All-American Girls Professional Baseball League ®
| Team | Position | Uniform # |
|---|---|---|
| 1945 Rockford Peaches | Manager | |
| 1946 Rockford Peaches | Manager | |
| 1948 Rockford Peaches | Manager | |
| 1949 Rockford Peaches | Manager | |
| 1950 Rockford Peaches | Manager | |
| 1951 Rockford Peaches | Manager | |
| 1952 Rockford Peaches | Manager | |
| 1953 Fort Wayne Daisies | Manager | |
| 1954 Fort Wayne Daisies | Manager |
Bill was a tough taskmaster who expected maximum effort from his players. He also required that they know the rules of the game. It was not unusual for Bill to give his players a pop quiz about the game he loved during bus rides to away games.
Bill was managing women's fast pitch softball teams in California when he became aware of the AAGPBL which at that time was fast pitch softball. He had a great record there, coaching a number of teams to State Championships. He had a very talented team in California and many players from that area went East with Bill when he accepted a manager position with the League.
Bill managed the Rockford Peaches in 1945 and 1946. Then from 1948 to 1952. His Rockford Peaches won the AAGPBL Championship in 1945,1948, 1949, and 1950. In 1946 he took the Peaches to the final game where they lost in 16 innings, 1-0, to the Racine Belles. He also managed the Fort Wayne Daisies in 1953 and 1954 and won the the League but not the Play-off Championships in those last 2 years of the League's existence.
After the League folded, Bill refused to give up on women's professional baseball and took players from the league on tour from 1955 through 1958. Allington's "All-Americans" played mens teams across the U.S. and Canada. They traveled coast to coast and North into Canada and South into Mexico.
Bill passed away in 1966, but he will never be forgotten by the hundreds of women of the AAGPBL who knew him as a great manager and friend.
William Baird Allington was an American Minor League baseball player and manager. Listed at 5'9", 160 lb., Allington batted and threw right-handed. He was born in St. Clair County, Michigan.
Allington spent 31 years in baseball as a player (15), coach (4) and manager (12). He started his professional career as an outfielder, playing from 1926 through 1940 with ten teams of four different leagues. Between 1926 and 1934, he played in the Blue Ridge League (1926–27), Western League (1926–28, 1930–32), Southern Association (1929, 1933–34), and Pacific Coast League (1929–30). He also played nine years in the California Winter League circuit (1932–40).
Allington hit .300 or more in eight of his nine minor league year career. His most productive season came in 1931, when he led the Western League hitters with a .374 batting average. Unfortunately, he was left off of the All-Star Team that year after leading the league in several offensive statistics, including stolen bases (36), triples (23), total bases (335) and runs scored (167), while adding nine home runs and 92 runs batted in. In addition, he ended fifth in doubles (49), and his .984 fielding percentage was the second-best of any starting outfielder in the Western League that season.
Allington posted a career-average of .327 in 1145 games, including a .508 slugging percentage, and hit .273 with a .494 slugging percentage in the California Winter League.
Following his playing career, Allington coached in the minors from 1941 to 1944, before landing in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League to become the most successful manager in the league's history. With Allington at the helm, the Rockford Peaches reached the playoff six times, winning the AAGPBL Championship Title in 1945 and in consecutive years from 1948 to 1950. Allington later managed the Fort Wayne Daisies in 1953 and 1954, leading them to the playoffs in both seasons.
From 1945 to 1954, Allington posted a 583-398 record for a .594 winning percentage, never had a losing season, and is the all-time leader in victories in the AAGPBL. He also was a talented active scout for the league.
The AAGPBL folded in 1954, but the following year, Allington formed a women’s All-Star touring team called Allington’s All-Americans, a barnstorming remnant of the league. While traveling over 10,000 miles in the manager's station wagon and a Ford Courtesy Sedan, the Allington All-Americans played 100 games between 1955 and 1958, each booked in a different town, against male teams. Allington's All-Americans included top AAGPBL players such as Joan Berger, Gloria Cordes, Jeneane DesCombes, Gertrude Dunn, Betty Foss, Mary Froning, Jean Geissinger, Katie Horstman, Maxine Kline, Dolores Lee, Magdalen Redman, Ruth Richard, Dorothy Schroeder, Jean Smith, Dolly Vanderlip, and Joanne Weaver, among others
Author: Wikipedia
Contributed By: Helen Nordquist
Copyright: Wikipedia