April | May | June | July | August | September | October

June: Flying into the "All-American"

June 1, 1946
Well, it is still raining, so we didn’t play again tonight. I went out with Joey Larson and some other fans. We had dinner at Whiteys.

Betty's teammate, Jo Winter, allowed 9 hits to the Peaches at East Side High School Stadium.

June 2, 1946
Today we went to Rockford, Illinois for a series with the Peaches at East Side High School Stadium. The game went 10 innings. We lost 5-4. Jo Winter gave them 9 hits while we got 10 off Morris. The second game we won 2-0. Hutchison pitched a 1 hitter. It should have been a no hitter, but they robbed her out of it. We got 4 hits off of Olive Little. Paire got a double. Bill Allington, Rockford manager, was kicked out of the park during the second game for arguing with the umpires.

June 3, 1946
Again tonight we put the Peaches down in a loss. We took the game 12-4. Stephens gave 3 hits and Hutchison gave 2. Hutch got the win. We got 4 off Gaicoch and 1 off Moon. Dapkus got a triple. Grand Rapids has won 13 straight games. Hope we can beat them when we get there.

A previously sumptuous hotel of Jazz Age Chicago, the LaSalle Hotel suffered a raging fire the night of June 5, 1946 that destroyed much of the hotel and claimed the lives of 61 persons, including many children. The building, still structurally sound, was quickly refurbished and remained in operation until 1976 when it was demolished.

June 4, 1946
Well, we put the Peaches farther back tonight. We won 10-0. Winter gave 2 hits, and we got 11 off Little. Dapkus hit a 2-run homer. Paire got a triple, and doubles were hit by Paire, Perlick, and Kurys. Well, we departed from the Faust Hotel and headed for Grand Rapids. Saw the LaSalle Hotel fire in Chicago. Was really a mess. Lots of people killed.

June 5, 1946
We arrived in Grand Rapids, Michigan for our series with the Chicks. It took us 12 hours to come from Rockford over here. The Chicks beat us 9-1 tonight. Hutchison gave 11 hits while we got 6 off Connie Wisniewski. Wisniewski has won 6 straight games and Morris of Rockford has won 5 straight.

June 6, 1946
Tonight we lost another game to the Chicks at South Field. The score was 4-2 this time. Winter gave 5 hits while we got 5 off Alice Haylett and none off Wisniewski. “Pepper” Paire sprained her ankle. Sure was a bad break for the team.

June 7, 1946
Well, at long last, we beat the unbeatable Chicks. We won 9-1. Hutchison gave them 4 hits, and we got 4 off Audrey Haine. I got a double.

June 8, 1946
Well, the Chicks jumped back into the win column tonight when they beat us again 7-3 this time. Winter gave 7 hits and Wisniewski gave 8. This was Wisniewski’s 7th straight win. We said adios to the Rowe Hotel and headed for Racine. In Chicago we saw the Muskegon Lassies for a few minutes. Was sure good taking to them again. We are now in 5th place. We were all nearly broke, so Hutch wrote out our dinner check, and they are the ones we paid. Sure are dumb people here.

Connie Wiskiewski cleaned up a 7th straight win for the Chicks when she pitched a winning game against Betty and the Belles.

June 9, 1946
Tonight we didn’t look so good. We lost a double-header to the Kenosha Comets. The first game was 4-2. Hutchison gave 8 hits and Fox gave 4 and 3 from Jo Kabick. In the second game the score was 17-3. Everything happened that you could think of. Barr gave 3 hits. Stephens gave 6, while we were getting 7 off Kabick. Margaret Willa, catcher for the Comets, hit two home runs to tie the record. She also got a triple. She hit in 9 runs for a record. Kurys got a double for us.

June 10, 1946
Well, we lost another game to the Comets, 6-5. It went 10 innings. Barr gave 4 hits; Winter gave 1, while we were getting 7 off Lois Elorreick. Hutchison did the catching tonight. “Double Duty Hutch” is her name now. In first game, Dapkus got a double.

