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Pauline Pirok () (born October 18, 1926) is a former infielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 2", 132 lb., Pirok batted and threw right-handed. She earned the nickname ''Pinky Pirok''.〔''The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: A Biographical Dictionary'' – W. C. Madden. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2005. Format: Paperback, 295 pp. Language: English. ISBN 978-0-7864-3747-4〕 Chewing gum magnate and Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley decided, in 1942, to start a women's professional baseball league, concerned that the 1943 Major League Baseball season might be canceled because of World War II. Since the only organized ball for women in the country was softball, the league created a hybrid game which included both softball and baseball. Wrigley had scouts all over the United States, Canada and even Cuba signing girls for tryouts. About 500 girls attended the call. Of these, only 280 were invited to the final try-outs in Chicago, where 60 of them were chosen to become the first women to ever play professional baseball. The players were placed on the rosters of four fifteen-player teams. Then, four non-Major League cities were selected that were in close proximity to the AAGPBL headquarters in Chicago and close to each other: Rockford of Illinois, South Bend of Indiana, and Racine and Kenosha of Wisconsin. Publicist Arthur Meyerhoff was given the responsibility of coordinating operations with city officials and civic leaders in communities, as well as a projected budget was developed. The first spring training of the new league was set for May 17, 1943, at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Pauline Pirok survived the final cut to become one of the original players signed by the league. A native of Chicago, Illinois, Pirok entered the AAGPBL in 1943 with the Kenosha Comets, playing for them two and a half years before joining the South Bend Blue Sox (1945–1948). During six years, she divided her playing time at third base and shortstop, making also a few appearances as an emergency pitcher. Her most productive season came in 1943, when she hit a career-best .234 average as a 17-year-old rookie. In that same season, Pirok helped Kenosha beat the Blue Sox in a game, 10–0, collecting four hits in five at-bats, including a double and a triple. In the following series against the Rockford Peaches, which the Comets swept, she kept up her hot hitting going 4-for-10, including four of the eight runs that her team scored in the series. During two consecutive years the Comets advanced to the playoffs, but were beaten in the first round. At the end of the season, she was selected to the All-Star Team.〔〔〔''Encyclopedia of Women and Baseball'' – Leslie A. Heaphy, Laura Wulf, Mel Anthony May. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2006. Format: Paperback, 438pp. Language: English. ISBN 978-0-7864-2100-8〕 Pirok started 1945 in good form. At one point during the season she was leading the league with 20 runs batted in, but Kenosha traded her to South Bend along with Phyllis Koehn in return for Lois Florreich and Dorothy Schroeder. After that Pirok injured her ankle and lost the rest of the season. From 1946 to 1948, she was mostly used to fill at infield, outfield and pinch hit, helping South Bend to made the playoffs in these years, but could not reach the league finals. She was also one of two hundred players to attend the first AAGPBL spring training outside the United States, which was held in 1947 in Cuba at the ''Gran Stadium de La Habana''.〔〔(SABR Project – Betsy Jochum biography by Jim Sargent )〕 Following her playing career, Pirok worked as a physical education teacher for 36 years in the Chicago Public School system. After retiring, she became an avid golfer to stay active. Pirok is currently living in Orland Park, Illinois.〔''Encyclopedia of Women and Baseball''〕〔(Star-Collector – Updates )〕〔''The Celebrity Black Book 2008'' – Jordan Mcauley. Publisher: Mega Niche Media, 2007. Format: Paperback, 744pp. Language: English. ISBN 978-1-60487-002-2〕 ==Batting statistics== 〔''The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pauline Pirok」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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