DeLisa Chinn-Tyler (born August 1960) is an American former softball player from Evansville, Indiana, best known for her appearance in the 1992 film A League of Their Own. A longtime Evansville athlete, Chinn-Tyler attended North High School, played collegiate softball at the University of Southern Indiana, and later became a prominent player on Evansville-area slow-pitch softball teams.
Early life and softball career
Chinn-Tyler grew up in Evansville and began playing competitive softball in 1971 at age 11. Because organized opportunities for girls were limited, she also played Little League baseball with boys during part of her childhood.
She attended North High School in Evansville, where she participated in athletics. IHSAA records from the 1976–77 school year list Chinn representing Evansville North and placing fourth in the softball throw at an Evansville Central competition.
Chinn later played softball for the University of Southern Indiana. She became one of the most successful hitters in the early history of the program, compiling a .410 career batting average, which remains among the highest career averages in USI softball history.
Chinn-Tyler also played for the Evansville Express, a slow-pitch softball team that dominated regional competition during the 1970s and 1980s. An outfielder, she became known for an unusually strong throwing arm and was capable of throwing runners out at first base from center field. She later played for a team associated with Olympic champion Jackie Joyner-Kersee and continued playing competitive softball until age 52.
A League of Their Own
In 1991, Chinn-Tyler responded to a newspaper advertisement seeking baseball and softball players for A League of Their Own, which was being filmed in Evansville.
Although the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League depicted in the film had been segregated, director Penny Marshall saw Chinn-Tyler’s ability during the tryout and created a brief scene for her.
In the scene, an overthrown baseball lands near a group of Black spectators at Bosse Field. Chinn-Tyler retrieves the ball and fires it back toward the players, demonstrating that she possesses the ability to play with them. She and Geena Davis’ character, Dottie Hinson, then exchange a silent glance acknowledging the racial barrier that prevented Black women from playing in the league.
Although lasting only seconds and with Chinn-Tyler appearing uncredited, the scene became one of the film’s most discussed moments concerning race and segregation.
Chinn-Tyler and the Evansville Express were honored at Bosse Field in 2021 during Evansville’s Juneteenth celebrations, where she threw out the ceremonial first pitch before an Evansville Otters game.