Joanne McComb (March 1, 1933 – June 21, 2023) was an American player 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 ...

. She was nicknamed "Jo" by her teammates, and both threw and batted

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

Background

Joanne McComb was born in

Avonmore, Pennsylvania Avonmore is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 901 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Geography Avonmore is located at (40.52775 ...

on March 1, 1933. Her father taught her to play

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 ...

. McComb recalled being a young girl and playing ball on the street with the boys. She explained that: “a neighbor came up to my mother and said, ‘Why does your daughter act like that? Why can’t she be more ladylike?’ My mother never said a word.” One of her most significant influences was growing up on a street where all her neighbors enjoyed playing baseball. Every single day, they played a game of baseball in the middle of their street. People from all over town came to watch it. McComb earned herself a reputation throughout her life as being very helpful to everyone. She even gave of her time to coach other women. She was a very good friend to everyone too and would often be found helping her friends and neighbors through tough times in their lives. At the same time, she was very self-confident, most likely because of her place in the baseball league.

Professional career

McComb first heard about the league from an article she read in the

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

. In that article the try-outs were mentioned. McComb played in

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

for the

Springfield Sallies The Springfield Sallies were a women's professional baseball team who were members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1948 season and became a development team. The Sallies were based in Springfield, Illinois and played ...

in 1950. This was her favorite position. Her favorite manager was

Mitch Skupien Mitch Skupien was a manager and executive in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Very little is known about this man who worked hard for the AAGPBL during the final five years of its existence. Previously, Skupien had managed the ...

and her favorite chaperone was

Barbara Liebrich Barbara E. Liebrich 'Bobbie''(September 30, 1922 – July 17, 2006) was an American infielder, manager and chaperone in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the and seasons. She batted and threw right-handed. The dili ...

(whose nickname was Bobbie). McComb's most memorable baseball-related experience was playing in a

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

before a Yankee versus Philadelphia A’s game. An award was created for McComb at

Bloomsburg University Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania (Bloomsburg, BU or Bloom) is a campus of Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania and it is located in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). The ...

Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania Bloomsburg is a town and the county seat of Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania and is located southwest of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre along the Susquehanna River. It is the only ...

. It is the “Joanne McComb Outstanding Female Athlete Underclassman Award.”

Death

Joanne McComb died on June 21, 2023, at the age of 90.

Career statistics

Seasonal Batting record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McComb, Joanne 1933 births 2023 deaths Baseball players from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players 20th-century American sportswomen