Josephine "Feena” Hasham (November 10, 1924 – October 15, 2008) was a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

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 ...

. Hasham batted

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

and threw

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

.Josephine Hasham – Profile / Obituary
. ''

''. Retrieved 2019-04-14. A native of

Brockton, Massachusetts Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population was 105,643 at the 2020 United States census. Along with Plymouth, Massachusetts, Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, ...

, Hasham spent seven years in the AAGPBL, pitching in 179 games while collecting a 3.15 career

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 ...

. She never once played for a pennant-winning team, which is one reason for her losing record of 58–88. Eventually, she played at

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In bat and ball games ...

and was used in pinch-hitting duties to take advantage of her sturdy bat. Hasham debuted in 1948, but did not win a game while dividing her playing time between 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. The league, its teams, and its story ...

and 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 at ...

. She posted a solid 2.14 ERA in 63

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

, though she finished with a 0–6 record in ten games. Hasham joined the

South Bend Blue Sox The South Bend Blue Sox was a women's professional baseball team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A founding member, the team represented South Bend, Indiana, and played their home games at Bendix F ...

in 1949, when she enjoyed her best career season. She earned the respect of Blue Sox

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Dave Bancroft David James Bancroft (April 20, 1891 – October 9, 1972) was an American professional baseball shortstop and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Giants, Boston Braves and the Brooklyn Robins ...

, who included her in a pitching staff headed by

Jean Faut Jean Anna Faut ''Winsch/Eastman(January 17, 1925 – February 28, 2023) was an American starting pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 137 lb., she batted and threw right-hande ...

, Ruth Williams, Lillian Faralla and Louise Arnold. Hasham collected a 12–8 record and a 2.02 ERA in 23 decisions, probably inspired by her pitching teammates and a strong offensive support from

Elizabeth Mahon Elizabeth B. Mahon (November 18, 1919 – September 6, 2001) was an American outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 135 lb., Mahon batted and threw right-handed. She was born i ...

, Betty Whiting, Senaida Wirth, Betty Wagoner and

Rita Briggs Rita Briggs '' Maude"' (March 27, 1929 – September 6, 1994) was an American female baseball catcher who played from through for seven different teams in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 120 lb., Briggs ba ...

. South Bend tied the

Rockford Peaches The Rockford Peaches were a women's professional baseball team who played from 1943 to 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A founding member, the team represented Rockford, Illinois. The Peaches were one of 2 teams to p ...

for first place with a record of 75–36. Both teams played later a best-of-seven-series, which Rockford swept.''All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book'' – W. C. Madden. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2000. Format: Paperback, 294pp. Language: English. But Hasham suffered a nightmare career after she came back to Peoria. In 1950 she went 8–19 with a 3.38 ERA while leading the league in losses. She improved in 1951, after going 13–15 with a 3.10 ERA. She pitched much better for the hapless Battle Creek Belles in 1952, leading her team with a 12–14 mark and a 2.51 ERA, while ranking third in the league for the most innings pitched (222) behind

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 F ...

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.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 ...

Maxine Kline Maxine Kline (later Randall, September 16, 1929 – June 9, 2022) was a female starting pitcher who played from 1948 through 1954 with the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , , she batted and th ...

(238). She also contributed as a hitter, going 35-for-158 for a .222

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

in 81 games, driving in 21 runs and

scoring SCORE may refer to: *SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program * SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network *SCORE! Educational Centers *SCORE International, an offroad racing organization *Sarawak Corrido ...

six times. Meanwhile, the Belles finished last with a 43–67 record, 24 games behind first place Fort Wayne. In 1953, Hasham had an 8–19 record with a .371 ERA for the last-place Muskegon Belles, who ended with a 39–70 mark, 39½ games out of contention. For the second time she led the league in losses, but helped herself with the bat by hitting a .241 average (27-for-62) with one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

and 13 RBI in 62 games. Hasham was used sparingly by 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 franchis ...

in 1954, during what turned out to be the AAGPBL final season. She played mainly as an outfielder, even though she often pitched in

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

when needed. As a hitter, she posted a .349 average (15-for-43) with three homers and nine RBI in 37 games, and also had a 5–7 record with a 7.05 ERA while pitching in 20 games. Hasham, along with her former teammates and opponents, received their long overdue recognition when 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 a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

dedicated a permanent display to the

in 1988. After retiring, she moved to

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Career statistics

Pitching
Batting
Fielding

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasham, Josephine All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Muskegon Lassies players Peoria Redwings players South Bend Blue Sox players Battle Creek Belles players Muskegon Belles players Rockford Peaches players Grand Rapids Chicks players Baseball players from Brockton, Massachusetts Baseball players from Miami 1924 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American sportswomen

Career statistics

See also

References