 | "OUR MISS MOFFET" |  |
| "Jane Moffet told the story of how she actually became a player on accident. She attended the tryout camp with a friend who eagerly wanted to play, and after helping one of the coaches running the camp, he asked her why she was not playing. She confessed she had not intended to even be there, but was doing it as a favor for a friend. When he asked her to try out, she did, and she made the team. The friend, however, did not. She enjoyed four years as a catcher, first basemen, and outfielder." - from The Women of Cooperstown |
| "If ever there was a meaningful subject for today's classroom, the story of women in baseball is it," said Jane Moffet, an AAGPBL veteran and later a public school teacher and principal in New Jersey. "This story involves organization, goals, objectives, procedures and conclusions, which are all components of a good lesson plan." - from the National Baseball Hall of Fame |
 |
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League · 1943-1954
1949 Springfield Sallies Rookie Touring Team
| Back Row: Migdallia Perez, Mirtha Marrero, Charlene Pryer, Beverly Hatzell, Coronado, Margaret Murray, Dastrode, Hellen Waddell Front Row: Jane Moffet, Betty Degner, Kay Lionikas, Barbara Liebrich, Shirley Burkovich University Libraries of Notre Dame, George K. Rugg, Curator |
| Toms River woman a baseball legend Published in the Asbury Park Press 9/05/02 By KAREN F. RILEY CORRESPONDENT TOMS RIVER -- "This used to be my playground, this used to be my childhood dream," Madonna sang during the closing credits of the movie, "A League of Their Own." For the 600-plus members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, it was a dream come true. The movie documented the league's place in our country's history. The long-defunct league gave women the unique opportunity to play professional baseball from 1943 until 1954, paving the way for women to break through in other sports. It was established because many of the nation's male baseball players were away serving in the military during World War II. Women from all over the country, Canada and Cuba played for the league's teams. There were about 13 players from New Jersey, according to Jane Moffet, a member of the league who is currently serving on the league alumnae's board of directors. Moffet -- along with fellow ballplayer Ernestine "Teeny" Petras of Hazlet and state Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Susan Bass Levin -- was honored Aug. 25 by Gov. McGreevey prior to a Trenton Thunder minor-league baseball game at Mercer County Waterfront Park. After the ceremony, Moffet threw out the ceremonial first ball. The second annual event, which commemorated Women's Equality Day the next day, was hosted by the Department of Community Affairs' Division on Women and the state Advisory Commission on the Status of Women. The day, as designated by President Carter, honors the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote. Moffet was a freshman at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania in 1949 when a classmate saw a newspaper ad announcing tryouts for women's baseball. She asked Moffet to accompany her to Allentown, Pa., so she wouldn't have to go alone. More than 100 young women showed up. Moffet offered her assistance to league scout Lenny Zintak by fielding balls and helping in any way she could. Zintak asked her why she wasn't trying out, then told her to grab a bat and demonstrate her skill. She left that day with a contract in her hand. Moffet continued her college education, but left for Michigan at the end of each semester to play ball. At the end of four years, she quit the league because her mother was terminally ill, and she remained in New Jersey. Moffet later became the guidance counselor at the school that Levin, the former mayor of Cherry Hill, attended. Eventually, Moffet became principal, retiring in 1994. "It's funny," Moffet said. "I worked in education for 42 years, but people remember me best for baseball." Moffet said her role on the league's alumnae board is to continue to promote the memory of the league and to let people know that there are more sports opportunities for girls and young women today than there were when she and her baseball teammates were growing up. Moffet said she is pleased by the changes in women's school athletics brought about by Title IX of the federal educational amendments of 1972, which set standards for gender equity in spending on scholastic sports. But at times, she said, gains for females have had a negative impact on male sports. "The original goals and objectives are very sound," she said. "Unfortunately, some men are getting pushed out and, of course, this was never the intention of Title IX." She added, "You need to establish goals -- accept and overcome challenges. It's a lot of work at times, but I enjoy it. Athletics open a lot of doors for young people." |
| No one who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) will deny the importance of A League of Their Own. Penny Marshall's film "provided us with national recognition," says catcher Jane Moffet, "and it gave people an awareness of the historical significance of the league." Since the movie premiered in July 1992, AAGPBL players have had ballparks named after them, been inducted into state and local halls of fame, and become frequent guests at baseball card shows, softball dinners, and school assemblies. - from the National Baseball Hall of Fame |
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
The AAGPBL Logo is used with the expressed "in-person verbal" consent of Jane Moffet, Director - Board of Directors of the AAGPBL Player's Association. She told me I didn't need to request it in writing. :)
The AAGPBL Logo © is protected under copyright laws and any use, in whole or in part, without the expressed written consent of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Player's Association Inc. or Major League Baseball is strictly prohibited.