Dottie Wiltse Collins

Who was Dottie Wiltse Collins?

Dorothy Wiltse Collins [Dottie] was an American pitcher in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which was in existence from 1943 to 1954.

Wiltse Collins, who pitched for the Fort Wayne Daisies, first played in the AAGPBL in 1944, winning 20 games that year for the Minneapolis Millerettes. In 1945, she posted a record of 29–10 while leading all pitchers with 293 strikeouts and an earned run average of 0.83. In 1945 she hurled two no-hitters, both within a 17-day period, and collected 17 shutouts.

In the summer of 1948, she pitched until she was four months pregnant. She did not play in 1949 to rear her first child, and retired at just 27 years old after playing her final season in 1950 so she could raise a family.

In a six-year career, Wiltse Collins posted a 117–76 record with 1,205 strikeouts and a 1.83 ERA. She died of a stroke in Fort Wayne, Indiana, at the age of 84.

Collins' story partially inspired the 1992 film A League of Their Own.