Jean Havlish
Encyclopedia
Jean Ann Havlish [Grasshopper] (born November 23, 1935) is a former female shortstop
who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
. Listed at 5' 6", 130 lb., Havlish batted and threw right-handed. She was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota
.
during the last two seasons of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She posted a modest .218 batting average
in 193 games, but provided outstanding defense with a strong and secure throwing arm. After the league disbanded in 1954, Havlish went on to play elite fast-pitch softball and then to compete successfully in bowling for over three decades, leading the WIBC
Top Twenty Year Average list for many years.
, football
, basketball
, baseball and softball and competed in speed skating
. She graduated from there to playing organized softball in the playground leagues. The only thing I could not play was tennis
, she acknowledged.
In 1950, Havlish and her father saw an article in Parade Magazine
about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and decided that she should try out. Havlish had the opportunity to do a little infield practice with the Racine Belles
and received an invitation to a full-scale audition the next year. She was allocated to the Kalamazoo Lassies
in 1951 but never heard from them. Eventually, she wound up with the Fort Wayne Daisies
in 1952 in a shortstop swap that sent Dottie Schroeder
to Kalamazoo. After three tryouts for three different teams, Havlish went back to school and entered the league in 1953 with the Daisies, by then managed
by Bill Allington
.
In that season the Daisies outscored their nearest rival by over 100 runs, winning theleague title with a 66-39 mark. The explosive bats of Wilma Briggs
and the sisters Betty Weaver Foss
and Joanne Weaver
provided the difference in the league. While Briggs belted a league-lead nine home run
s, Joanne led in average (.346) and Betty in runs batted in (81) and stolen base
s (80), but Fort Wayne lost for the third consecutive year in the first round, now with the Kalamazoo Lassies
, 2-to-1.
In the 1953 All-Star Game, played on July 14 at Memorial Park, the Daisies defeated the All-Star team in an 11-inning effort behind Jean Geissinger
, who belted a walk-off home run
, and Katie Horstman
, whose relief pitching silenced an All-Stars potential rally in the 9th inning.
Havlish improved her offensive and defensive statistics in 1954, when she connected 11 more hits in 67 fewer at-bats for a .254 average (70-for-276), including hitting a home run in three consecutive games. At the field, she committed 18 fewer error
s, participated in 14 more double play
s, and started a triple play
. Notably, she played in 14 fewer games due to an injury, but also had three times as many doubles
, 11 more walks
and 24 fewer strikeout
s (she fanned only 16 times). During what turned out to be the league's final season, Kalamazoo clinched the Championship Title over Fort Wayne, three games to two.
After the AAGPBL disbanded in 1954, Havlish was quickly recruited by the elite Minneapolis Comets amateur fast-pitch softball team. As shortstop for the Comets, she traveled twice to the world championships in Connecticut
.
She later started to play bowling
recreationally in a 3M Company
league that met in the upstairs of a St. Paul bar owned by Jake Mauer, grandfather of the Minnesota Twins
’ catcher
Joe Mauer
.
Championship Tournament in 1964, becoming the first Minnesotan to do so, and was state All Events champion in 1964 and 1968.
In addition, Havlish was part of a team that placed third in the WIBC Championship Tournament in Tulsa; won the Singles and All Events in that tournament in Minneapolis, and was on a local championship team that won the All Events in the local tournament twice. She led the WIBC in 20-year average for many years, captured the 600 Club Championship three times, had the high game in the St. Paul Association three times and the high series five times.
Havlish posted the high game in the St. Paul Association three times and the high series five times; had the high average in the city nine times and was on the All City team six times, reigning as Queen three times. She also was successful on the pro bowling tour, winning titles in Indianapolis
, Kansas City
and Fort Smith
, and competed in the FIQ Tournament in Winnipeg
, where the five-woman team won gold medals and the three-woman team earned bronze medals. She originated the Great Lakes Invitational Tournament (GLIT) in the late 1960s, made the Bowlers Journal first All-American Team in 1969, and had several high games of 299 and sixteen 700s during her bowling career, including a high series of 736, and maintaining an average of 185 or better for at least twenty-five years with a high average of 196.
in Cooperstown, New York
to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League rather than any individual player. Havlish kept the glove she used at shortstop for the Daisies in her car for many years, because her gas station attendant liked to play catch with her. In 2009, the glove was accepted by the Hall of Fame as part of the AAGPBL memorabilia.