June 11, 1946
At long last, we won another ball game. Was sure a relief after loosing 4 in a row. The score over the Kenosha Comets was 12-1. Hutchison gave up 8 hits while we got 14 off Janet Anderson until Florreick relieved her in the ninth. Perlick and Dapkus each got a triple. Wisniewski won her 8th straight game tonight.

June 12, 1946
Well, tonight the thing that happened was something new to us. Instead of being rained out, we were fogged out. We were to start a series with the Grand Rapids Chicks, but guess it will have to wait for another night.

Alice Haylett, another pitcher for the Chicks, helped the Belles break their losing streak by issuing part of the 21 bases with balls during the game June 13, 1946.

June 13, 1946
Well, we really had a game tonight. The Chicks blew up, and we really had a field day. The score was 26-8 in our favor. Winter gave them 7 hits, while we got 12 off Mary Butcher, none off Haylett or Wisniewski. Haylett and Butcher joined forces to issue us 21 bases on balls. Winters hit a home run and Trezza got a triple. There were three new records set tonight. 1. Most runs scored in one game, 26. 2. Kurys scored five runs to break the record of 4. 3. Hickson drew 5 base on balls to break the record of 4. Was really some game and one that fans and players will talk about a long time.

June 14, 1946
Well, we went back into the loss column tonight. We lost a double-header to the Chicks. In the first game we lost 4-3. Barr gave 2 hits and Hutchison gave 1, while we got 7 off Haine and none off Wisniewski. In the second game we lost 1-0. Hutchison gave 4 hits while we got 2 off Wisniewski. This was Wisiewski’s 9th straight win.

June 15, 1946
Well, tonight was a different story. We beat the Chicks again. The score of 8-4 came out of it. Winter gave 3 hits, and Hutchison gave 1, while we got at Haylett for 5. Winter got the win credit.

June 16, 1946
This day brought us a trip to Fort Wayne, Indiana for a series with the Daisies. We stayed at the Anthony Hotel, better known at the “Bug House”. We split a double-header with the Daisies at North Side Field. We won the first game 5-0. Hutchison gave 2 hits, while we got 5 off Faye Dancer. In the second game we lost 3-0. Barr gave up 5 hits, and we got 2 off Dorothy Wiltse Collins. Perlick and Dapkus each hit a double.

Betty Trezza hit a triple for Racine in a win against the Daisies.

June 17, 1946
We beat the Daisies again tonight, this time 8-6. Winter gave 7 hits, and we managed to get 6 off Elise Harney. Trezza hit a triple.

June 18, 1946
Well, the old story “Rained Out” is back with us again. It really did pour today for about 4 hours, so we got an early start for Racine. It rained on us nearly all the way back to Racine. What we would do with our spare time without Mare Machines, no one knows.

June 19, 1946
Our game against the Muskegon Lassies was postponed because of the Louis-Conn fight. I went over to Kenosha to see Mary Rini before she went back to Detroit. She has been released. We went out to a girl’s house and heard the fight. Then a bunch of us went out and really had a good time. Stayed all night over there. Wisniewski was beaten by Fort Wayne tonight, her first loss of the season. Stayed at Dayton Hotel.

June 20, 1946
Today we took an afternoon double-header from the Muskegon Lassies. Scores were 6-2 and 6-4. Barr gave 2 hits and Hutchison 1, while we were collecting 6 off Alva Jo “Tex” Fischer. In the second game, Winter gave 1 hit, Stephens 0, and Hutchison 1. We got 1 off Irene “Lefty” Applegren and 5 off Doris “Sammy” Sams. In the first game Trezza got a double. Danhouser got a double in the second game. Manager Ralph “Buzz” Boyle was sent out of the park during the second game for arguing with the umps.

June 21, 1946
Well, today, or should I say tonight, we took another game from the Lassies by 4-2 score. Hutchison gave 2 hits and we got 4 off Erma “Bergie” Bergman. Paire got a double. Danhouser had 15 putouts at first base, and Trezza had 9 chances at 3rd, while Paire had 7 chances at shortstop. We moved into 4th place tonight. Wisniewski now has 11 wins and 1 loss.

