Helen Callaghan
Center field
Born:(1923-03-13)March 13, 1923 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Died: December 8, 1992(1992-12-08) (aged 69) Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
Batted: Left Threw: Left
Teams
Minneapolis Millerettes (1944) Fort Wayne Daisies (1945–1946, 1948) Kenosha Comets (1949)
Career highlights and awards
Second in batting average: .287 (1944) First in batting average: .299 (1945) Tied for home runs: 3 (1945) First in total bases: 156 (1945) First in total hits: 122 (1945) First in doubles: 17 (1945) Second in runs: 77 (1945) Second in stolen bases: 92 (1945)
Member of the Canadian
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	2021

Helen Callaghan Candaele St. Aubin (March 13, 1923 – December 8, 1992) was a left-handed center fielder who appeared in five seasons in theAll-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), playing under the nameHelen Callaghan.^[1]

As a rookie with theMinneapolis Millerettes^[2] Callaghan hit a .287average in 111 games, for second in the league. She also finished third intotal bases, hits, runs andstolen bases (112), while tying for third inhome runs. By then, her older sister,Margaret, was the team's third basewoman.^[1]

The Millerettes could not compete attendance-wise with theMinneapolis Millers, so the team moved in 1945, becoming theFort Wayne Daisies. That year Callaghan had her best season, batting .299 to lead the AAGPBL. (The league average was .198 that year.) She tied for the league lead in homers (3), led in total bases (156), was second in steals (92), first in hits (122), second in runs (77) and first in doubles (17). Callaghan was often called the "Ted Williams of women's baseball". The league was not yet giving out Player of the Year or All-Star honors, but it is clear she was a candidate for both. Ft. Wayne finished second and advanced to the championship, but fell four games to one despite a .400 mark from the younger Callaghan.^{[citation needed]}

Callaghan slipped drastically in 1946, hitting just .213, even though league averages rose about 10 points. She still tied for third in steals with 114. After missing the 1947 season due to illness, she returned for part of 1948 after getting married and having her first child. However, that year she hit just .191 as a bench player. She finished her career with Kenosha in 1949 asHelen Candaele, bouncing back to a .251 mark, tied for seventh in the league. She was ninth in total bases (113), eighth in steals (65), sixth in doubles and tied for eighth in triples.^{[citation needed]}

In a five-season career, Callaghan was a .256 hitter (449-for-1756) with seven home runs and 117runs batted in in 495 games, including 419stolen bases, 299 runs, 44 doubles, 20 triples and 271 walks while striking out 220 times. Heron-base percentage was .355, while herslugging percentage was .315.

Helen had five sons.Casey Candaele is a former professional baseball player who spent nine years with theMontreal Expos,Houston Astros andCleveland Indians ofMajor League Baseball, and currently manages and coaches in theToronto Blue Jays system, presently as manager of the Buffalo Bisons in the International League, their Triple-A affiliate. Another son,Kelly Candaele, is a politician, filmmaker, teacher, and writer. He produced aPBS documentary special on theAAGPBL.^[3]Penny Marshall was inspired to create the 1992 filmA League of Their Own after watching the documentary. Another son, Kerry Candaele, directed the 2013 documentaryFollowing the Ninth, about the global influence ofBeethoven'sfinal symphony, and co-authored the bookJourneys With Beethoven. Another son, Rick Candaele, is the former football coach atUniversity of California, Santa Barbara andClaremont McKenna College.

Callaghan died due tobreast cancer inSanta Barbara, California, on December 8, 1992, aged 69.^[4] In June 1998, theCanadian Baseball Hall of Fame inducted, as a group, the 68 Canadian women who played in the AAGPBL.^[5] In 2021, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Callaghan individually;^[6] being the first woman so honored.^[7]

Batting

Fielding

^[8]

• Short biography at Famous Canadians
• Her article at Women in Baseball
• Helen St. Aubin, 69, Athlete Who Inspired Film. Thomas, Robert McG. Jr. (1992-12-11).The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
• Baseball: My Mother the Feminist Would Never Drop a Ball on Purpose Candaele, Kelly (2017-07-10)Capital & Main. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
• "Helen Callaghan Candaele Photograph, 1949"Archived 2019-04-11 at theWayback Machine.National Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
• "Helen Callaghan and Faye Dancer Photograph, 1944"Archived 2019-04-11 at theWayback Machine.National Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2019-04-11.

• 1923 births
• 1992 deaths
• Minneapolis Millerettes players
• Fort Wayne Daisies players
• Kenosha Comets players
• Baseball people from Vancouver
• Sportswomen from British Columbia
• Canadian women baseball players
• Canadian sportspeople of Irish descent
• Deaths from breast cancer in California
• 20th-century American sportswomen
• Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees

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