Muriel Coben

Who is Muriel Coben?

Muriel Eleanor Coben was a Canadian pitcher who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 3", 135 lb., she batted and threw right handed.

Muriel Coben was one of the 57 players born in Canada to join the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in its twelve years history. She also became one of the original 60 founding members of the league in its 1943 inaugural season.

Coben has been considered by researchers as the greatest softball pitcher of her era in Saskatchewan history. She led her teams to numerous regional, provincial and national championships in Canada in a career that lasted 18 years. In addition, she was a member of a Canadian women's curling champion team and has been enshrined in several Hall of Fames in recognition of her outstanding contribution to Canadian sport.

Born in Gelert, Ontario, Coben was raised on a farm in Tessier, Saskatchewan. She started her pitching career in 1936, winning all her games as a member of the hometown Tessier Millionaires. She later played from 1938 to 1942 in Saskatoon for the Pats team, where she aroused the attention of an AAGPBL scout who signed her a contract to play in the new league during the opening 1943 season.