Barbara J. "Bobbie" Payne (September 18, 1932 – March 11, 2024) was an Americaninfielder andreliever who played from1949 through1951 in theAll-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Listed at 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m), 118 lb, she batted and threw right-handed.^[1]

AShreveport native, Barbara Payne was the only girl born in the state ofLouisiana to join the league in its twelve years history.^[2]

At age of 11 Payne was the youngest girl to play on the Shreveport Garmet softball team. She then joined the Elite Cleaners in 1949, when the AAGPBL rookie touring teams stopped in Shreveport for exhibition games. TheChicago Colleens and theSpringfield Sallies traveled together over much of the eastern half of the United States playing games against each other to recruit new players. The tour gave these new recruits an opportunity to play and also gave the league the opportunity to develop new baseball talent around the country. The teams held a tryout at Shreveport and signed Payne up. She was assigned to the Springfield team and made her debut in her hometown before going on an exhausting tour of 22 states.^[3][4]

In 1950, Payne was allowed to graduate from high school a month early so that she could be able to join theMuskegon Lassies at thespring training camp. She was called ″pepper pot″ by her teammates, because she was not afraid to go after anyground ball. Although the1950 season became a nightmare for her team, after registering the worst record in the league and a relocation during the midseason toKalamazoo, Michigan, where it was renamed theKalamazoo Lassies. Payne hit a .190batting average in 100 games, playing mainly atshortstop, but she filled in at other infield positions and eventually was used as an emergencypitcher.^[1][4]

Payne opened 1951 with Kalamazoo, but was sent to theBattle Creek Belles during the midseason and ended up playing with theRockford Peaches during thepostseason. She batted a combined .173 average in 85 games, while tying for eight in the league for the mosttriples (5). Rockford blanked theGrand Rapids in the first round in two games, but lost to theSouth Bend Blue Sox the final round three games to two. She went 0-for-5 in two playoff appearances.^[5]

In 1951 the league suffered its three-year attendance slide and began having financial difficulties. TheKenosha Comets and thePeoria Redwings were forced to fold after the season, leaving the league with six clubs. Some players, Payne among others, were seeing the beginning of the end and they were cautious. Many of them made their move to other leagues and others opted to retire. Then, she took up a career as a radiology technician that would take her to work for a government office for 40 years. After retiring in 1992, she embarked on a career as agolfer that led her to get a number of local titles to her credit. Finally, the league folded at the end of the1954 season.^[4]

It was not until 37 years after her stint in the AAGPBL that Payne became a subject of notoriety. In the early 1980s, a group of former members of the league led byJune Peppas created theAAGPBL Players Association and lobbied to have the circuit recognized in theNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum atCooperstown, New York. After that, she attended the league reunions. The association was largely responsible for the opening ofWomen in Baseball, a permanent display at the Hall, which was unveiled in1988 to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Yet it was not really a well known fact until1992, whenfilmmakerPenny Marshall premiered herfilmA League of Their Own, which was afictionalized account of activities during thefirst season of the league. This film brought a rejuvenated interest to the extinct league, while many of the real players began to earn a rebirth of celebrity over the years forthcoming.^[6]

Payne later resided inSurprise, Arizona.^[7] She died on March 11, 2024, at the age of 91.^[1]

Batting

Fielding

Note: Since the league counted the 1950 tour as exhibition games no official statistics were kept.^[1][4]

• 1932 births
• 2024 deaths
• Baseball players from Shreveport, Louisiana
• 21st-century American women
• Battle Creek Belles players
• Kalamazoo Lassies players
• Muskegon Lassies players
• Rockford Peaches players
• Springfield Sallies players

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata