Jean S. Cione ��Cy″(June 23, 1928 – November 22, 2010) was a

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 5' 8", 143 lb., She batted and threw left-handed.

AAGPBL rules of play

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was a circuit that began to operate in 1943. Since the only organized ball for women in the United States was

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 ...

, the league officials created a hybrid game which included both fast-pitch softball and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. Compared to softball, the crucial differences were that nine (not ten) players were used, and runners could lead off, slide and steal bases. In its twelve years of history the AAGPBL evolved through many stages. These differences varied from the beginning of the league, progressively extending the length of the base paths and pitching distance and decreasing the size of the

ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used f ...

until the final year of play in 1954. For the first five years the circuit used a fastpitch underhand motion, shifted to sidearm in 1947, and never really became baseball until overhand pitching began in 1948.

Brief profile

Born in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

, Jean Cione was a dominant lefty pitcher who enjoyed a prolific career over ten seasons in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Cione is regarded one of the few pitchers to make the successful transition from underhand to overhand through the many stages of the league, although she hurled on awful expansion teams that did not give her much run support. An All-Star, she posted a 76–65 record with a 2.33

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 169 career games and pitched two

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

s in the same month. In addition, she was a member of a champion team and turned in an

unassisted triple play In baseball, an unassisted triple play occurs when a defensive player makes all three outs by himself in one continuous play, without his teammates making any assists. Neal Ball was the first to achieve this in Major League Baseball (MLB) under ...

. Since there have only been 15 unassisted triple plays in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

history. After the league folded in 1954, Cione taught

sports medicine Sports medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness and the treatment and prevention of injuries related to sports and exercise. Although most sports teams have employed team physicians for many years, it is only since the ...

and

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

at the university level for 29 years, earning inductions into several

halls of fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

across the United States.

Early years

Cione attended grades 1–12 in the Rockford Public School System, where she graduated in 1946. At school she used to play

. In third grade she joined the boys' softball team, and when she reached eighth grade became to play on the Rock River School Boys' softball team, which competed with other league schools. In 1942, at age 14, she earned the first letter ever awarded to a girl by Rock River School. Cione later worked at J. L. Clarke, where she played on the company's girls team. She also taught herself the

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

, after being motivated by the piano music of

Frankie Carle Frankie Carle (born Francis Nunzio Carlone, March 25, 1903 – March 7, 2001) was an American pianist and bandleader. As a very popular bandleader in the 1940s and 1950s, Carle was nicknamed "The Wizard of the Keyboard". "Sunrise Serenade" was Ca ...

. As she grew up, Cione showed an intense interest in athletics and outdoor activities, developing a practice that was to continue throughout the rest of his life. When she turned seventeen, she attended an All-American Girls Professional Baseball League tryout held at Racine under the direction of

Max Carey Maximillian George Carnarius (January 11, 1890 – May 30, 1976), known as Max George Carey, was an American professional baseball center fielder and manager. Carey played in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1910 through 1 ...

. She passed the test and was offered a contract to play in the league.

AAGPBL career

Cione entered the AAGPBL in 1945 with the

Rockford Peaches The Rockford Peaches were a women's professional baseball team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A founding member, the team represented Rockford, Illinois. The Peaches were one of two teams to pla ...

, a team based in her hometown of Rockford which was managed by

Bill Allington William Baird Allington (October 26, 1903 – August 17, 1966) was an American minor league baseball player and manager. Listed at 5' 9" and 160 pounds, Allington batted and threw right-handed. He was born in St. Clair County, Michigan ...

. Other five teams competed in the 110–game regular season: the

Fort Wayne Daisies The Fort Wayne Daisies were a women's professional baseball team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana that played from through as members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. History The Daisies represented Fort Wayne, Indiana, and ...

, the

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. History The franchise ...

, the

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 l ...

, 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 ...

, and the South Bend Blue Sox. The 1945 Peaches roster featured a perfect mix of experience and motivated young players, such as

Mildred Deegan Mildred Eleanor Deegan (December 11, 1919 – July 21, 2002) was an American pitcher, outfielder and second basewoman who played ten seasons in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, from to . Background Deegan was one of 25 ...

( 2B), Dorothy Ferguson ( 3B),

Rose Gacioch Rose M. Gacioch (; August 31, 1915 – September 9, 2004) was a right fielder and pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.P/ OF), Dorothy Green ( C),

Dorothy Harrell Dorothy Harrell (February 4, 1924 – September 15, 2011) was a shortstop who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 4", 127 lb., Harrell batted and threw right-handed. After being married she played under ...

( SS),

Dorothy Kamenshek Dorothy "Dottie" "Kammie" Kamenshek (December 21, 1925 – May 17, 2010) was an American All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player. She batted and threw left-handed. Early life A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Kamenshek played outfield ...

( 1B),

Josephine Lenard Veronica Josephine Lenard (September 2, 1921 – February 7, 2007), nicknamed "Bubblegum", was an American center fielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 4", 130 lb., she batted ...

(OF), Olive Little (P),

Carolyn Morris Carolyn E. Morris (September 28, 1925 – February 20, 1996) was a female pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 157 lb., Morris batted and threw right-handed. She was nicknamed ...

(P) and

Margaret Wigiser Margaret M. "Wiggie" Wigiser (December 17, 1924 – January 19, 2019) was a center fielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She batted and threw right-handed. Overview profile Wigiser was a center ...

