A fast and fine defensive outfielder, she often took away extra base hits from opponents, offering a variety of excellent catches over a substantial period of time.

[1][2][3] The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League operated between 1943 and 1954 and started with four teams: the Racine Belles and the Kenosha Comets, both from Wisconsin; the Rockford Peaches from Illinois, and the South Bend Blue Sox from Indiana.

It was a neglected chapter of sports history at least until the early 1980s, when a group of former AAGPBL members led by June Peppas organized a retired players association and lobbied to have the circuit recognized in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, New York.

Starring Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Madonna, Lori Petty and Rosie O'Donnell, this film brought a rejuvenated interest to the extinct league.

Eisen joined the Chicks, along with Alma Ziegler, while Faye Dancer, Annabelle Lee, Lavonne Paire and Dorothy Wiltse were allocated to the Millerettes.

The Chicks, managed by Max Carey, included in their roster remarkable players as Josephine Kabick, Merle Keagle and Connie Wisniewski, among others.

Eisen batted a modest .204 average in 107 games, driving in 41 runs while scoring 55 times, but stole 91 bases and provided stellar defense at outfield.

[2][12][14][15] By 1946 Eisen joined the expansion Peoria Redwings, stealing 128 bases for them while tying for the most triples (9) along with Racine's Eleanor Dapkus and Rockford's Rose Gacioch.

Eisen garnered All-Star status in the process as the third outfielder behind South Bend's Elizabeth Mahon and Grand Rapids' Merle Keagle.

Notably, newspaper stories from Havana indicate that the All-American girls drew larger crowds for their exhibition games at Estadio Latinoamericano than did the Dodgers.

Fort Wayne, with Dick Bass at the helm, made the playoffs and defeated the Muskegon Lassies in the first round and Grand Rapids in the semi-finals, but was beaten by Rockford in the final series, four to one games.

[1][15][19] In 1949, Eisen enjoyed the most memorable experience of her career while on an AAGPBL tour of Central and South America, as the teams were feted by both government officials and the common people.

That year, she hit a low-career .184 in 109 games but belted three home runs to tie Grand Rapids' Inez Voyce and Kenosha's Audrey Wagner for the league lead.

[1][15][23] Following her AAGPBL career, Eisen settled in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles, and starred in softball with the perennial champions Orange Lionettes until 1957.

This chapter in Ruttman's history, based on a January 6, 2009 interview with Thelma Eisen and Anita Foss conducted for the book, discusses the athletes' American, Jewish, baseball, and life experiences from youth to the present.