Alice Haylett

Who was Alice Haylett?

Alice Haylett was a female pitcher who played from 1946 through 1949 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 6 in, 155 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.

A native of Coldwater, Michigan, Haylett grew up in a farm family of English, Pennsylvania Dutch, and Indian ancestry. She graduated from Coldwater High School in 1940, and after taking a summer job in Battle Creek, Michigan she worked full-time for five years and played softball for several local teams. She heard about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from Betty Whiting, a fellow softball player who had entered the league in 1945 with the Milwaukee Chicks. Haylett attended a tryout for the league in 1946, and was assigned to the Grand Rapids Chicks, playing for them for the next four years.

In her rookie season, Haylett hit a .221 batting average playing briefly at outfield. Grand Rapids finished in second place that season. In 1947, she joined the pitching staff and posted a 19–11 record, helping her team to clinch the championship. Her most productive season came in 1948, just when the league changed to pitching overhand and adopted a smaller ball.