Muskegon Belles players

Kathryn E. Vonderau (born September 26, 1927 - August 10, 2022) was an American catcher who played from 1946 through 1953 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m), 155 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.Kathryn Vonderau was an integral part of multiple playoff teams with her leadership. More important than her offensive numbers, Vonderau was a fine receiver with a quick throwing arm and a fine glove during her eight seasons in the league. After retiring from baseball, she had a successful career as an educator for thirty-one years.Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Vonderau caught and played at first base for a fast-pitch softball champion team sponsored by Harold Greiner, owner of the Bob-Inn Restaurant in Fort Wayne. The team won state championship titles in 1944 and 1945, while Greiner, who scouted for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, recommended Vonderau for the league's tryouts. She joined the league in 1946, following her high school graduation at Elmhurst High School, and was assigned to her hometown team, the Fort Wayne Daisies. But then the league started shuffling her around to fill in where she was needed.For the next three seasons, Vonderau divided her playing time with the Muskegon Lassies (1947), Chicago Colleens (1948) and Peoria Redwings (1948–1949). She suffered a knee injury in 1948 while playing for Peoria, which somewhat limited her playing time for the rest of her career.Vonderau returned to the Daisies in 1950, playing for them through 1952, when she helped Fort Wayne win the pennant. She was then sent to the Muskegon Belles in 1953, her last year in the circuit. Her most productive season came in 1951, when she posted career numbers with a .221 batting average, 32 runs batted in and 24 runs scored. She also gained a spot in the 1953 All-Star Team.Following her baseball career, Vondearau had a teaching career at all academic levels from elementary through university as a Health, Physical Education and Recreation educator. Her academic honors include bachelor's and master's degrees from Indiana University and a doctorate from University of Iowa. She retired from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater in 1988.She is included in Women in Baseball, a permanent display based at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, which was unveiled to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League rather than individual baseball personalities. She also gained induction into the Wisconsin–Whitewater Hall of Fame in 1996.Vonderau died on August 10, 2022.

Naomi Meier [″Sally″] (November 17, 1926 – July 15, 1989) was an outfielder who played from 1946 through 1953 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m), 115 lb., Meier batted and threw right-handed. She was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana.Well-traveled Naomi Meier moved around for a while, as the AAGPBL shifted players as needed to help teams stay afloat. Basically a line drive hitter and speedy base runner, she collected over 25 stolen bases in five of her eight seasons in the league. An instinctive player with good hands and a strong throwing arm, she also was capable of playing well all three outfield positions. But her best attribute may have been able to adapt and perform well for nine teams and thirteen different rosters in a span of eight years.Meier entered the league in 1946 with the Rockford Peaches, playing for them one and a half years before joining the Fort Wayne Daisies (1947). Then she found herself on the move again, this time to the Peoria Redwings (1948) and Chicago Colleens (1948), and then the Muskegon Lassies (1949), Racine Belles (1949), Kalamazoo Lassies (1950), followed by a new trip to Fort Wayne (1950–1952). She later was part of the Battle Creek Belles (1952) and played her last season for the Muskegon Belles (1953).In her rookie year, Meier appeared in 103 games and hit a .249 batting average with a career-high 49 runs batted in while scoring 44 times. Her most productive season came in 1948, when she posted career numbers in hits (100), at-bats (450), runs scored (54), stolen bases (55) and games played (127), adding a .222 average and 47 RBI. She raised her average to a career-high .261 in 1950, while collecting a second-best 34 stolen bases in 99 games.In 1951, Meier suffered a season-ending compound fracture of her right ankle while sliding into second base. Used sparingly in 1952, she hit .229 and stole 25 bases in 111 games during the 1953 season, her last in the league.A .258 career hitter, she reached the postseason with the Peaches (1946), Lassies (1949) and Daisies, collecting a .208 average (21-for-201) with one double, seven runs, seven RBI and six stolen bases in 27 games. In 690 games at outfield, she committed only 73 errors in 1226 chances for a .941 fielding average.In 1988 she became part of Women in Baseball, a permanent display based at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, which was unveiled to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. It was not really a well known fact until filmmaker Penny Marshall premiered her 1992 film A League of Their Own, which was a fictionalized account of activities in the AAGPBL. Starring Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Madonna, Lori Petty and Rosie O'Donnell, this film brought many of the real AAGPBL former players a rebirth of celebrity.
Naomi Meier died in Fort Wayne, Indiana, at the age of 62.