Barbara J. Payne [?Bobbie?] is a former infielder and reliever who played from 1949 through 1951 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 7 in, 118 lb, she batted and threw right-handed. A Shreveport native, Barbara Payne was the only girl born in the state of Louisiana to join the league in its twelve years history. At age of 11 Payne was the youngest girl to play on the Shreveport Garmet softball team. She then joined the Elite Cleaners in 1949, when the AAGPBL rookie touring teams stopped in Shreveport for exhibition games. The Chicago Colleens and the Springfield Sallies traveled together over much of the eastern half of the United States playing games against each other to recruit new players. The tour gave these new recruits an opportunity to play and also gave the league the opportunity to develop new baseball talent around the country. The teams held a tryout at Shreveport and signed Payne up. She was assigned to the Springfield team and made her debut in her hometown before going on an exhausting tour of 22 states. 

September 18th, 1932 in   /  Died:   Mar 11th, 2024