Ruth Lessing

Ruth Elizabeth "Tex" Lessing (August 15, 1925 – October 26, 2000) was an American female catcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Listed at , 128 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.

Ruth Lessing has been considered as one of the best defensive catchers in All-American Girls Professional Baseball League history. Respected for her solid skills behind home plate, including a strong and accurate arm, Lessing also was renowned for her fiery and competitive spirit. She played over 100 games during four straight seasons, was selected to the All-Star Team three consecutive years, and set several all-time, single-season records before suffering a career-ending shoulder injury that forced her to retire prematurely.

A native of San Antonio, Texas, Lessing was a standout athlete at Jefferson High School. She was spotted in the early 1940s by a scout from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She graduated in 1944 and immediately joined the Minneapolis Millerettes, an expansion AAGPBL team managed by former big leaguer Bubber Jonnard. In her rookie season Lessing shared catching duties with Pepper Paire.

In 1944, Lessing hit a .177 batting average in 57 games for Minneapolis, scoring 13 runs while driving in 27 more. She posted a single-season, career-high with 22 stolen bases, and ten of her 35 hits were doubles. Playing their home games at Nicollet Park, the Millerettes could not compete with the local Minneapolis Millers. In addition, Minneapolis was far from the other five cities in the league, forcing the Millerettes to spend most of the season on the road. As a result, the team finished last in both halves of the season with a compiled 45–72 record, being replaced in 1945 by the Fort Wayne Daisies.

Lessing became a regular with Fort Wayne in 1945, appearing in 110 games and setting an all-time single season record for a catcher with a .982 fielding average. She also hit .123 with 32 runs and 21 RBI, while the Daisies, with Bill Wambsganss at the helm, had a strong season debut, going 62–47 and finishing four and a half games behind first-place Rockford Peaches. During the playoffs, Fort Wayne disposed of the Racine Belles in the first round, three to one games, but struggled to Rockford in the final round, four-to-one.

In 1948, Lessing set another all-time record, appearing in 125 games behind the plate in the regular season. She also posted career-numbers in hits (86), runs (43) and RBI (36), while hitting a .206 average and making her third and last All-Star Team, helping the Chicks win the Eastern Section with a 77–47 record. In the postseason, Grand Rapids defeated South Bend in five games but was swept by Fort Wayne in three games during the second round. After playing 44 games in the 1949 season, Lessing suffered a career-ending shoulder injury. At the time, she was hitting .233 (28-for-120) with nine runs and nine RBI.

Ruth Lessing died of cancer in her homeland of San Antonio at the age of 75. In 2006, she was awarded a posthumous induction into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame. She is part of the AAGPBL permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, New York, opened in , which is dedicated to the entire league rather than any individual player.