Theresa Kobuszewski 'Koby'' or ''Tracy''(July 15, 1920 – March 22, 2005) was an American

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 ...

. Born in

Wyandotte, Michigan Wyandotte ( ) is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 25,058 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Wyandotte is located in southeastern Michigan, approximately south of Detro ...

, Theresa Kobuszewski was a feary and respected underhand pitcher for fifteen years before joining the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League as a 26-year-old rookie in 1946. Kobuszewski played for the Keller Girls softball team at

Mack Park Mack Park was the original home field of Detroit's Negro National League baseball franchise, the Detroit Stars. It was constructed in 1914 by Joe Roesink, sponsor of a local semi-professional team, a Dutchman of Jewish descent born in Grand Rapi ...

, which was the original home field of

Detroit 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 ...

's Negro National League franchise

Detroit Stars The Detroit Stars were an American baseball team in the Negro leagues and played at historic Mack Park. The Stars had winning seasons every year but two, but were never able to secure any championships. Among their best players was Baseball Hall ...

, and then joined the

Women's Army Corps The Women's Army Corps (WAC; ) was the women's branch of the United States Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), on 15 May 1942, and converted to an active duty status in the Army of the United S ...

(WAC) in 1942. In the process, she was the winning pitcher in the championship game between the Army and Navy teams. Her softball experience made her an attractive selection for AAGPBL

scouts Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

. Unfortunately, she could not adjust when the league switched for a strictly overhand pitching in 1948. Kobuszewski entered the AAGPBL in 1946 with the

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 ...

, playing for them one and a half years before joining the

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 ...

in the 1947 midseason. In her rookie season she finished with a 3–9 record and a 2.71

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 ...

in 123 innings of work, spanning 21 games. She improved to an 11–15 mark and a 2.42 ERA in 1947,

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Television in the Republic of Ireland, Irish television legal drama television series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017, based on ''The Good Wife'' by Robert King (writer), Robert and Michelle King. Prod ...

47 batters in 208 innings while playing with both Kenosha and Fort Wayne.Encyclopedia of Women and Baseball In a two-season career, Kobuszewski collected a 14–24 record in 51 games, despite a solid 2.53 ERA. She also helped herself with the bat, posting a .242

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(30-for-124) in 52 games, while driving in six 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 ...

15 times. Since 1988 Kobuszewski is part of ''Women in Baseball'', a permanent display based 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 ...

, which was unveiled to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League rather than individual baseball personalities. She died in

Trenton, Michigan Trenton is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County, Michigan, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city population was 18,853. A Shawnee village was built in the area by war chief Blue Jacket after the 1795 Tre ...

, at the age of 84.Intelius.com – Nº 1
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Pitching statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kobuszewski, Theresa All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Kenosha Comets players Fort Wayne Daisies players Sportspeople from Trenton, Michigan Baseball players from Wayne County, Michigan Sportspeople from Wyandotte, Michigan Women in World War II 1920 births 2005 deaths 21st-century American women