Josephine Kabick 'Jo''(March 27, 1922 – February 8, 1978) was an American female

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 ...

. Listed at , 142 lb., Kabick batted and threw right-handed. She was born in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. Kabick entered the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1944 with the expansion

Milwaukee Chicks The Milwaukee Chicks were a women's professional baseball team which played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the season. They were managed by Max Carey, former star player for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Brooklyn Rob ...

, playing for them one year before joining 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 ...

(1945–46),

Kenosha Comets The Kenosha Comets were a women's professional baseball team based in Kenosha, Wisconsin 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 ...

(1946) 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 at ...

(1947). In her rookie season she posted a 26–19 record with 81

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s in 45 pitching appearances, while leading the league in victories and innings of work (366). In 1944 the Chicks, managed by

Max Carey Maximillian George Carnarius (January 11, 1890 – May 30, 1976), also 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 throug ...

and supported by Kabick, slugger

Merle Keagle Merle Patricia Keagle (March 21, 1923 – November 12, 1960) was an American center fielder who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League between the and seasons. Listed at 5' 2", 144 lb., she batted and threw right-hand ...

, and the speedy

Alma Ziegler Alma Ziegler (January 9, 1918 – May 30, 2005) was an infielder and pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 125 lb., Ziegler batted and threw right-handed. Alma Ziegler was one o ...

, finished 30–26 in the first half of the year and dominated the second half (40–19) to collect the best overall record (70–45). They then went on to win the Championship Title, beating Kenosha in seven games. Although the Chicks captured the AAGPBL championship, they had no local financial backing and could not compete with the American Association

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

. In fact, the Chicks were forced to play all seven games of the series at Kenosha's Lake Front Stadium because the Brewers were using the

Borchert Field Borchert Field was a baseball park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. The home field for several professional baseball clubs from 1888 through 1952, it became obsolete after the construction of County Stadium in 1953 and was demolished l ...

in Milwaukee. Due to lack of community support and the vaunted skepticism of journalists, the team moved to

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

, prior to the 1945 season. But Kabick was unable to repeat her heroics for the 1945 season, while her teammate

Connie Wisniewski Constance Wisniewski ( Wiśniewski) (February 18, 1922 – May 4, 1995) was a starting pitcher and outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 8", 147 lb., she batted left-handed a ...

emerged as one of the most dominant pitchers of the league. After pitching in the two cities, Kabick was dealt to Kenosha during the midseason. She slipped to a combined 16–18 record that year. In 1946 Kabick improved to 19–19 with Kenosha, a pretty good performance considering her team finished seventh in the eight-team league with a losing record of 42–70, but then she found herself on the move again. This time Kabick went 13–16 for the fifth-place Peoria Redwings (55–57) in 1947, during what turned out to be her last AAGPBL season. Kabick died in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

at the age of 55. Ten years after her death she became part of the AAGPBL permanent display at 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 ...

Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and the 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 ...

, opened in , which is dedicated to the entire league rather than any individual player.

Pitching statistics

The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kabick, Josephine All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Milwaukee Chicks players Grand Rapids Chicks players Kenosha Comets players Peoria Redwings players Baseball players from Detroit 1922 births 1978 deaths 20th-century American sportswomen