SYCAMORE – Doreen "Betty" (Petryna) Allen Mullins' life is like a long love story, sweet and a little sad.

The youngest of six children, all of whom were born at home and delivered by their father, Mullins was born in Liberty, Canada, a farming community of 179. When she was 10, the family moved to Regina, the capital city of Saskatchewan.

Although she didn't start playing sports until high school, she was discovered by a scout from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and invited to try out. From 1948 to 1950, she played for the Grand Rapids Chicks, the Fort Wayne Daisies and the Muskegon Lassies.