Josephine Kabick [Jo] was a female pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

 who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was a women's professional baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. During the league's history, over 600 women played ball.-History:...

. Listed at 5' 7", 142 lb., Kabick batted and threw right-handed. She was born in Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

.

Kabick entered the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1944 with the expansion Milwaukee Chicks

Milwaukee Chicks

The Milwaukee Chicks were a women's professional baseball team which played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the season. They were managed by Max Carey, former star player for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Brooklyn Robins and a future Hall of Famer.-History:By 1944 the...

, playing for them one year before joining the Grand Rapids Chicks

Grand Rapids Chicks

The Grand Rapids Chicks were a women's professional baseball team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1945 to 1954, winning championships in 1947 and 1953....

 (1945-'46), Kenosha Comets

Kenosha Comets

Based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Kenosha Comets were a women's professional baseball team that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team played their home games at Kenosha's Lake Front Stadium, but later moved to Simmons Field.The Kenosha Comets were one...

 (1946) and Peoria Redwings

Peoria Redwings

The Peoria Redwings were a women's professional baseball team who joined the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the season. The team represented Peoria, Illinois....

 (1947). In her rookie season she posted a 26-19 record with 81 strikeout

Strikeout

In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....

s in 45 pitching appearances

Games pitched

In baseball statistics, games pitched is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although exceptions are made if the pitcher announced in the starting lineup is injured before facing a batter, perhaps while...

, while leading the league in victories and innings of work

Innings pitched

In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...

 (366).

In 1944 the Chicks, managed

Manager (baseball)

In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...

 by Max Carey

Max Carey

Max George Carey was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball who starred for the Pittsburgh Pirates and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1961...

 and supported by Kabick, slugger Merle Keagle

Merle Keagle

Merle Patricia Keagle was a center fielder who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League between the and seasons. Listed at 5' 2", 144 lb., she batted and threw right-handed....

, and the speedy Alma Ziegler

Alma Ziegler

Alma Ziegler was an infielder and pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 3", 125 lb., Ziegler batted and threw right-handed....

, finished 30-26 in the first half of the year and dominated the second half (40-19) to collect the best overall record (70-45). They then went on to win the Championship Title, beating Kenosha in seven games.

Although the Chicks captured the AAGPBL championship, they had no local financial backing and could not compete with the American Association

American Association (20th century)

The American Association was a minor league baseball league at the Triple-A level of baseball in the United States from to and to . Together with the International League, it contested the Junior World Series which determined the championship team in minor league baseball, at least for the...

 Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers (minor league baseball team)

The Milwaukee Brewers were a Minor League Baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They played in the American Association from 1902 through 1952.-A Milwaukee Tradition:...

. In fact, the Chicks were forced to play all seven games of the series at Kenosha's Lake Front Stadium because the Brewers were using the Borchert Field

Borchert Field

Borchert Field was a baseball park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was the home field for several professional baseball clubs for most of the years from 1888 through 1952....

 in Milwaukee. Due to lack of community support and the vaunted skepticism of journalists, the team moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...

 prior to the 1945 season.

But Kabick was unable to repeat her heroics for the 1945 season, while her teammate Connie Wisniewski

Connie Wisniewski

Constance Wisniewski was a starting pitcher and outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...

 emerged as one of the most dominant pitchers of the league. After pitching in the two cities, Kabick was dealt to Kenosha during the midseason. She slipped to a combined 16-18 record that year.

In 1946 Kabick improved to 19-19 with Kenosha, a pretty good performance considering her team finished seventh in the eight-team league with a losing record of 42-70, but then she found herself on the move again. This time Kabick went 13-16 for the fifth-place Peoria Redwings (55-57) in 1947, during what turned out to be her last AAGPBL season.

Kabick died in Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 at the age of 55. Ten years after her death she became part of the AAGPBL permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, New York

Cooperstown, New York

Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...

, opened in , which is dedicated to the entire league rather than any individual player.

Pitching statistics

GP Games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although exceptions are made if the pitcher announced in the starting lineup is injured before facing a batter, perhaps while...	W	L	W-L%	ERA Earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...	IP Innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...	RA Run (baseball) In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...	ER Earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...	BB Base on balls A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...	SO Strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
151	74	72	.507	2.33	1211	481	314	403	245

Sources