Members of the short-lived All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, the Cook sisters displayed their baseball abilities on diamonds across the Midwest between 1946 and 1954. The AAGPBL was to be the inspiration for the popular movie “A League of Their Own.”

Donna began her professional career on May 26, 1946, just days after graduating from Muskegon Heights High School. As right fielder for the Muskegon Lassies, she saw action in 78 games for the AAGPBL club, stepping to the plate on 231 occasions. The Lassies drew just under 90,000 cash customers to Marsh Field in 1946 – their first season in the league. Moved from outfield to the pitcher’s mound, Donna recorded a 14-8 win-loss mark with a 1.42 ERA in 1947, as the Lassies posted a 69-42 record en route to the regular season league championship. The 1947 Lassies established a Marsh Field attendance record by drawing 140,000 fans.

The AAGPBL controlled the movement of players between teams, and staffing of two new franchises in the spring of 1948 caused Muskegon to lose Donna Cook. It was the first of numerous moves for the Muskegon Heights southpaw, as she was added to the roster of the Chicago Colleens. Donna saw action with the Fort Wayne Daisies, the Grand Rapids Chicks, the Battle Creek Belles, the Muskegon Belles, the South Bend Blue Sox and the Rockford Peaches before retiring following the 1954 season.

Doris Cook, Donna’s younger sister, joined the Springfield Sallies in 1949 at the age of 17. A traveling developmental squad of the AAGPBL, the Sallies entertained crowds across the country, playing exhibition games before major league baseball contests. An outfielder and pitcher, Doris joined the league circuit in 1951 as a member of the recently relocated from Muskegon to Kalamazoo. Doris remained with the club until the 1953 season, before moving to South Bend in another relocation of talent by the league. Paired with her sister, Donna, for the first time in her professional career, Doris retired from the league following the 1953 season.