Veronica Josephine Lenard (September 2, 1921 – February 7, 2007), nicknamed "Bubblegum", was an American

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

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 5' 4", 130 lb., she batted and threw right-handed. A native of

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, she grew up playing baseball with her brother and the other boys in the streets of her neighborhood. Playground ball was the next step, then into the high school league and on to a Chicago amateur girls softball team. She was in school when she learned that there was a nationwide effort to recruit women to play in a new Midwest professional softball/baseball league. Lenard attended a AAGPBL tryout and made the grade, starting a professional career that spanned ten years. A consistent line-drive hitter who used the entire field and excelled at slap bunting for base hits, she was a skillful contact hitter with a near perfect eye for the

strike zone In baseball, the strike zone is the area of space through which a pitch must pass in order to be called a strike even if the batter does not swing. The strike zone is defined as the volume of space above home plate and between the batter's kne ...

and seldom struck out. By the time her AAGPBL career ended in 1953, Lenard had driven in 351 runs to place her ninth on the career RBI list for the league, despite hitting only 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 ( ...

in just over 3400

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

s. She also collected 520

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s and walked 481 times against only 234 strikeouts for a 2.06 BB/K ratio. A natural center fielder, she possessed a strong and accurate throwing arm.Heaphy, Leslie A. & Mel Anthony May. ''Encyclopedia of Women and Baseball'', McFarland & Company, 2006; Lenard entered the league in 1944 with 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 ...

, playing for them two years before joining 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 ...

(1946-'49), Peoria Redwings (1949),

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 ...

(1950-'51) and

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 ...

(1952-'53). In her rookie season, she hit a .211 average and stole 68 bases, while leading the circuit with 10

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

. Her most productive season came in 1947, when she hit a career-high .261 with 38 RBI in 111 games and was selected for the All-Star team. She also made four trips to the playoffs with four teams, including for the championship winners in 1945 and 1952. Following her professional baseball career, Lenard went back to school and graduated from

Chicago Teachers College Chicago State University (CSU) is a predominantly black (PBI) public university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It includes an honors program for undergraduates and offers bachelor's and master's degrees in the arts and sciences. CSU was ...

, and then taught health and physical education for 25 years. Besides becoming an educator and coach, she was a strong advocate for the advancement of girls and women in sports. In 1968 she was assaulted and hit in the head, suffering eye damage that left her nearly blind. Lenard is 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. Jo Lenard died in her hometown of

on February 7, 2007, aged 85.

Career statistics

Batting Fielding Madden, W.C. ''All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book'', McFarland & Company, 2000.;

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenard, Josephine All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Rockford Peaches players Muskegon Lassies players Peoria Redwings players Kenosha Comets players South Bend Blue Sox players Baseball players from Chicago 1921 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American sportswomen 21st-century American women