Faye Dancer - Early Life

Early Life

Born in 1925 in Santa Monica, California, Faye Dancer was the third of four children into the family of James and Olive (née Pope) Dancer. Her father worked as an inspector for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. He later became an appliance store owner and sponsored a men's local softball team for a long time. While attending Santa Monica High School, the young Dancer played softball for a girls' team called the Dr Peppers, which was sponsored by the historic soft drink company. She attended University High School in West Los Angeles, where she broke an all-city basketball record after shooting 42 baskets in just one minute. She also ran an obstacle course in 9.4 seconds and fast-walked the half mile in 2 minutes and 42 seconds, and enjoyed kicking balls with the boys.

After her graduation in 1941, Dancer started to play professional softball in a southern California league. In 1944 she came to the attention of a scout of the All-American Girls Ball League, by then a hybrid of softball and baseball. The league had been founded the year before by Philip K. Wrigley, a chewing-gum magnate and owner of the Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball club. Wrigley feared that major leaguers would be drafted into the military during World War II, while minor leaguers were already being called up. Teams of girls (never called women) seemed like a way to fill ballparks, according to an article in Smithsonian magazine in 1989.

In 1944 Dancer signed a contract for $75.00 a week, which was a sizeable sum in those days and also the top salary for any player in the AAGPBL. As an aside, when retired in 1950 she was earning $125.00 per week. Her greatest attribute was her stunning speed, which made her an adept base stealer. In her brief five-season career, she stole 358 bases, averaging 70 steals per season with a career-high 108 in her final year. She also was the first player in the league to hit two home runs in a game, and the first to belt two grand slams in a single season. Sometimes she pitched, posting a 11–11 record with 43 strikeouts and a 2.28 ERA in 25 appearances. Her career was shortened by a serious back injury, but the impression Dancer left on the league and her teammates was one of dedication, hustle and fun.