Professional Baseball Player. A catcher and infielder known as 'Pepper Paire' during her playing days, she was a standout performer in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) who provided a portion of the inspiration for Geena Davis' Dottie Hinson character in the 1992 movie "A League of Their Own" and also co-wrote "Victory Song", the circuit's theme music. Raised in Southern California, she evidenced her athletic talent early and got her nickname by playing on a softball team called the "Dr. Peppers"; at 19 she was working as a welder when she and her friend Faye Dancer, said by some to be the model for Madonna's All The Way Mae, successfully tried out for the AAGPBL. Assigned to the Minneapolis Millerettes for 1944, she proved to be an outstanding defensive catcher while batting .240; moving on to the Ft. Wayne Daisies for 1945 she logged the first of her nine consecutive playoff appearances then in 1946 experienced her only AAGPBL championship with the Racine Belles while hitting .238. In 1948 with the Grand Rapids Chicks Pepper earned her sole All Star selection then in 1950, still with the Chicks, she set a league record with 70 RBIs. Retiring after her 1953 campaign with the Daisies, she had a lifetime batting average of .225 while her 400 RBIs place her fourth on the all-time list. The league folded in 1954 and Pepper earned some renown as a bowler and softball player before spending the next decades raising her three children. Part of the 1988 mass induction of the AAGPBL and its players into the Baseball Hall of Fame, she served as Penny Marshall's technical advisor for and had a cameo in the 1992 feature film "A League of Their Own". Pepper lived out her days in her native Southern California, was in high demand for personal appearances and autograph shows, published a 2009 autobiography entitled "Dirt in the Skirt", and died of an accumulation of age related problems.
Professional Baseball Player. A catcher and infielder known as 'Pepper Paire' during her playing days, she was a standout performer in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) who provided a portion of the inspiration for Geena Davis' Dottie Hinson character in the 1992 movie "A League of Their Own" and also co-wrote "Victory Song", the circuit's theme music. Raised in Southern California, she evidenced her athletic talent early and got her nickname by playing on a softball team called the "Dr. Peppers"; at 19 she was working as a welder when she and her friend Faye Dancer, said by some to be the model for Madonna's All The Way Mae, successfully tried out for the AAGPBL. Assigned to the Minneapolis Millerettes for 1944, she proved to be an outstanding defensive catcher while batting .240; moving on to the Ft. Wayne Daisies for 1945 she logged the first of her nine consecutive playoff appearances then in 1946 experienced her only AAGPBL championship with the Racine Belles while hitting .238. In 1948 with the Grand Rapids Chicks Pepper earned her sole All Star selection then in 1950, still with the Chicks, she set a league record with 70 RBIs. Retiring after her 1953 campaign with the Daisies, she had a lifetime batting average of .225 while her 400 RBIs place her fourth on the all-time list. The league folded in 1954 and Pepper earned some renown as a bowler and softball player before spending the next decades raising her three children. Part of the 1988 mass induction of the AAGPBL and its players into the Baseball Hall of Fame, she served as Penny Marshall's technical advisor for and had a cameo in the 1992 feature film "A League of Their Own". Pepper lived out her days in her native Southern California, was in high demand for personal appearances and autograph shows, published a 2009 autobiography entitled "Dirt in the Skirt", and died of an accumulation of age related problems.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
Inscription
ORIGINAL MEMBER OF AAGPBL
BELOVED MOTHER,
GRANDMOTHER, SISTER, AUNT
AND FRIEND TO ALL
SHE WAS TRULY IN
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
DIRT IN THE SKIRT
Family Members
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