stitched seams of the baseball during its trajectory, which in turn can cause the pitch to change direction—and even...

 lefty and first sacker

First baseman

First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...

, posted a 26-13 record and hit .280 in 73 games, while Joanne Winter

Joanne Winter

Joanne Emily Winter [Jo] was a pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 8", 138 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.-Overview profile:...

 finished with a 11-11 mark to give Racine a strong one-two pitching staff. By other side, Margaret Danhauser

Margaret Danhauser

Margaret L. Danhauser [Marnie] was a first basewoman who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She batted and threw right-handed.-Career:...

, Eleanor Dapkus

Eleanor Dapkus

Eleanor Dapkus [Wolf] was a center fielder and pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 6", 160 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.-Women in baseball:...

, Maddy English

Maddy English

Madeline Catherine English [Maddy] was a third basewoman who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 4", 130 lb., English batted and threw right-handed...

, Sophie Kurys

Sophie Kurys

Sophie Kurys is a former second basewoman who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 5", 115 lb., Kurys batted and threw right-handed.-Career:...

, Edythe Perlick

Edythe Perlick

Edythe Perlick [Edie] was a left fielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 3", 128 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.-Overview profile:...

 and Claire Schillace

Claire Schillace

Claire Joan Schillace was a center fielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...

, carried the offensive load and provided a solid defense. In the best-of-five Series, Racine defeated the Kenosha Comets

Kenosha Comets

Based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Kenosha Comets were a women's professional baseball team that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team played their home games at Kenosha's Lake Front Stadium, but later moved to Simmons Field.The Kenosha Comets were one...

, winners of the second half, 3 games to 0, to clinch the AAGPBL title. Hickson excelled behind the plate in the Series and topped all hitters with a .417 average (5-for-12).

Early in the season, Nesbitt and Hickson were referred as the Belles Chattanooga Battery, because both were discovered by scout Hamilton in there. Interestingly, on July 1 of that year took effect the first All-Star Game of the league, which coincidentally became the first night game ever played at Wrigley Field. The contest was played under temporary lights between two teams composed of Belles and Comets players against South Bend Blue Sox

South Bend Blue Sox

The South Bend Blue Sox were a women's professional baseball team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...

 and Rockford Peaches

Rockford Peaches

The Rockford Peaches were a team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing out of Rockford, Illinois for the entire existence of the league from 1943 to 1954....

 players.

After that, the Belles missed the playoffs for the next two years. Then, managed by Leo Murphy

Leo Murphy

Leo Murphy was an Australian rules footballer who played for Hawthorn in the VFL during the 1930s. He was the father of Fitzroy great John Murphy, and grandfather of Carlton's Marc Murphy; the trio is the only father-son-grandson combination in VFL/AFL history to have each played 100 games.Murphy...

 the team returned to post season action from 1946 through 1949. With original roster mostly intact in these seasons, the Belles clinched the title in 1946. Racine won first place with a league-best 74-38 record, captured the semifinal round by beating South Bend in four games, and took the lead in the finals over the 1945 champion Rockford, four games to two. Racine's Winter collected four wins in all series, including three against Rockford, despite allowing 19 base runners in a 14-inning, 1–0 shutout victory in decisive Game Six. The only run in the marathonic game came in the bottom of the 14th, when Kurys hit a single

Single (baseball)

In baseball, a single is the most common type of base hit, accomplished through the act of a batter safely reaching first base by hitting a fair ball and getting to first base before a fielder puts him out...

 off Mildred Deegan

Millie Deegan

Mildred Eleanor Deegan was an American pitcher and second baseman who played ten seasons in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, from to .-Background:...

, then stole

Stolen base

In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...

 second base, and scored on an RBI-single by Betty Trezza

Betty Trezza

Betty Trezza [″Moe″] was an American professional baseball player. An infield and outfield utility, she played from through for four different teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League....

. Unfortunately for Deegan, she was the pitching star of the over-all series, beating Grand Rapids and Racine twice each and winning four straight before the Belles finally stopped her in the final game. Meanwhile, Hickson exemplified the kind of women who played hardball in the league, heroically catching throughout the ten playoffs games with a broken finger on her throwing hand.

The Belles moved from Racine, Wisconsin

Racine, Wisconsin

Racine is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city had a population of 82,196...

 to Battle Creek, Michigan

Battle Creek, Michigan

Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Calhoun county...

 before the 1951 season. As a result, Hickson, Kurys, Dapkus, English, Perlick and Winter were emotionally disappointed and rejected the move. During eight years, the Belles were a close-knit team, always like a family away from home. The girls thought that all would be different, like a new team, maybe a new manager and, specially, a new location. A long time resident of Racine, Hickson decided to stay close to home and played one more season with Kenosha.

Life after baseball

Following her baseball career, Hickson ran a restaurant called Home Plate. Then she worked during 22 years for the Zayre

Zayre

Zayre was a chain of discount stores that operated in the Northeastern, Southern and Midwestern United States from 1956 to 1990. The company's headquarters was in Framingham, Massachusetts. In 1988, the Zayre department stores were sold to the parent company of the competing Ames chain, and Zayre's...

 department store chain.

Irene Hickson is part of Women in Baseball, a permanent display based at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York

Cooperstown, New York

Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...

. The exhibition was unveiled on November 5, , in honor of the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League rather than individual baseball personalities. After that, filmmaker Penny Marshall

Penny Marshall

Penny Marshall is an American actress, producer and director.After playing several small roles for television, she was cast as Laverne DeFazio in the sitcom Laverne and Shirley...

 premiered her 1992 film

1992 in film

The year 1992 in film involved many significant films. -Top grossing films:-Awards:Academy AwardsGolden Globe AwardsNational Film Awards...

 A League of Their Own

A League of Their Own

A League of Their Own is a 1992 American comedy-drama film that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League . Directed by Penny Marshall, the film stars Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Tom Hanks, Madonna, and Rosie O'Donnell...

, a fiction

Fiction

Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...

al history centered in the first season of the AAGPBL, which brought a rejuvenated interest to the historic girls league.

Hickson died of natural causes at her home in Racine at the age of 80.

Career statistics

Batting

GP Games played Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...	AB At bat In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...	R Run (baseball) In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...	H Hit (baseball) In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....	2B Double (baseball) In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....	3B Triple (baseball) In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....	HR Home run In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...	RBI Run batted in Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...	SB Stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...	BB Base on balls A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...	SO Strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....	BA Batting average Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...	OBP
621	1876	296	321	23	14	3	125	319	316	173	.171	.291

Fielding

GP Games played Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...	PO	A Assist (baseball) In baseball, an assist is a defensive statistic, baseball being one of the few sports in which the defensive team controls the ball. An assist is awarded to every defensive player who fields or touches the ball prior to the recording of a putout, even if the contact was unintentional...	E Error (baseball) In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...	TC Total chances In baseball statistics, total chances , also called chances offered, represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is calculated as follows: Total Chances = assists + putouts + errors. Chances accepted refers to the total of putouts and assists only. Fielding...	DP Double play In baseball, a double play for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two"....	FA Fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball...
602	2388	561	130	3079	47	.958

Sources