Jenny Romatowski

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Jenny Romatowski
Third base/Outfield
Born: (1927-09-13)September 13, 1927
Wyandotte, Michigan
Died: March 12, 2014(2014-03-12) (aged 86)
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Teams
Career highlights and awards
  • Two-time All-Star Team (1952–1953)
  • Championship team (1954)
  • Three playoff appearances (1948, 1953–1954)
  • Led all outfielders in assists (1954)
  • Women in Baseball – AAGPBL Permanent Display
    Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (1988)

Jenniffer A. Romatowski [″Romey″] (September 13, 1927 – March 12, 2014) was an American baseball utility player who played from 1946 through 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m), 145 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.[1]

A brief history

During

filmmaker Penny Marshall premiered her film A League of Their Own, a fictionalized account of activities in the AAGPBL that brought a rejuvenated interest to the extinct league.[2][3]

Early life

Born in

Theodore Roosevelt High School in Wyandotte and immediately joined the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.[4]

AAGPBL career

Romatowski moved around for a while, as the AAGPBL shifted players as needed to help new teams stay afloat. She entered the league in 1946 with the

third base and outfield before converting to catcher.[1][5]

A competent backstop, known more for her defensive skills rather than for her offensive output, Romatowski possessed a strong arm with an extremely quick release of the throw, being appropriately dubbed Rifle Arm.[5]

In 1952, Romatowski was selected for the All-Star Team as a replacement for Ruth Richard (C) and Fern Shollenberger (3B). The All-Stars, with Bill Allington at the helm, faced the host South Bend Blue Sox, who were managed by Karl Winsch.

For the second consecutive year Romatowski joined the All-Star squad in 1953. Her most productive season came in 1954, when she posted career-highs with a .258 average and six home runs, led all outfielders with 24 assists and formed part of the Lassies team that won the championship, during what turned out to be the league's final season.[2][5][6][7][8]

Life after baseball

Following her baseball career, Romatowski graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a degree in physical education, and then she taught physical education for nearly 30 years in the Van Dyke-Warren school system until her retirement in 1983.[5][9]

Honors and awards

Since 1988 Romatowski is part of Women in Baseball, a permanent display based at the

Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York
, which was unveiled to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League rather than individual baseball personalities.

In 1999 she was selected for membership in the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame, becoming only the fifth female to be enshrined in the hall.[10] Then, in 2000 she was inducted into the Eastern Michigan University Hall of Fame for her career achievements.[2][9][11]

Besides, she is one of only two women to have been inducted into the Wyandotte Sports Hall of Fame, and was also honored with membership of the Michigan Amateur Sports Hall of Fame.[12]

Romatowski was a longtime resident of Palm Harbor, Florida, where she died in 2014 at the age of 86.[13]

AAGPBL statistics

Batting

GP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB TB BB SO BA OBP
SLG
535 1639 115 334 21 3 6 128 31 379 97 114 .204 .248 .231

Fielding

GP
PO
 A E TC DP FA
503 1656 439 87 2182 48 .960

[14]

Sources

  1. ^ a b "All-American Girls Professional Baseball League official website – Jenny Romatowski entry". Archived from the original on 2012-05-21. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
  2. ^ a b c "All-American Girls Professional Baseball League History". Archived from the original on 2009-08-28.
  3. ^ "IMDb.com – A League of Their Own (1992 film)". Archived from the original on 2019-02-22. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  4. ISBN 0-7864-2100-2
  5. ^ a b c d Encyclopedia of Women and Baseball
  6. ^ "1952 AAGPBL All-Star Team". Archived from the original on 2010-09-17. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
  7. ^ 1954 AAGPBL All-Star Team Archived 2010-09-17 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "1954 Kalamazoo Lassies". Archived from the original on 2010-09-17. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
  9. ^ a b "National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame – 1999 Inductee". Archived from the original on 2010-12-13.
  10. ^ "Jenny Romatowski « National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum". Archived from the original on 2010-12-13. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
  11. ^ "EMU Hall of Fame Inductees". Archived from the original on 2010-12-15. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
  12. ^ "Obituary". Archived from the original on 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2014-06-18.
  13. ^ Obituary
  14. ISBN 0-7864-3747-2
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