Erma M. Bergmann American baseball player, former pitcher and outfielder Country: USA

1. Biography of Erma M. Bergmann
2. Childhood and Early Baseball Career
3. Professional Career in the AAGPBL
4. International Experience and Later Career

Biography of Erma M. Bergmann

Erma M. Bergmann, an American former pitcher and outfielder, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. She played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1926 to 1951. Standing at 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 meters) tall and weighing 155 pounds, she was right-handed.

Childhood and Early Baseball Career

Erma grew up in a family with two brothers. While her mother, a jazz pianist, hoped she would pursue a career in music, Erma preferred playing baseball with her brothers and the neighborhood kids. At the age of fourteen, she began playing third base in the St. Louis Amateur Softball League. Her talent and dedication were recognized in a newspaper article titled "The Girl Who Shines in a Man's Game." The article featured a photo of fifteen-year-old Erma as the pitcher for 'The Phantoms' team, highlighting her ten clean victories.

Professional Career in the AAGPBL

Eight years later, Erma was recruited into the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She signed a contract and began playing for the league three years after joining. The AAGPBL had a unique game format that combined elements of baseball and softball, and the rules gradually evolved to resemble those of baseball over its twelve-year history. Bergmann started her career in the league in 1946 with the 'Muskegon Lassies' team. She later joined the 'Springfield Sallies' in 1948 and played for the 'Racine Belles' in 1949-1950. In her final season, she played for the 'Battle Creek Belles' in 1951.

International Experience and Later Career

In 1947, the league moved its spring training to Havana, Cuba, and Bergmann was one of the two hundred girls who traveled there. During that season, she exclusively played as a pitcher. Eventually, Bergmann moved to Chicago and played in the National Girls Baseball League from 1952 to 1954.

After retiring from baseball, Bergmann returned to St. Louis and became one of the first female police officers in the city. She served in the police force for twenty-five years and retired in 1981.