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The 5-foot-4 pitcher performs with a secret
By Mark J. Price
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Sunday, Jun 28, 2009
During a four-year career, she posted impressive numbers, including a 2.70 ERA over 590 innings in 88 games. She struck out 102 batters while pitching for the Racine Belles of Wisconsin and the Peoria Redwings of Illinois.
''I don't want to say this. It sounds bragging,'' Badini said. ''But I had very good control.''
Jane Jacobs and her twin brother, Jimmy, were born June 16, 1924, to Charles and Virginia Jacobs and grew up in a home off Fourth Street in Cuyahoga Falls.
While little sister Mary preferred to play with dolls, Jane loved to toss a ball with older brothers Chuck and Johnny, who pitched in an Akron amateur league. The girl learned to throw in a field behind their home.
''My brothers took me out and they showed me how to grip the ball, and it worked,'' Badini said. ''Hold it this way. Hold it that way. If they hadn't have showed me, I probably wouldn't have done as well.''
She developed an accuracy that baffled batters. When kids chose sides for sandlot games, she was the only girl to play.
''I always got picked first, too,'' Badini said with a laugh.
She played softball at Cuyahoga Falls High, where she graduated in June 1942, and joined an amateur team at Bond Oil Co., where she had a 28-4 record.
In 1943, the Falls pitcher's talent caught the attention of a scout who was recruiting women for the All-American league, which formed after male players left for World War II. Badini aced a preliminary tryout in Cleveland, where Brooklyn Dodgers President Branch Rickey signed her to train in Chicago.
Chicago Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley, founder of the league, invited 280 women to try out. Only 60 won spots on the 15-woman rosters of the four inaugural teams: the Kenosha Comets, Racine Belles, Rockford Peaches and South Bend Blue Sox. It later grew to 10 teams.
Badini was nervous when she saw all the athletes at Wrigley Field. Recruiters watched her pitch — an underhanded throw with a rocking motion.
''My big thing when I went to Wrigley was 'Oh, I hope it,' '' she said. ''I hope I can make the grade. I hope I'll be able to play.''
The dream came true. The Belles hired her on the spot.
Players were sent to charm school, where they received tips on etiquette, clothes and beauty.
''A lot of us didn't wear makeup too good,'' Badini said. ''I came to play baseball, not to be charming.''
Unfortunately, an ill-timed case of mumps kept her out of the lineup, but she returned with a vengeance in 1944, donning a yellow-skirted uniform and earning $50 a week.
In her first year as a starter in Racine, Badini posted a 2.82 ERA over 230 innings, including a one-hit game. The 5-foot-4 right-hander had four pitches: the ''in curve,'' the ''out curve,'' the ''upshoot'' and the ''drop.''
''I never got worried about anybody,'' she said. ''I just threw the best ball that I could.''
As she mowed down batters, nobody knew that the bespectacled pitcher had a big secret. She was blind in her left eye.
Players enjoyed traveling the nation and drawing enthusiastic crowds at ballparks.
''We used to have a lot of fun on our buses,'' Badini said. ''We'd all be singing. Now, I've got a lousy voice, so all the rest of the girls covered me up.''
Team chaperones kept close watch on the Belles. If players were caught wearing slacks, they were fined. If they drank or smoked in public, they were fined. If they didn't return to the hotel by 11 p.m., they were fined.
''The chaperones would be out to see if you were on the streets at night,'' Badini said.
With a career batting average of .118, Badini admits that she wasn't a slugger. In 204 at-bats, she recorded 24 hits and 9 RBI.
In 1945, she shocked everyone — including herself — when she hit a game-winning homer against the Fort Wayne Daisies.
''That was like a miracle,'' she said with a laugh. ''I was a lousy batter. I think I got a standing ovation.''
After transferring to Peoria in her third season, Badini became a relief pitcher and saved a lot of games. She earned the nickname ''Fireman Jacobs'' after New York Yankees reliever Fireman Johnny Murphy. ''That was quite a compliment,'' she said. ''It made me feel good.''
She returned to Racine in 1947 for her final season. She could have come back in 1948, but the league switched to overhand pitching and she didn't want to ruin her arm.
''I tell you, that was pretty rough,'' she said. ''I said 'No, I've got a good name, I've got good statistics. I don't want to get rundown.' ''
The league folded in 1954.
She returned home to Cuyahoga Falls, where she opened a dry-cleaning business (and later a ceramics shop) and married Mario ''Gabby'' Badini.
Jane Badini umpired Pony League games and became the first woman inducted into the Greater Akron Baseball Hall of Fame. Her name is on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. She has thrown out the first pitch at Indians, Aeros and Racers games.
''She's really amazing, and not just because she's our aunt,'' said niece Jeannie McCrossin, 58, of Cuyahoga Falls. ''She's just a really good person.''
Badini visited local schools where she gave inspirational talks, stressed sportsmanship and signed autographs.
''She's a good role model for children,'' McCrossin said.
If there is any regret, it's the Racine Belles uniform that Badini kept for nearly a half-century. While preparing to move to a new home, Badini and her niece found the yellow outfit as they dug through an upstairs closet.
''Go ahead and throw it out,'' Badini told her niece. ''I haven't used it for almost 50 years.''
''That's the only time I shouldn't have listened to her,'' McCrossin said.
Six months later, they learned about a baseball movie being filmed in California.
Badini enjoyed director Penny Marshall's A League of Their Own, starring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell. The only aspect that didn't ring true was Hanks' rude character. The league wasn't that way, she said.
One of her prized possessions is a baseball signed by the film's cast. Hollywood publicists invited Badini and her family to the 1992 Cleveland debut, where the theater audience applauded her.
''They sent a chauffeur down here, picked me up and took me up to Cleveland,'' Badini said.
''I'll never forget when the limousine came and took me to the premiere of that movie,'' McCrossin said. ''I just had tears.''
Badini hasn't participated in a ballgame for about five years. She said she can't play because her shoulders need to be replaced, but she will continue to stress being a good sport.
''You'll always hear sportsmanship when I'm around,'' she said. ''And, you know, there's not too much of it today in sports. And that does kind of gripe me a little.''
Mark J. Price is a Beacon Journal copy editor. He can be reached at 330-996-3850 or send e-mail to mjprice@thebeaconjournal.com.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Tallmadge, Oh
Posted 09:24 AM, 06/28/2009
Thank you, thank you, thank you for bringing this story to us today.
Jane, it's GREAT that you had this opportunity. Especially "back in the day" when girls weren't exactly encouraged to participate in sports. Being on a true "team," and becoming a part of something which was entertainment and sport, with fans cheering you and the team!
Wonderful. God bless you Jane. Thanks for being a good person, and sharing your wisdom with so many over the years.
Akron, OH
Posted 05:55 PM, 06/28/2009
Jane, thank you for sharing your memories with us. The AAGPBL is one of my area's of interest and really enjoyed reading this story.
Posted 07:02 PM, 06/28/2009
Enjoyed this story.
Akron, OH
Posted 09:23 PM, 06/28/2009
"There's no crying in baseball!"
Nice story.
, OH
Posted 09:06 PM, 07/02/2009
I'm pretty sure the Indians could use her out of the bullpen. It's worth a shot. Nice article...I'll bet she's got some great stories to tell...
