Milwaukee Chicks By 1944 the AAGPBL added two teams, the
Milwaukee Chicks and the
Minneapolis Millerettes. Ziegler attended a tryout for the AAGPBL arranged by
scout Bill Allington, who would join the league for the upcoming season as
manager of the Rockford team. Ziegler was one of six girls from Los Angeles who traveled to
Peru, Indiana for the tryout. The girls passed the test and were rewarded with a contract to play in the league. Ziegler joined the Chicks, along with
Thelma Eisen, while
Faye Dancer,
Annabelle Lee,
Lavonne Paire and
Dorothy Wiltse were allocated to the Millerettes. In 1944 Ziegler played second base for the debuting Milwaukee Chicks, a well-balanced squad managed by
Max Carey that counted such talented players as
Josephine Kabick,
Merle Keagle and
Connie Wisniewski. Ziegler hit a modest .191 average in 115 games, including 51 runs and 25 RBI, but she established herself as a flashy defender who made outstanding plays routinely. The Chicks led the league in
runs scored (492),
batting average (.207), stolen bases (739) and tied for first in
home runs (12). The best offensive support came from Keagle, who hit .264 with 47
runs batted in, and led the AAGPBL hitters with seven
home runs and 145
total bases. The one-two pitching staff was led by Kabick, who posted a 26–19 record for a .578
winning percentage and topped the league in wins and
innings pitched (366), while Wisniewski went 23–10 (.697) with a 2.23
earned run average.
Grand Rapids Chicks From 1945 to 1954 Ziegler played with the Grand Rapids Chicks. Although originally nicknamed
Gabby by her teammates, she eventually was called
Ziggy by the Grand Rapids crowds. Her leadership was indisputable since other Chicks players considered her playing style somewhat inspirational, which led her to be named captain of the team. In 1945 the Chicks finished in third place (60–50) and lost the first round of the playoffs to Rockford, three to one games. The Chicks improved to second in 1946 (71–41), but were defeated again by Rockford in the first round, this time in five games. Eventually, Grand Rapids fanatics honored Ziegler in an event named
A Night for Ziggy. The AAGPBL flew 150 young women from eight clubs to
Havana, where they trained, played eight days of exhibitions, and were cheered by more than 75,000 fans. The Chicks, now managed by
Johnny Rawlings, ended in second place (65–47) and secured their return to the playoffs. In the first round, Grand Rapids disposed of South Bend in five games and later won the championship title, with
Mildred Earp throwing a 1–0 shutout against Racine in decisive game seven. In the 1947 Grand Rapids Chicks yearbook, Ziegler is described as the
spark plug of the team. In 1948 Ziegler posted career-numbers in games played (126),
runs scored (61),
hits (77), and
runs batted in (33). In addition, she led second baggers in
fielding percentage, led the league in walks (62), and compiled a 9–6
pitching record, helping Grand Rapids clinch the Eastern Division with a 77–47 mark. The Chicks beat South Bend in the first round of the playoffs, three to two games, but were swept in three games by the expansion
Fort Wayne Daisies in the semifinal series.
AAGPBL title The Chicks clinched the AAGPBL title in 1953, led by the strong pitching of
Eleanor Moore, who won 17 games to tie Faut for the league lead. Ziegler, who moved to
shortstop, contributed with a .168 average in 96 games and made the All-Star Team again. Grand Rapids, with
Woody English at the helm, finished second in the regular season (62–44) and faced Rockford in the first round of the playoffs in a best-of-three series. In Game 1 of the playoffs, Rockford scored early and defeated the visiting Chicks, 9–2. The Peaches lined 13 hits off pitchers Eleanor Moore and
Mary Lou Studnicka. The action shifted to Grand Rapids home ballpark for Game 2, and
Earlene Risinger silenced the Peaches' bats to just two measly hits en route to a complete game, 2–0 shutout. Her clutch performance was backed by timely hitting by Ziegler, who hit an RBI single in the seventh inning to give her a 1–0 lead, and
Dolores Moore, who drove in the game's final run with a
sacrifice fly in the eighth. In Game 3, Grand Rapids starter
Dorothy Mueller pitched well enough to beat Rockford, 4–3, and the Chicks advanced to the Championship Series to face the
Kalamazoo Lassies, managed by
Mitch Skupien, who had eliminated Fort Wayne in the other playoff contention. In the final series, Grand Rapids swept Kalamazoo in the best of three game set, by the scores of 5–2 and 4–1. In Game 1, Studnicka started for Grand Rapids and allowed only two runs in eight innings of work. With the score tied 2–2 going into the fourth inning, the Chicks scored three runs off Lassies’ pitcher
Gloria Cordes. With the bases loaded, Ziegler drove home one run with a sacrifice fly to put the score in favor of Grand Rapids, 3–2. Another sacrifice fly by
Inez Voyce and an RBI single by
Joyce Ricketts extended the lead to 5–2. When the Lassies' first two batters reached base in the final inning, manager English brought Eleanor Moore to the rescue. She promptly retired the next three batters in order, striking out
Isabel Alvarez, retiring
Dorothy Schroeder with a
pop fly to shortstop Ziegler, and inducing
June Peppas on a sharp grounder to the mound throwing to Voyce at first base for the final out of the game. First in Milwaukee, and later in Grand Rapids, the Chicks made the playoffs every year of their existence. Ziegler was the only player to be on the team during the entirety of its eleven-year history. ==Personal life==