Janice O'Hara

Who is Janice O'Hara?

Janice Winifred O'Hara [״Jenny״] was a pitcher and utility who played from 1943 through 1949 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 6 in, 122 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.

Janice O'Hara was one of the sixty original players to join the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League for its inaugural season. A valuable and versatile player, she had an array of pitches that kept the hitters guessing, and also played several positions competently during her seven years in the league.

Born in Beardstown, Illinois, O'Hara started playing organized softball in Springfield in her teen years, until AAGPBL scout Eddie Stumpf interviewed her and sent her to the final tryout at Wrigley Field in Chicago. In the process, she was signed a contract and joined the Kenosha Comets, playing for them her entire career in the league.

Comets manager Josh Billings used O'Hara at first base and she hit a respectable .187 average and posted career-numbers in hits, triples, runs and RBI, helping Kenosha win the second half of the 1943 season. The team faced first-half winner Racine Belles in the best-of-five series and was shut out in three games.