Delores Brumfield

Delores Brumfield [White] (May 26, 1932 – May 29, 2020) was an American baseball player. White played as a utility infielder/outfielder from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Listed at , 125 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.

In 1947 Delores Brumfield became one of the youngest players to join the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League at the age of 14. Throughout much of her career, Brumfield exhibited a versatility to play most positions with the exception of pitcher and catcher. Among other career highlights, she posted the best fielding average for all position players in 1950 and finished second in the batting title race in 1953. Following her baseball retirement, she earned a master's degree and doctorate in physical education and worked as a teacher and coach for 40 years.

Early life Born in Prichard, Alabama, Delores was the oldest of three children into the family of Earl Henry and Miriam McKay (née Turner) Brumfield. Her father was an auto mechanic, while her mother stayed at home until World War II, when she started as an office worker before becoming an office manager for an insurance firm.

Brumfield had a .117 batting average in her rookie season and .142 as a sophomore. She raised her average to .212 in 1949, while playing for new manager Johnny Gottselig. She also improved in other areas, dropping her strikeouts to only 26 in 274 at bats (one in each 10.54 AB), while raising her on-base percentage from .225 to .289 and her slugging from .153 to .248.

Her most productive season came in 1950, when she posted career numbers in games played (108), hits (108), runs (58), runs batted in (37), doubles (14), triples (7) and stolen bases (37). She also ranked seventh for the most total bases (139) and tied for fourth in triples, averaging a .336 on base percentage and a .332 slugging average. For the second consecutive year, she improved her batting average more than 50 points, hitting .264, while striking out only once every 17.78 at bats, another career best. In addition, she shone at first base, committing only 15 errors in 1259 chances for a .988 fielding average, for the best mark among position players.

Career statistics Batting Fielding GPPOAETCDPFA 498 3841 453 95 4389 193 .978