Lillian Jackson

Lillian Jackson (August 4, 1919 – October 30, 2003), nicknamed "Bird Dog", was an American outfielder who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Listed at , 125 lb, she batted and threw right-handed.

Lillian Jackson was one of the original founding members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in its 1943 inaugural season.

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Jackson was not involved in sport as a child. She began playing basketball and softball at age 18, while attending Isaac Litton High School. She later took classes at Nashville Business College and played on their softball team, where she was spotted by a AAGPBL scout who invited her to the final tryouts of the league at Wrigley Field. Once the final cut was made, Jackson and another 59 of the 280 girls who tried out were chosen to become the first women to ever play professional baseball. She was relocated to the Rockford Peaches.

Jackson saw little action during her rookie year. She was traded to the expansion Minneapolis Millerettes before the 1944 season. One of her teammates, Faye Dancer, gained notoriety by her practical jokes on and off the ball field, especially on the chaperones. One day, Dancer said Jackson ran the bases and the outfield like a ״Bird Dog״, and it stuck throughout her career. In her final game for the Daisies, Jackson chased a foul ball into the left field bleachers and caught the ball for the final out of the game, falling in the bleachers and splitting her upper lip. Fort Wayne won the game, but she paid the price with four stitches to close the lip. Starting from that reunion, the AAGPBL Players Association was formed five years later and many former players of the defunct league continued to enjoy reunions. Jackson volunteered to help and was elected to the board of directors. Jackson provided advice and assistance to Marshall and the production team before and during the filming process.

Lillian Jackson was a longtime resident of Green Valley, Arizona, where she lived with her friend and companion Ruth Heiden. She died in 2003 in Tucson following a brief illness at the age of 84.

Career statistics Batting

Fielding GPPOAETCDPFA 108 110 13 11 134 2 .918