In 1929, Wilfred and Irene Scott of Boone County welcomed their first child, a baby girl named Patricia, whose image would one day be on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Pat Scott’s athleticism was obvious from an early age and throughout her life. She excelled at softball, baseball, bowling, horsemanship, even competitive shooting. Her abilities and gifts didn’t end there; Pat was also an expert wood carver and painter, dabbled (successfully) in leatherwork, won prizes for gardening projects, trained horses and dogs, and played the dulcimer. Ultimately, it was her talent on the baseball field that made her a hometown hero when she became a pitcher in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL).
When Pat was about eight years old, Wilfred noticed that she loved tossing a ball against the family barn. Within two years, he built his daughter her very own “Field of Dreams”, complete with bleachers. Parental support didn’t end there; Irene served as her daughter’s catcher, in full gear as she helped Pat fine-tune her natural ability.
In 1948, as Pat was nearing the end of her senior year in high school, her father took her to tryouts for the AAGPBL at Wrigley Field, and she made the cut. The seventeen year old spent part of spring training finishing her studies so she could graduate on time with her classmates. After Pat was added to the Springfield Sallies’ roster, she played only 19 games before her mother became seriously ill, and she returned home.
As her mother recovered, Pat stayed close working at the UK Extension office. In the fall of 1950, a reporter delivered news to Pat’s father that Max Carey, president of the AAGPBL, was leaving his position to manage the Fort Wayne Daisies and wanted Pat to pitch for the team.
Pat’s strengths were speed and precision, which helped lead the Daisies to a first-place finish in 1951, followed by an even better season in 1952, when Pat pitched the pennant clinching game. After another successful season in 1953, Pat left her baseball career behind for an opportunity to study in Austria. After returning a year later, she enrolled in UK’s zoology program and played on the UK basketball team.
Pat continued to excel at athletic, intellectual and artistic pursuits. When the 1992 film, A League of Their Own, was in production, Pat Scott was one of the on-set consultants brought in to ensure accuracy. In 2006, the City of Walton dedicated the Pat Scott Field at the Walton Community Park. She passed away in 2016 at age 87.
