Helen Nicol

Who is Helen Nicol?

Helen Nicol is a Canadian former baseball pitcher who played from 1943 through 1952 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 3", 120 lb., Nicol batted and threw right-handed. She sometimes credited as Helen Fox or Nickie Fox.

The 1992 film A League of Their Own, directed by filmmaker Penny Marshall, revitalized interest in feminine baseball and helped memorialize a neglected chapter of sports history: the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which gave over 600 women athletes the opportunity to play professional baseball and to play it at a level never before attained. Nicol was just one of them.

A native of Ardley, Alberta, Canada, Nicol has been catalogued by many as one of the greatest pitcher in AAGPBL history. She holds several all-time pitching records, including appearances, wins, consecutive wins, strikeouts, batters faced, and innings pitched. In addition, she posted a 13-7 record with a 1.83 earned run average in postseason games.

Nicol entered the AAGPBL in 1943 with the Kenosha Comets, playing for them through the 1947 midseason before joining the Rockford Peaches.