(OF). Cione was used as a reserve first sacker for Kamenshek. Eventually, she pitched and played at outfield. Since the beginning, Cione showed her skills in the field and was alert and cooperative with her manager and teammates. ''During that first year with the Rockford Peaches, I sharpened those raw skills and learned the strategies of the game from a manager that I consider the best in the league, Bill Allington from Van Eyes CA. He was a student of the game, and held practice sessions for us rookies and bench warmers every day the team played at home. I attribute my 10-year longevity in the league to my first year under this outstanding manager'', she proudly recalled in her autobiography. Rockford took the AAGPBL pennant with a 67–43 record, surpassing Fort Wayne (62–47), Grand Rapids (60–50), Racine (50–60), South Bend (49–60) and Kenosha (41–69). In the best-of-five Series playoffs, runnerup Fort Wayne defeated fourth-place Racine in four games; first-place Rockford eliminated third-place Grand Rapids in four games, and Rockford won the league championship by beating Fort Wayne in five games. The

Muskegon Lassies The Muskegon Lassies were one of the expansion teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1946 season, representing Muskegon, Michigan. The team played their home games at Marsh Field. History The 1946 Muskegon Lassies ...

and

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 ...

were added as expansion teams for the 1946 season. Cione was sent to the Redwings, as the AAGPBL shifted players as needed to help new teams stay afloat. In 1947 she returned to Rockford. It was clear she was back where she belonged. By April 1947, all of the league's players were flown to

Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

for

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. At the time, the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

trained in the Cuban capital because

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

, who would be the first

Afro-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...

to play in the Major Leagues, was training with the Dodgers for the first time. By then, city ordinances in

Vero Beach, Florida Vero Beach is a city in and the seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. Vero Beach is the second most populous city in Indian River County. Abundant in beaches and wildlife, Vero Beach is located on Florida's Treasure Coast. It is thi ...

, where the Dodgers normally trained, prevented blacks and whites players from competing on the same field against each other. Notably, newspaper stories from Havana indicate that the All-American girls drew larger crowds for their exhibition games at

Estadio Latinoamericano The Estadio Latinoamericano ( Spanish for ''Latin American Stadium'') is a stadium in Havana, Cuba. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the second largest baseball stadium in the world by capacity. Gran Estadio, a spacious pitchers' park ...

than did the Dodgers. That year, Cione responded winning 19 games for the Peaches while posting a stingy 1.30 ERA in her first full pitching season. Besides Cione, the roster of the Peaches included top notch veterans as Deegan, Ferguson, Gacioch, Green, Harrell and Kamenshek, as well as the newly arrived

Lois Florreich Kathleen Lois "Flash" Florreich (April 29, 1927 – September 11, 1991) was a pitcher and utility who played from through for three different teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 140 lb., Florreich batte ...

(P) and

Alice Pollitt Alice Pollitt Deschaine orn Margaret Pollitt(July 19, 1929 – March 15, 2016) was an infielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 150 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. A nati ...

(3B). Unfortunately, Rockford finished in sixth place with a 48–63 mark, out of contention. During the postseason, Grand Rapids defeated South Bend in five games while Racine ousted Muskegon in four games. In the final Series, Grand Rapids disposed of Racine in seven games. The next year Cione then found herself on the move again, this time to Kenosha (1948–1951), and then the Battle Creek Belles (1952) and Muskegon Belles (1953), before returning to Rockford in the league's final year (1954). Her most productive season came in 1950, when she won 18 games and hurled a pair of no-hitter in August: a 12–inning game against Grand Rapids and a seven-inning game against her former Rockford teammates. In 1952 she went 2–5, but sported a 3.24 ERA and made the All-Star team. In between seasons, Cione graduated from high school and went on to study at

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

and

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Career statistics

Pitching Batting Fielding

Life after baseball

Following her baseball retirement, Cione received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from Eastern Michigan University before earning her

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

at the University of Illinois. From there, Cione took up teaching physical education in elementary school for a decade and then returned to EMU, where she taught

for nearly three decades. She was EMU's first women's athletic director as her alma mater established a women's athletic program, attaining gender equity in the sports programs there.

Honors and awards

Jean Cione is part of ''Women in Baseball'', a permanent display based at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum 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 ...

. The exhibition was unveiled on November 5, , to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League rather than individual baseball personalities. She gained inductions into the Eastern Michigan University Athletic Hall of Fame (1986) and the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame (2003), and also served as vice president of the AAGPBL Players Association while supervising the organization's website.

A League of Their Own

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League folded in 1954. Lady pitchers, catchers, and fielders drifted into obscurity until 1992 when the film ''

A League of Their Own ''A League of Their Own'' is a 1992 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Penny Marshall that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). The film stars Tom Hanks, Geena Dav ...

'' was released. The film kindled a renewed interest in these trailblazers who have their own places in American history. While the film does not use real names,

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

Penny Marshall Carole Penny MarshallBorn Carole Penny Marshall in 1943, as per ''My Mother Was Nuts, a Memoir'', p. 10; . Copyright 2012 (October 15, 1943 – December 17, 2018) was an American actress, director and producer. She is known for her role as ...

seemed to be aiming for realism, as her work includes fake newsreel footage and pseudo-documentary ''present day'' scenes at the beginning and end of the fictitious story. Since then, Cione and her teammates have become the darlings of the media. They have been honored several times for their significant contributions, responding to request for autographs and corresponding with young athletes interested in hearing of their days in the AAGPBL. IMDb.com – ''A League of Their Own'' (1992 film) Jean Cione died at the age of 82 in

Bozeman, Montana Bozeman is a city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2020 census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it the fourth-largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of th ...

, where she had moved after retiring in 1992.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cione, Jean All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Rockford Peaches players Peoria Redwings players Kenosha Comets players Battle Creek Belles players Muskegon Belles players Baseball players from Illinois Eastern Michigan University faculty Eastern Michigan University alumni University of Illinois Chicago alumni University of Michigan alumni Sportspeople from Bozeman, Montana Sportspeople from Rockford, Illinois 1928 births 2010 deaths American women academics 21st-century American women