June 22, 1946
We really did have to fight for the win we got tonight over Applegren and the Lassies. We got only 1 hit off of her, and Winter gave them 5. One of the hardest games we’ve played.

June 23, 1946
Today we initiated the idea of flying into the “All American”. We flew across Lake Michigan from Milwaukee to Muskegon. Sure does beat going by bus. We went over in 35 minutes and by bus it take 8 hours. We beat them a double-header at Marsh Field. Scores were 5-0 and 6-2. First game went to Hutchison. She gave 3 hits, and we got 0 off Fischer and 5 off Sams. In the second game Barr got the win by giving only 4 hits, and Fischer gave us 9. I the first game Trezza got a double, and Danhouser got a triple. In the second game, Perlick got a double.

June 24, 1946
Well, the Lassies put an end to our win streak when they beat us to end out straight wins at 6. They won 2-1. Winter gave them 7 hits and Bergman gave us but 1 hit. We are 4th place yet though. Rockford set a new record tonight when they had only 2 assists in the game.

June 25, 1946
Well, back to the win column again by taking the game 4-0 from the Lassies tonight. Hutchison gave them 2 hits, and we got 3 from Applegren. Was a close game and hard fought by both teams. Hickson got a triple. We then said so long to the Occidental Hotel and boarded the train for Chicago where we will again go by bus to Peoria, Illinois.

June 26, 1946
We arrived in Chicago at about 8 A.M. and got our bus and Bobbie Erwin, our favorite driver. We then started for Peoria. We checked in at the Jefferson Hotel there. At High School Stadium, we really had a wild ball game. We finally won 12-8. They led 7-1 in the first inning, then we came to life, and our old bats began to bang. We got 10 hits off Annabelle “Lefty” Lee while Barr gave 3, Stephens 5, Emry 4, and Hutchison 1 for us. Emry got the win credit though. Danhouser got a home run triple and single in 5 times at bat and hit in 7 runs. Kurys and Trezza also got triples.

June 27, 1946
Well, another win came our way tonight from the Redwings. We took it 7-3. Winter gave up 5 hits while we got 8 off Jane Jacobs. Hickson got a double. Kurys has 61 stolen bases up to date.

June 28, 1946
This was a very sad day for the team. Hickson received word this morning that her mother isn’t expected to live, and she left by plane for Chattanooga, Tennessee. Our team was really left in a mix-up, but we managed to struggle through and win 6-3. Barr pitched 8 1/2 innings and Hutchison caught. Then, in the 9th inning, Doddie got wild and Hutch went in to pitch and Paire moved in from shortstop and caught, and Betty Emry went to shortstop. Barr gave 5 hits, and Hutchison gave 0. Blumetta gave us 6 hits. Kurys stole 4 more bases.

June 29, 1946
Today a fellow Jim ________, (I can’t remember his last name) took Willie, Schillace, Trezza, and myself along with Betty Gerring (chaperone of Peoria), Betty Tucker, Lefty Lee, Mary Wood, and Tibby Eisen, all of Peoria team to lunch and boating. Had a nice time, despite the fact that it rained most of the day. We were rained out that night and got an early start for Racine. We left for Racine having won 10 out of last 11 starts and only 1/2 game out of 2nd.

Maddy joined the Belles in June of 1946.

June 30, 1946
Peoria arrived in town today for a four game series. Maddy English joined us today. She is the veteran 3rd baseman of the team. We took a double-header from the Redwings as a present for Maddy. Scores were 9-0 and 3-2. Hutchison gave only 2 hits, and we got 4 off Jacobs and 2 off Betty Tucker. Maddy got a triple. In the second game we were rained out in 4 1/2 innings, but we got credit for the win. They got 7 hits off Winter and we got only three off Lee. Paire got a double.

continue to July 1946