Doris Sams facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Doris Sams
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
Center field / Left field / Pitcher
Born: (1927-02-02)February 2, 1927 Knoxville, Tennessee
Died: June 28, 2012(2012-06-28) (aged 85) Knoxville, Tennessee
Batted: Right Threw: Right
debut
1946
Last appearance
1953
Career statistics
Batting average	.290
Home runs	22
Runs batted in	286
Win–loss record	64–47
Earned run average	2.16
Teams
Muskegon Lassies (1946–'50) Kalamazoo Lassies (1950–'53)
Career highlights and awards
Two-time Player of the Year Award (1947, 1949) Five-time All-Star Team (1947, 1949-'52) Perfect game (1947) No-hitter (1948) Four playoff appearances (1947-'49, 1953) Single-season leader in batting average (1949) home runs (1952) Ranks 8th on the All-time list for batting average Tied for 12th on the All-time list for home runs National Women's Baseball Hall of Fame Induction (2012)

Doris Jane Sams (February 2, 1927 – June 28, 2012), known as "Sammye", was an American outfielder and pitcher. She played from 1946 to 1953 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Doris was 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighed 145 pounds. She batted and threw with her right hand.

Early Life: A Baseball Family

Doris Sams grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee. She was the only daughter of Robert and Pauline Sams. Baseball was very important in her family. Her grandfather was a semi-professional pitcher. He taught Doris how to pitch. Her father played center field and taught her how to catch and field.

Doris loved sports from a young age. Her brothers, Paul and Robert Jr., helped her practice. She started playing softball with older girls in 1938 when she was 11. Her team won the state championship seven times in eight years. In 1941, she even represented Tennessee in a national tournament. Before joining the AAGPBL, she played for the Pepsi Cola team. She helped them win three championships.

Doris Sams' Amazing Baseball Career

Doris Sams joined the AAGPBL in 1946. She was 19 years old and played for the Muskegon Lassies. She had a great start, hitting for a .276 batting average. This means she got a hit almost 28% of the times she tried. She also scored 15 runs and helped her team score 9 runs. As a pitcher, she won 8 games and lost 9. Her earned run average (ERA) was 3.78. This number shows how many earned runs a pitcher gives up per nine innings.

Becoming an All-Star Player

In 1947, the AAGPBL held its first spring training outside the U.S. It was in Havana, Cuba. Doris was one of 200 players there. That year, the league changed how pitchers threw the ball. They went from underhand to full side-arm pitching.

Doris became one of the best players in the league that season. She hit for a .280 average. She also hit 9 doubles and 5 triples. She helped her team score 41 runs and scored 31 runs herself. As a pitcher, she won 11 games and lost only 4. Her ERA was very low at 0.93.

On August 18, 1947, Doris pitched a perfect game. This means no opposing player reached base at all! She beat the strong Fort Wayne Daisies 2–0. Doris won the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Player of the Year Award. She was also named to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League All-Star Team. She was the only player in AAGPBL history to be an All-Star as both an outfielder and a pitcher in the same year.

New Pitching Styles and More Success

In 1948, the AAGPBL grew to ten teams. They also changed pitching again, from side-arm to overhand. On July 12, Doris pitched a no-hitter against the Springfield Sallies. This means no opposing player got a hit. The next day, she helped her team win again, getting three hits herself. Even though she struggled a bit with the new pitching style, she still had a good year. She won 18 games and had a 1.54 ERA. As a hitter, she had a .257 average. She also scored 105 runs and helped her team score 59 runs.

In 1949, Doris Sams won the batting title with a .279 average. She was named Player of the Year again. This made her the first player to win this award twice! She also led the league with 114 hits. As a pitcher, she won 15 games and had a 1.58 ERA. She made the All-Star Team for the second time.

Moving Teams and Setting Records

In 1950, the league started using a livelier ball. This meant more hits and more home runs. Doris had a batting average over .300 for four years in a row, starting this year. She finished with a .301 average and hit 4 home runs. This was her last season pitching regularly. She won 12 games and had a 2.60 ERA. She made her third All-Star Team.

During this season, the Muskegon Lassies moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan and became the Kalamazoo Lassies.

In 1951, Doris focused more on hitting. She had a .306 batting average. She also hit 16 doubles and 2 home runs. She made the All-Star Team for the fourth time.

Doris had an amazing season in 1952. She led the league with 12 home runs. She also had the third-best batting average at .314. She was second in hits (128) and doubles (25). She made the All-Star Team for the last time. Her 12 home runs broke the league's record of 10, set in 1943.

In 1953, Doris played her final season in the AAGPBL. She played in 46 games and hit for a .312 average.

Over her eight-year career, Doris Sams had a .290 batting average. As a pitcher, she won 64 games and lost 47, with a 2.16 ERA.

Batting Statistics

Life After Baseball

After her baseball career, Doris Sams returned home to Knoxville. She worked as a computer operator for the Knoxville Utility Board for 25 years. She retired in 1979.

Doris never married. She was honored for her achievements many times. She was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1970. In 1982, she joined the Knoxville Hall of Fame. She is also part of the AAGPBL display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. This display opened in 1988 and celebrates the entire league. Doris Sams passed away on June 28, 2012, at the age of 85.

In 2012, she was inducted into the National Women's Baseball Hall of Fame.

AAGPBL Perfect Games

Sources