Sarah Jane Sands [Ferguson] (born July 27, 1935) is a former right fielder

Right fielder

A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...

 and 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' 4", 120 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.

Playing career

Salty Sands, as she is better known, was only one of almost 600 women that had the distinction to play in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during its twelve years of history. She was recognized for her defensive skills, strong throwing arm, and high knowledge of the game. Unfortunately, she did not reach the circuit until 1953, its next-to-final season, which prevented the full development of her qualities.

The AAGPBL was founded in 1943 by Philip K. Wrigley

Philip K. Wrigley

Philip Knight Wrigley , sometimes also called P.K. or Phil. Born in Chicago, he was an American chewing gum manufacturer and executive in Major League Baseball, inheriting both those roles as the quiet son of his much more flamboyant father, William Wrigley Jr. After his father died in 1932, Philip...

, who was in charge both of the Wrigley Company

Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company

The William Wrigley Jr. Company is a company headquartered in the Wrigley Building in Near North Side, Chicago, Illinois. The company was founded on April 1, 1891, originally selling products such as soap and baking powder. In 1892, William Wrigley, Jr., the company's founder, began packaging...

 and the Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

 Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 club. Wrigley decided to create the league as a promotional sideline to maintain interest in baseball. By then, the military draft was depleting Major League rosters of first-line players and attendance declined at ballparks around the country. Arthur Meyerhoff

Arthur Meyerhoff

Arthur E. Meyerhoff was an advertising agency executive and entrepreneur. He was born in Chicago, Illinois.Meyerhoff founded his own agency, Arthur Meyerhoff Associates, in 1932 after persuading the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company that he could arrange for newspapers to place advertisements for Wrigley...

, Wrigley's advertising director, was given the responsibility of coordinating operations. The AAGPBL lasted twelve successful seasons before folding in 1954, when other interests and forms of recreation began to claim the attention of sport fanatics. The circuit was owned by Wrigley only from 1943 to 1945, Meyerhoff from 1945 through 1951, while the clubs were individually owned from 1951 to 1954. It was a neglected chapter of sports history, at least until 1992

1992 in film

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

, when 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 film 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...

, which was 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,...

alized account of activities in the AAGPBL. Starring Geena Davis

Geena Davis

Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis is an American actress, film producer, writer, former fashion model, and a women's Olympics archery team semi-finalist...

, Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks

Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...

, Madonna

Madonna (entertainer)

Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...

, Lori Petty

Lori Petty

Lori Petty is an American film and television actress best known for playing "Tyler Endicott" in Point Break in 1991, "Kit Keller" in A League of Their Own in 1992, and the title role in Tank Girl in 1995.-Early life:...

 and Rosie O'Donnell

Rosie O'Donnell

Roseann "Rosie" O'Donnell is an American stand-up comedian, actress, author and television personality. She has also been a magazine editor and continues to be a celebrity blogger, LGBT rights activist, television producer and collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company R Family...

, this film brought a rejuvenated interest to the extinct league.

A native of Orangeville, Pennsylvania

Orangeville, Pennsylvania

Orangeville is a borough in Columbia County, Pennsylvania. The population was 500 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Bloomsburg–Berwick Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Orangeville is located at ....

, Sands had her first contact with baseball at the age of four when her father took her to a ball game. She grew up playing sandlot ball

Sandlot ball

Sandlot ball is a North American adolescent game that generally follows the basic rules of baseball. More specific rules can be set for games and may vary each time the game is played. These rules are usually agreed upon before the game begins by teams of young boys or girls usually from the same...

 with her neighborhood kids at an early age, most of them boys, but did not start parcipating organized baseball until she was 14. At this time, she became the proud batgirl

Batboy

A batboy is an individual who carries the baseball bats around to a baseball team. A batboy may also lay out the equipment and mud the baseballs to be used in the game.Mascots and batboys had both been part of baseball since the 1880s....

 of the 1949 Orangeville semi-professional baseball team. When I became the batgirl the wife of one of the players took one of the men's uniforms and cut it down to fit me, Sands recalled on an interview. Eventually, she asked her parents for permission to use an old pair of her shoes. We had a shoemaker in town and I took those shoes up to him. He removed the heels and put a set of cleats on, she added. Before each game, she also accustomed to learn correctly the fundamentals of the game, chasing fly balls, fielding grounders, and as warming up

