Mary Rountree

Mary Ellen Rountree

Nicknamed "Square Bush", Mary Rountree was one of the top five defensive catchers in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during its twelve years of history. Rountree was magnificent at all the intangible things that a catcher does, like calling the game, working the pitch counts and blocking home plate, which combined with a fine defense and a strong and secure throwing arm. She led the league in fielding average two times, while her .959 career fielding average ranks her third in the all-time list behind Ruth Lessing (.973) and Ruth Richard (.961) and over Mary Baker (.953) and Dorothy Maguire (.928). After baseball, she went on to become a specialist in internal medicine, a distinction held by few players.

Born in Miami, Florida, she was the youngest child in the family of Samuel and Mary Rountree. She wore his first baseball uniform at age five, emulating her older brother who was a catcher. As a teenager, Rountree played on two Florida championship teams in 1938 and 1940 that went to play in national tournaments both years.

After graduating from Miami Edison High School, Rountree attended Florida State University for two years, and worked for the United States Department of State in Washington, D.C. In 1943 she received a call from AAGPBL executive Arthur Meyerhoff to join the new league, but she declined the offer because she had three brothers serving in the military during World War II. At the end of the war, she attended a AAGPBL tryout in Miami for Max Carey and was a signed to a contract.

Mary Rountree died in 2007 in Highland Beach, Florida, where she lived, at the age of 85.

Career statistics Batting Fielding GPPOAETCDPFA 406 1644 386 88 2118 40 .959