Dorothy Harrell

Dorothy Harrell (February 4, 1924 – September 15, 2011) was a shortstop who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Listed at 5 4", 127 lb., Harrell batted and threw right-handed. After being married she played under the name of Dorothy Doyle.

An All-Star Team member in five of her eight seasons, Dorothy Harrell was one of the premier shortstops of All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in its twelve years history. Harrell helped bring four championship titles to the Rockford Peaches, including back-to-back victories from 1947 to 1950, while leading her team in runs batted in several times. A classic slap hitter, she rarely tried to drive the ball and was able to put it in play very often, driving in a career 306 runs to rank 13th on the league's all-time list. Well respected for her keen eye for pitches, she garnered 203 walks and struck out only 95 times in 2,920 at-bats for a very solid 2.14 BB/K ratio.

A native of Los Angeles, California, Dorothy Harrell was nicknamed ″Snookie″ by her grandmother when she was born. She had an interesting bloodline. Her father, William D. Harrell, was of Irish, Scottish and Cherokee heritage, while her mother, Catherine Harrell, was of Welsh and German ancestry. She received encouragement early in her life from her mother, a huge baseball fan, who gave her a baseball glove and a uniform for Christmas when she was five years old. Harrell graduated from John C. Fremont High School and played organized softball in the Los Angeles area before marrying in 1943 Leonard Isbell. She remained married through 1946.

Harrell was discovered in 1944 by Bill Allington, former minor league player and then a coach in the California leagues, who was also an active scout for the All-American League. She attended a tryout and made an immediate impact on Allington and her future Peaches teammates. Allington eventually would be named manager for the team in the summer of that year as a replacement for Jack Kloza.

Entering her first season as the starting shortstop, Harrell was instrumental part of a solid and durable Rockford infield that included Dorothy Kamenshek at first base, Mildred Deegan at second and Alice Pollitt at third. After two losing seasons the Peaches led the circuit with a 67–43 record in 1945. During the playoffs, Rockford beat the Grand Rapids Chicks in the first round, three to one games, and defeated the Fort Wayne Daisies in the best-of-seven series, four to one games, behind a strong pitching effort from Carolyn Morris (3–0) and the opportune hitting of Kamenshek (6-for-21.285, two RBI).

In 1946 Rockford finished in fourth place (60-52) and disposed of Grand Rapids in the first round, three-to-two games, but lost the finals to the Racine Belles in six games. In the final contest, which ended with a score of 1–0, Morris hurled a no-hitter for nine innings but lost her gem because Rockford failed to score. She was not removed until the bottom of the twelfth inning. On the other hand, Racine ace Joanne Winter won her fourth game of the playoffs (third against Rockford), despite allowing 19 base runners. The scoreless game went into the bottom of fourteen, when Sophie Kurys hit a single off reliever Mildred Deegan; stole second base, and, in the midst of stealing third, saw her teammate Betty Trezza hit a single to right field. Kurys tagged and slid at home plate for the only run of the game. Dorothy Harrell, acrobatic All-Star shortstop for the Rockford Peaches, one of the top players in AAGPBL history, who served as an inspiration for the 1992 film A League of Their Own. Photo Credit: Bettmann/CORBIS. Harrell earned her first All-Star selection in 1947. Starting that year, she led her team in runs batted during four consecutive seasons, batting a career-high .271 average in 1950, and joining the All-Star squad from 1948 to 1950. Rockford returned to the playoffs in 1948, to start a string of three straight championships.

Harrell graduated from Long Beach State University in 1958, earning her bachelor's degree after earning an associate degree from El Camino Junior College. Following her baseball retirement, she taught mathematics and worked as counselor and physical education teacher at Compton Unified School District in the Los Angeles area, retiring in 1984 after 26 years of service.

Since 1988 she is part of Women in Baseball, a permanent display based at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. She was a longtime resident of Cathedral City, California, where she died at the age of 87.

Career statistics Batting Fielding GPPOAETCDPFA 792 1620 2148 337 4105 179 .918