Joan Berger

Joan Berger [Knebl] (October 9, 1933 – September 11, 2021) was an infielder and outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Listed at , 132 lb, she batted and threw right-handed. She was born in Passaic, New Jersey.

An All-Star at second base, Joan Berger played in the last four seasons of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Her accomplishments also included winning the Rookie of the Year Award and playing in the All-American touring team piloted by Bill Allington. She was allocated to the Rockford Peaches, a team managed by the aforementioned Bill Allington.

AAGPBL Berger entered the league as a right fielder, hitting a .251 average in only 40 games. At this point, she maintained her rookie status for the following season. In 1952 she switched to second base, won Rookie of the Year honors, and was the only rookie to make the All-Star Team. The next season she played shortstop and second, splitting her playing time between third base and second in 1954, when she hit a career-high .280 during what turned out to be the league's final season. Rockford made the playoffs from 1951 to 1953 but failed to win the championship.

Allington All-Stars Following her AAGPBL career, Berger joined several other players on Bill Allington's All-American team, a barnstorming remnant of the league. The Allington All-Stars played 100 games between 1954 and 1958, each booked in a different town, against male teams, while traveling over 10,000 miles in the manager's station wagon and a Ford Country Sedan. Besides Berger, the Allington All-Stars included players as Gloria Cordes, Jeanie Descombes, Gertrude Dunn, Betty Foss, Mary Froning, Jean Geissinger, Katie Horstman, Maxine Kline, Dolores Lee, Magdalen Redman, Ruth Richard, Dorothy Schroeder, Jean Smith, Dolly Vanderlip and Joanne Weaver, among others.

Personal life Berger married Andrew Knebl in 1959 and settled down to raise a family. She had three boys, Andrew Jr., Kevin and Robert, and has five granddaughters. She worked for Ferrero USA for eight years and retired in 1994.

Berger died on September 11, 2021, at the age of 87.

Statistics Batting

Fielding POAETCDPFA 374 542 96 1012 60 .905