Warming up

A warm-up is usually performed before participating in technical sports or exercising. A warm-up generally consists of a gradual increase in intensity in physical activity , a joint mobility exercise, stretching and a sport related activity. For example, before running or playing an intense sport...

 catcher. In her senior year, Sands told everyone who would listen that she was going to grow up and play professional baseball. She knew that when the high school coach allowed her to practice with the boys' team, which they accepted it very well. Her dream finally came true in the fall of 1952, when his father talked to an AAGPBL 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...

 about setting up a meeting with his daughter. The young girl was invited to a tryout, she then passed the test to attain her purpose and was rewarded with a contract to play in the league.

Sands was allocated to the 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....

, a team managed

Manager (baseball)

In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...

 by Johnny Rawlings

Johnny Rawlings

John William Rawlings [Red] was a second baseman and shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for six different teams between the and seasons. Listed at 5'8", 158 lb., he batted and threw right-handed....

, who taught her the finer points of playing and having fun while doing it. In her two seasons for Rockford, Sands stressed that the girls playing were just doing what we loved and having a ball, as she said. Her love of the game was so strong that she moved to right field after learning the catcher position was filled by perennial All-Star Ruth Richard

Ruth Richard

Ruth Richard [Richie] is a former female catcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 4", 134 lb., she batted left-handed and threw right-handed....

, whom she backed up correctly. In my two seasons as a pro, I only caught 12 games. The first year I got to play 76 of 110 games. The second year, despite injuries, I got into 60 games. I feel that a learned quite a bit while riding the bench, too, she explained.

Rockford finished fourth in the league with a 51-55 mark in 1953. Further, the Peaches lost to the Grand Rapids Chicks

Grand Rapids Chicks

The Grand Rapids Chicks were a women's professional baseball team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1945 to 1954, winning championships in 1947 and 1953....

 in the first round of the playoffs, two to one games. In 1954 Rockford ended 37-55, out of contention.

After her retirement

Following her playing retirement, Sands continued involved in baseball in one capacity or another ever since, from Little League

Little League

Little League Baseball and Softball is a non-profit organization in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States which organizes local youth baseball and softball leagues throughout the U.S...

 coach to women's 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...

, to keep her love of the game going. She also has been an active collaborator of the AAGPBL Players Association since its foundation in 1987. The association was largely responsible for the opening of a permanent display 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...

 since November 5, 1988 that honors those who were part of this unique experience. Sands was among the 61 former players who were in Cooperstown for 10 days of filming for the Penny Marshall's film. Notably, the AAGPBL veterans played on Doubleday Field

Doubleday Field

Doubleday Field is a baseball stadium in Cooperstown, New York named for Abner Doubleday and located two city blocks from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.The grounds have been used for baseball since 1920, on what was Elihu Phinney's farm...

 in the final scene scored to Madonna’s song This Used to be My Playground.

In 2003, Sands was inducted into her Alma Mater Bloomsburg High School’s Graduates of Distinction Hall of Fame. She also was asked to threw the ceremonial first pitch to the USA Olympic Softball team during the squads visit to Williamsport

Williamsport, Pennsylvania

Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. In 2009, the population was estimated at 29,304...

 in 2007. In addition, she sat on the panel on two Society for American Baseball Research

Society for American Baseball Research

The Society for American Baseball Research was established in Cooperstown, New York, in August 1971 by Bob Davids of Washington, D.C. The Society's mission is to foster the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball, while generating interest in the game...

 meetings celebrated in 1974 and 1995. I am truly blessed! The good Lord gave me the love of baseball and the talent to play. I had a dream and God intervened and made it possible. Now it's my turn to repay that debt, she said flatly.

Sands returned to Cooperstown in March 2010, when the Hall of Fame authorities invited her for a celebration of Women's History Month

Women's History Month

Women's History Month is an annual declared month worldwide that highlights contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. March has been set aside as this month in the United Kingdom and in the United States...

. She still living in her homeland of Orangeville, Pennsylvania.

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 :...
136	414	37	87	5	0	1	29	9	13	48	.210

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...
133	169	27	14	TC	210	.933