In 1992, Havlish, Kay Heim and Nancy Mudge
, two other Minnesota residents and former AAGPBL players, were invited to throw out the first pitch in a game Angels
-Twins
played at the Metrodome
. The trio also was honored by the Colorado Silver Bullets
all-female baseball team in their 1994 inaugural season, in which they threw out the first ball pitch of a game celebrated in Saint Paul.
In 1999, as century and millennium retrospectives abounded in magazines and newspapers, the Minneapolis Star Tribune
named Havlish one of the top Minnesota athletes of the millennium, and Sports Illustrated
ranked her 36th among the 50 top Minnesota athletes of the 20th century.
Additionally, Havlish gained inductions in the Women's International Bowling Congress Hall of Fame in 1987, the Minnesota State Women's Hall of Fame in 1991, the St. Bernard’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007, and is also a member of the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame since 1987, having the distinction of being the only bowler in this society which is displayed at the Metrodome.
Havlish currently lives in Rockville, Minnesota
, where she is housekeeper for a priest. She continues to drive into St. Paul once a week to participate in the St. Paul Ladies’ All-Star League.
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull 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' 6", 130 lb., Havlish batted and threw right-handed. She was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
.
Brief profile
A slick-fielding shortstop, Jean Havlish joined the Fort Wayne DaisiesFort Wayne Daisies
The Fort Wayne Daisies were a women's professional baseball team that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...
during the last two seasons of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She posted a modest .218 batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
in 193 games, but provided outstanding defense with a strong and secure throwing arm. After the league disbanded in 1954, Havlish went on to play elite fast-pitch softball and then to compete successfully in bowling for over three decades, leading the WIBC
Women's International Bowling Congress
The Women's International Bowling Congress was an organization for women bowlers formed in 1916 as a counterpart to the American Bowling Congress ....
Top Twenty Year Average list for many years.
Early life
Havlish was one of five siblings of Howard Havlish, a full-time worker for the Great Northern Railroad, and Mary Havlish, who labored part-time for the Internal Revenue Service. At age eight, Havlish was watching the older girls play when the shortstop got hurt. She was given an opportunity to play, and after that she played all the time. I can't even remember not playing baseball, she recalled in an interview. Havlish added that she started playing baseball in an empty cornfield near her home with all the neighborhood boys. While attending Washington High School, she developed as a multi-talented athlete, playing hockeyHockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
, football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, baseball and softball and competed in speed skating
Speed skating
Speed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating...
. She graduated from there to playing organized softball in the playground leagues. The only thing I could not play was tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, she acknowledged.
In 1950, Havlish and her father saw an article in Parade Magazine
Parade (magazine)
Parade is an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 500 newspapers in the United States. It was founded in 1941 and is owned by Advance Publications. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., Parade has a circulation of 32.2 million and a readership of nearly 70...
about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and decided that she should try out. Havlish had the opportunity to do a little infield practice with the Racine Belles
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 team played its home games at Horlick Field.-History:...
and received an invitation to a full-scale audition the next year. She was allocated to the Kalamazoo Lassies
Kalamazoo Lassies
The Kalamazoo Lassies were a team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team represented Kalamazoo, Michigan. Home games were initially played at Lindstrom Field, but later games were played at the Catholic Athletic Association Field, now the...
in 1951 but never heard from them. Eventually, she wound up with the Fort Wayne Daisies
Fort Wayne Daisies
The Fort Wayne Daisies were a women's professional baseball team that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...
in 1952 in a shortstop swap that sent Dottie Schroeder
Dorothy Schroeder
Dorothy Schroeder [″Dottie″] was a shortstop who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 7", 150 lb., Schroeder batted and threw right-handed...
to Kalamazoo. After three tryouts for three different teams, Havlish went back to school and entered the league in 1953 with the Daisies, by then 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 Bill Allington
Bill Allington
William Baird Allington was an American Minor league baseball player and manager. Listed at 5' 9" , 160 lb., Allington batted and threw right-handed. He was born in St. Clair County, Michigan....
