Louise Erickson

Who is Louise Erickson?

Louise Erickson [Sauer] is a former pitcher who played from 1948 through 1950 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 9 in, 162 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.

Lou Erickson had a brief but fruitful career as a member of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. In a three-year stint, she was a member of two champion teams and landed on the All-Star team two times. While showing an array of pitches and not being prone to walks, she relied on a fastball, curveball and changeup combination, mixing speeds in her curve sparingly, with an impeccable control over location.

Born in Arcadia, Wisconsin, Erickson used to play baseball with her father, uncles and five brothers at an early age. I had no previous formal or informal training in softball or baseball. Two of my uncles played weekend baseball and I was the tomboy shagging balls in the outfield, she recalled in an interview.

Afterward she was allowed to shag balls for a neighboring town team, which drew the attention of the manager, who recommended her to the league. She was invited to a tryout and immediately was assigned to the Racine Belles in the 1948 season, which was already underway. She was used in relief duties and collected a 1–0 record with a 5.74 earned run average and 11 innings of work in three appearances.