Carolyn Morris

Carolyn E. Morris (September 28, 1925 – February 20, 1996) was a female pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Listed at , 157 lb., Morris batted and threw right-handed. She was nicknamed India by her teammates and close friends.

A hard-throwing, underhand pitcher, Carolyn Morris had a brief but relevant career in the AAGPBL. She hurled a perfect game, three no-hitters, twelve innings of no-hit ball in a final championship series, and averaged 26 wins in each of her three seasons in the circuit. In addition, she was a member of a championship team and earned an All-Star berth.

A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Morris was a smiling attractive brunette who pursued a modeling career before turning all of her attention to baseball. She started pitching fastball in grammar school, and stayed in school competition right up to and through high school. After that, she hurled in the Phoenix area in male teams. In addition, Morris was an accomplished musician and devoted to classical music. She entered the AAGPBL after graduating from school in 1944 and was allocated to the Rockford Peaches.

In 1944 Morris joined a Rockford team managed by Nap Kloza. The Peaches finished fourth in the first half of the year (28-32), but improved to third the second half (26-31) after collecting the fourth overall record (53-65) out of six teams. Morris gave a great contribution to the team, hurling two no-hitters and finishing with a 23–18 record for a .561 winning percentage in 44 pitching appearances. She struggled with her control, walking 133 batters while striking out 112 for a 0.84 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Belles pitcher Joanne Winter allowed thirteen hits, but Rockford could not put them together to produce a run. The scoreless game went into the bottom of fourteen, until Sophie Kurys of the Belles got a hit off reliever Mildred Deegan, stole second base, and, in the midst of stealing third, saw her teammate Betty Trezza hit the ball to right field. Kurys slid home to score the winning run and the Belles won the championship title. At the end of the season, Morris was selected for the All-Star Team.

Following her baseball career, Morris worked as a real estate broker and, relatedly, a notary public. She also became part of the AAGPBL permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, New York, opened in , which is dedicated to the entire league rather than any individual player. She died in Mesa, Arizona at the age of 70.

Pitching statistics GPWLW-L%ERAIPRAERBBSOK/BB 134 80 43 .650 1.59 1005 266 178 BB SO 1.65