.
AAGPBL career
As a rookie in 1953, Havlish struggled at the plate, hitting just .189 (64-for-343), but she excelled in the field preventing runs for a team particularly potent on offense.In that season the Daisies outscored their nearest rival by over 100 runs, winning theleague title with a 66-39 mark. The explosive bats of Wilma Briggs
Wilma Briggs
Wilma Briggs [Briggsie] is a former female left fielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 4", 138 lb., she batted left-handed and threw right-handed....
and the sisters Betty Weaver Foss
Betty Foss
Betty Foss [Fossey] was a infielder and outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 10", 180 lb., she was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. She started her career as Betty Weaver but changed her last name to Foss after marrying...
and Joanne Weaver
Joanne Weaver
Joanne Weaver [″Joltin' Jo″] was a right fielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...
provided the difference in the league. While Briggs belted a league-lead nine home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s, Joanne led in average (.346) and Betty in runs batted in (81) and stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
s (80), but Fort Wayne lost for the third consecutive year in the first round, now with the Kalamazoo Lassies
Kalamazoo Lassies
The Kalamazoo Lassies were a team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team represented Kalamazoo, Michigan. Home games were initially played at Lindstrom Field, but later games were played at the Catholic Athletic Association Field, now the...
, 2-to-1.
In the 1953 All-Star Game, played on July 14 at Memorial Park, the Daisies defeated the All-Star team in an 11-inning effort behind Jean Geissinger
Jean Geissinger
Jean Louise Geissinger-Harding [″Dutch″] is a former infielder and outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League for the Fort Wayne Daisies and Grand Rapids Chicks...
, who belted a walk-off home run
Walk-off home run
In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. It must be a home run that gives the home team the lead in the bottom of the final inning of the game—either the ninth inning, or any extra inning, or any other regularly scheduled final inning...
, and Katie Horstman
Katie Horstman
Catherine Horstman [″Horsey″] is a former female utility who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...
, whose relief pitching silenced an All-Stars potential rally in the 9th inning.
Havlish improved her offensive and defensive statistics in 1954, when she connected 11 more hits in 67 fewer at-bats for a .254 average (70-for-276), including hitting a home run in three consecutive games. At the field, she committed 18 fewer error
Error (baseball)
In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...
s, participated in 14 more double play
Double play
In baseball, a double play for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two"....
s, and started a triple play
Triple Play
A triple play is a baseball play in which three outs are made as a result of continuous action without any intervening errors between outs.Triple play may also refer to:...
. Notably, she played in 14 fewer games due to an injury, but also had three times as many doubles
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
, 11 more walks
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...
and 24 fewer 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 (she fanned only 16 times). During what turned out to be the league's final season, Kalamazoo clinched the Championship Title over Fort Wayne, three games to two.
After the AAGPBL disbanded in 1954, Havlish was quickly recruited by the elite Minneapolis Comets amateur fast-pitch softball team. As shortstop for the Comets, she traveled twice to the world championships in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
.
She later started to play bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
recreationally in a 3M Company
3M
3M Company , formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation based in Maplewood, Minnesota, United States....
league that met in the upstairs of a St. Paul bar owned by Jake Mauer, grandfather of the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
’ catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
Joe Mauer
Joe Mauer
Joseph Patrick Mauer is a Major League Baseball catcher for the Minnesota Twins. He is the only catcher in Major League history to win three batting titles...
.
