Dot Wilkinson

Dorothy Elsie Wilkinson (October 9, 1921 – March 18, 2023) was an American softball player and bowler, who is a member of the halls of fame in both sports.^[1][2]

Dot Wilkinson

Personal information
Birth name	Dorothy Elsie Wilkinson
Born	(1921-10-09)October 9, 1921 South Phoenix, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Died	March 18, 2023(2023-03-18) (aged 101) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Sport
Sport	Softball, ten-pin bowling

Life and career

Wilkinson played softball from 1933 to 1965, helping her team, the Phoenix Ramblers, to the national title in 1940,^[3][4] 1948,^[4][5] and 1949.^[3][4] She was an All-American nineteen seasons as an amateur softball player.^[6] Among her feats, she batted an average of .455 in 1954, .450 in 1955, and .387 on the Ramblers championship runner up year of 1957.^[3][4]

As a professional bowler, she won the Women's International Bowling Queen's Tournament (a bowling triple crown event) in 1962, and the WIBC singles in 1963.^[7]

Wilkinson was inducted into the National Softball Hall of Fame and Museum in 1970, her first year of eligibility.^[1] She was inducted into the International Bowling Hall of Fame twenty years later, in 1990.^[2][8]

Wilkinson occasionally attended high school, college and tournament softball games in Arizona, where she and some of her former teammates were honored frequently. The Arizona Republic newspaper chose her at number eight among Arizona's all-time greatest athletes in 1999.^[9]

As of April 2020, Wilkinson was the oldest living member of the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame.^[10] She turned 100 in October 2021,^[11] and died in Phoenix on March 18, 2023, at the age of 101.^[12][13]

Honours

Association	Year	results
National Softball Hall of Fame and Museum	1970	Honoured
International Bowling Hall of Fame	1990	Honoured
Arizona Sports Hall of Fame	1975	Honoured

References

1. "Dot Wilkinson Bio". American Softball Association. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
2. "Welcome to the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame: Women's International Bowling Congress Hall of Fame, Superior Performance". Archived from the original on February 6, 2009. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
3. "Brakettes- National Tournaments". Archived from the original on August 20, 2008. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
4. "Fast Pitch Softball History". Retrieved October 2, 2009.
5. "Phoenix Ramblers Softball Champions". Ellensburg Daily Record. September 21, 1948. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
6. "Dot Wilkinson A female Yogi Berra". Sports Illustrated. October 17, 1960. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
7. Tyers, Tim (July 3, 2007). "What's up with . . . Dottie Wilkinson". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
8. "International Bowling Museum Hall of Fame" (PDF). Spring 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 10, 2007. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
9. Metcalfe, Jeff (December 18, 1999). "Whatever it took to win: Dot Wilkinson not a good loser". The Arizona Republic. p. C 1. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
10. 98-year-old softball Hall of Famer Dot Wilkinson staying safe during pandemic
11. "Oldest living Arizona Sports Hall of Famer Dot Wilkinson turns 100". AZ Central. October 10, 2021.
12. McLeod, Justin (March 20, 2023). "Softball Legend Dot Wilkinson Passes Away". Extra Inning Softball. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
13. Sainty, Lane (March 20, 2023). "Arizona sporting legend and 'softball royalty' Dot Wilkinson dies at 101". AZ Central. Retrieved March 21, 2023.

Further reading

• Ames, Lynn Out at the Plate: The Dot Wilkinson Story (Chicago Review Press, 2023)
• Purcell, Laura A. The Queens and the Ramblers: Women's Championship Softball in Phoenix, 1932–1965 (Arizona State University: Dissertation)