Ogema, Sask.’s Arleene Noga was a player, coach, mentor and ambassador of the game of baseball for most of her life and now, a Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer.
Her daughter, Carol Lee Scott, said getting the call from the Hall was “a surprise.”
“A good majority of (my mom’s) life was involved with baseball,” she told CTV News. “She was almost embarrassed by it. But she’d be asked to help the boys out.”
“She was that good,” Scott added.
She was by all accounts, one of the best baseball players in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League leaving her Senior A. team in Regina, Sask. to join the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) in 1945.
She appeared in just 15 games for the Daisies before she was acquired in a trade by the Muskegon Lassies where she’d cement her legacy. Noga set a record for fielding percentage by a third baseman (.942) en route to a pennant-winning performance in 1947.
Dubbed “The Iron Lady” for a streak that included more than 300 consecutive games played, she sits eighth in games played by a Canadian, ninth in at-bats (1,119), RBIs (91), stolen bases (123), and 10th in hits (183) and runs (103).
“I know she did a lot for the sport,” Scott said. “And then representing the Canadian women who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, it really made me proud she was being recognized for all her efforts and for her passion.”
If the AAGPBL sounds familiar, it should. In 1992, Noga served as an advisor for “A League of Their Own” starring (among others) Tom Hanks, Madonna, and Rosie O’Donnell. Noga taught O’Donnell how to play shortstop and the “material girl” how to slide.
Noga and former teammate Mary “Bonnie” Baker were also featured on television in a Canadian Heritage Minute.
“It was just something that was really unique,” said CBHOF director of operations, Scott Crawford. “It wasn’t supposed to last that long but it lasted over a decade, which means people loved seeing them play and they were good at it.”
Noga is one of six inductees a part of this year’s Hall of Fame class.
They include ex-big-league left-hander Érik Bédard, Canadian Junior National Team head coach Greg Hamilton and Gerry Snyder, the Montreal city councillor who played a crucial role in bringing Major League Baseball to Canada.
Former Toronto Blue Jay Jose Bautista, who is famously known for hitting a 3-run homerun in game 5 of the 2015 American League Division Serious against the Texas Rangers, is also among the inductees.
“I was at that game,” Crawford reminisced. “If you’re a Blue Jays’ fan, who did you go to watch? You went to watch Jose hit for those ten years and you would stop whatever you’re doing to watch him hit.”
Women’s National Team star Amanda Asay will also be inducted, posthumously.
Crawford says Noga was a trailblazer for the women in the sport today.
“Amanda obviously wasn’t around (in 1945),” he said. “But (women’s) baseball is taking off. And it just really shows the growth is huge and it’s going to continue to grow.”
After her AAGPBL career ended, Noga returned to Regina where she coached and played softball for three decades. She led teams to nine provincial championships and five Western Canadian Championships. She also served on the board of directors for the AAGPBL.
“She was absolutely a supporter of young girls playing ball,” Scott said. “She was always happy to meet the girls and give a pep talk or mentor. (Her message) was, ‘Believe in yourself and you can do great things.”
Arleene Noga was inducted into the Regina Sports Hall of Fame in October of 2004. She died on March 14, 2017.
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on June 7, 2025 in St. Mary’s, Ont.