Bowling career
Eventually, Havlish went up against the very best women bowlers in the country. A member of the St. Paul Women's Bowling Association for over 30 years, she participated in 28 state and numerous national amateur competitions, winning the State 600 Tournament four times. She won the singles and all-events titles in the WIBCWomen's International Bowling Congress
The Women's International Bowling Congress was an organization for women bowlers formed in 1916 as a counterpart to the American Bowling Congress ....
Championship Tournament in 1964, becoming the first Minnesotan to do so, and was state All Events champion in 1964 and 1968.
In addition, Havlish was part of a team that placed third in the WIBC Championship Tournament in Tulsa; won the Singles and All Events in that tournament in Minneapolis, and was on a local championship team that won the All Events in the local tournament twice. She led the WIBC in 20-year average for many years, captured the 600 Club Championship three times, had the high game in the St. Paul Association three times and the high series five times.
Havlish posted the high game in the St. Paul Association three times and the high series five times; had the high average in the city nine times and was on the All City team six times, reigning as Queen three times. She also was successful on the pro bowling tour, winning titles in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
and Fort Smith
Fort Smith, Northwest Territories
Fort Smith is a town in the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is located in the southeastern portion of the Northwest Territories, on the Slave River and adjacent to the NWT/Alberta border.-History:Fort Smith's history began because of the Slave River and the vital link...
, and competed in the FIQ Tournament in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, where the five-woman team won gold medals and the three-woman team earned bronze medals. She originated the Great Lakes Invitational Tournament (GLIT) in the late 1960s, made the Bowlers Journal first All-American Team in 1969, and had several high games of 299 and sixteen 700s during her bowling career, including a high series of 736, and maintaining an average of 185 or better for at least twenty-five years with a high average of 196.
Awards and recognitions
Havlish is included in a Women in Baseball permanent display, which was opened in 1988 at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and MuseumNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
in 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...
to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League rather than any individual player. Havlish kept the glove she used at shortstop for the Daisies in her car for many years, because her gas station attendant liked to play catch with her. In 2009, the glove was accepted by the Hall of Fame as part of the AAGPBL memorabilia.
In 1992, Havlish, Kay Heim and Nancy Mudge
Nancy Mudge
Nancy Mudge [Cato] is a former second basewoman who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 2", 120 lb., Mudge batted and threw right handed. She was nicknamed ″Smudgie″....
, two other Minnesota residents and former AAGPBL players, were invited to throw out the first pitch in a game Angels
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
-Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
played at the Metrodome
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, commonly called the Metrodome, is a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Opened in 1982, it replaced Metropolitan Stadium, which was on the current site of the Mall of America in Bloomington and Memorial Stadium on the University...
. The trio also was honored by the Colorado Silver Bullets
Colorado Silver Bullets
The Colorado Silver Bullets was an all-female professional baseball team that played in the United States in the mid-1990s. The Bullets were the first such team since the folding of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1954.- History :...
all-female baseball team in their 1994 inaugural season, in which they threw out the first ball pitch of a game celebrated in Saint Paul.
In 1999, as century and millennium retrospectives abounded in magazines and newspapers, the Minneapolis Star Tribune
Star Tribune
The Star Tribune is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is published seven days each week in an edition for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. A statewide version is also available across Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota. The...
named Havlish one of the top Minnesota athletes of the millennium, and Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
ranked her 36th among the 50 top Minnesota athletes of the 20th century.
Additionally, Havlish gained inductions in the Women's International Bowling Congress Hall of Fame in 1987, the Minnesota State Women's Hall of Fame in 1991, the St. Bernard’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007, and is also a member of the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame since 1987, having the distinction of being the only bowler in this society which is displayed at the Metrodome.
Havlish currently lives in Rockville, Minnesota
Rockville, Minnesota
Rockville is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,448 at the 2010 census. It is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, where she is housekeeper for a priest. She continues to drive into St. Paul once a week to participate in the St. Paul Ladies’ All-Star League.