Janet Rumsey
| Janet Rumsey | |||
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Born: October 16, 1931 Moores Hill, Indiana |
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Died: May 12, 2008 (aged 76) Columbus, Indiana |
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Janet Jeree Rumsey (October 16, 1931 – May 12, 2008) was a pitcher who played from 1951 through 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m), 135 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.
An All-Star pitcher, Janet Rumsey was a member of two champion teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the final four years of its existence. She posted a 39–43 career record and a 2.33 earned run average in 105 pitching appearances, and has the distinction of hurling the last no-hitter in the league's history, while leading in several pitching categories in its last ever season.
Born in Moores Hill, Indiana, Janet was one of four children in the family of Lawrence L. and Mabel M. (Maffey) Rumsey. She was a 1949 graduate of Burney High School, and credited her father for introducing her into baseball. I used to play catch with my father. He'd hit fungoes to me, she explained in an interview. In school the girls did not have a softball team, but she was allowed to play on a boys' baseball team in junior high.
In 1950, Rumsey saw a short film on the Fort Wayne Daisies AAGPBL team and decided to send them a letter. After that, she was invited to a tryout, but she did not make the grade. A year later, she tried again and received a new chance with the South Bend Blue Sox. She tried out at first base and the outfield, but South Bend manager Karl Winsch saw that she a strong arm and turned her into a pitcher.
Rumsey entered the league in 1951 with South Bend, as part of a pitching staff that included Jean Faut, Lillian Faralla, Dorothy Mueller and Louise Arnold. During the midseason, she was loaned to the ill-fated Battle Creek Belles, as the AAGPBL shifted players as needed to help some teams stay afloat. Nevertheless, she rejoined the Blue Sox late in the year in time to help the team in the playoffs. She finished the year with a combined 4–8 mark and a 2.52 ERA, while pitching as a reliever in the final series. South Bend clinched the league title and the final playoffs.
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