Contel was as versatile a player as there was on the roster of the Fresno, CA Rockets, one of the sport’s all-time top teams. She could catch, play first and the outfield. But it was at third base that earned Jeanne a spot in the ASA National Softball Hall of Fame. Jeanne started her career in 1944 and played for various local teams in Alameda, CA and Oakland, CA before joining the Rockets in 1951 after graduating from San Francisco State College. She remained with the Rockets for 14 years and participated in 11 ASA national championships, earning first-team All-America honors in 1953, 1955, 1957, 1958 and 1963 and second-team laurels in 1956. Born April 4, 1928, Contel played on three national championship teams (1953, 1954 and 1957) and was near perfection defensively in national championship play. In fact, in 10 of the 11 national championships she made 103 putouts, had 122 assists and made only only nine errors for a fielding percentage of .962. In four nationals, she had a fielding percentage of 1.000. In the 1958 national tournament, she had a record 21 assists from third base. Her national championship batting average was .286 (47-for-164).
