Jane Jeanette Jacobs
''Badini(June 16, 1924 – September 13, 2015) was an American
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the 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 ...
who played from through in the
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...
. Listed at , 130 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.
Jane Jacobs was not a hard thrower, but her
underhand fastball fooled batters because she was basically a
curveball
In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...
pitcher. Jacobs hurled an in-curve, out-curve, upshoot and specially a
drop ball, her better pitch. Her most impressive start was having pitched a
complete game
In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...
-
shutout
In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball.
Shutouts are usuall ...
one-hitter, but she fell victim to
sidearm delivery when the league converted to it.
״Jake״, as her teammates nicknamed her, was born in
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Cuyahoga Falls ( or ) is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 51,114. The second-largest city in Summit County, it is located directly north of Akron and is a suburb of the Akron metropol ...
, where she started playing
softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
at the age of 11. In 1943, she was spotted by a league's
scout
Scout may refer to:
Youth movement
*Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement
**Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom
**Scouts BSA, sectio ...
when she was 18, but did not sign until a year later.
[The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League]
Jacobs entered the league in 1944 with the
Racine Belles
The Racine Belles were one of the original teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing from through out of Racine, Wisconsin. The Belles won the league's first championship. The team played its home games at Horlick Fi ...
, playing for them two years. She did not have a winning season, even though she posted a 2.82
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
in 1945 and 2.86 in 1945, while compiling marks of 9–16 and 7–9, respectively. The team had a surplus of talent, so she was loaned to the
Peoria Redwings
The Peoria Redwings was a women's professional baseball team who joined the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1946 season and remained in the league through 1951. The team represented Peoria, Illinois, playing home games a ...
the next year.
[
In 1946, according to the new AAGPBL rules of play, the pitchers were forced to switch gradually from underhand to sidearm delivery. Jacobs made the transition, with no small effort, and led the Redwings pitchers with a 2.13 ERA, which was a career-high. Though her success was not reflected in her 6–12 record due to poor run support.][All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book]
She returned to Racine in 1947, when the league adopted full sidearm pitching regulations. This time she struggled to make the additional mandatory adjustment and went 2–6 with a 2.92 ERA. Then, for the third consecutive year the league set a new rule for a strictly overhand pitching in 1948. It spelled the end of Jacobs' career. ''I was afraid I'd ruin my arm'', she explained with resignation.
In a four-year career, she was managed by Racine's Leo Murphy Leo Murphy may refer to:
* Leo Murphy (Australian footballer), Australian rules footballer
* Leo Murphy (baseball)
Leo Joseph "Red" Murphy (January 7, 1889 – August 12, 1960) was a catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Pittsburg ...
and Peoria's Bill Rodgers. She finished with a 24–43 record and a 2.65 ERA in 88 pitching appearances.[
Jacobs returned to her home of Ohio, where she operated her own ]dry cleaning
Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a solvent other than water.
Dry cleaning still involves liquid, but clothes are instead soaked in a water-free liquid solvent. Tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene), known in ...
business for 40 years. She married Mario Badini in 1973, and was widowed after 16 years of marriage. Jane was diagnosed with cancer in 1994, but survived the surgery and the follow up treatments. After recuperating from cancer, she ran a ceramics business for a long time.[
She is part of ''Women in Baseball'', a permanent display based at the ]Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-re ...
in Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...
, which was unveiled in 1988 to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Though she did not attend the ceremony, she traveled to Cooperstown in 2009 to see her name in the hall. ''I will definitely be back'', said the proud AAGPBL veteran.
The native of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio made the long pilgrimage along with a niece, her husband and their two daughters. She also extended her Cooperstown visit to the A. Bartlett Giamatti Research Center, where she both donated photos and clippings from her AAGPBL career and received copies of other photos from the Hall's archives. She even helped identify some former teammates who were unidentified in old team photos.
Career statistics
Pitching
Batting
Fielding
[
]
References
External links
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Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Jane
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players
Racine Belles (1943–1950) players
Peoria Redwings players
Baseball players from Ohio
People from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
1924 births
2015 deaths
21st-century American women