Viola Thompson [Griffin] (January 2, 1922 – December 31, 2017) was a pitcher who played from 1944 through 1947 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL).
Their father, who worked in the local textile mill, encouraged Viola and her brothers and sisters at a young age to actively participate in different sports.
Upon graduation, she moved to Greenville, South Carolina, where she worked in the textile mill and played amateur softball for the company's team.
By then, a talent scout offered Thompson and Mahon an invitation to come to the newly formed AAGPBL tryouts, which were to be held at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois.
With the prospect of making the $60 per week that was being paid to the members of the established teams, which was a vast sum of money then, the two Greenville girls decided to try their hand in the new circuit, obtaining full-time jobs in the AAGPBL for the 1944 season.
Thompson was assigned to the Milwaukee Chicks, while Mahon joined the Minneapolis Millerettes, becoming the only South Carolina ballplayers in AAGPBL history.
[6] In her rookie season, Thompson posted a 15–12 record and a 2.88 earned run average as part of a pitching rotation that included Connie Wisniewski (23–10, 2.23) and Josephine Kabick (26–19, 2.66).
In fact, the Chicks were forced to play all seven games of the series at Kenosha's Lake Front Stadium because the Brewers were using Borchert Field in Milwaukee.
Due to lack of community support and skepticism of journalists, the Chicks moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan prior to the 1945 season.
Her younger sister, Fredda Acker, joined her on the team as an overhand pitcher in that season but never appeared on the All-American roster, perhaps to safeguard her award-winning looks.
Organizers of the AAGPBL did not want Viola's sister Fredda to join the league once she was crowned Miss America for publicity purposes.
[12] In 1993, Thompson was granted the privilege of the floor of the South Carolina Legislature for her contributions to professional baseball and women's sports.
The resolution passed by the Legislature is quoted as the following "Congratulating Viola Thompson Griffin, for her contributions to baseball and women's sports and allowing her the privilege of the floor of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, March 2nd, 1993, at a time to be determined by the speaker".