It didn’t matter to Lorene Ramsey, a member of the National Softball Hall of Fame since 1987, if she was playing a game of softball or practicing for one. “I loved to play the game. I even loved practice,” said Ramsey. In a career that spanned more than two decades, Lorene established herself as a Hall of Fame pitcher as the mainstay for the Chuck McCord Pekin, IL Lettes. Between 1955-1972 Ramsey played for the Caterpillar Dieselettes, Sunnyland Lettes and Pekin Lettes, compiling a won-loss record of 401-90 and a winning percentage of .816. Before 1955, she achieved a pitching record of 82-32 for amateur teams in St. Louis. She was 21-1 in 1951, 7-21 in 1952, 20-5 in 1953 and 34-5 in 1954. She played in the first of 13 ASA national championships in 1954 and compiled a 3-1 record for the fourth-place St. Louis Kutis Funeral Home. In national championship play, Lorene won 22 games, lost 22 and four times was named an ASA All-American (1959, 1960, 1965 and 1970). She also participated in three ASA Women’s Fast Pitch All-Star Series. In 18 years Ramsey fanned 3,811 batters in 3,460 innings, allowed 1,793 hits, 277 runs and 616 walks. Her lifetime ERA was 0.56. In 1965 and 1966 she was named MVP of the Houston, TX Warren Paine Tournament, annually one of the top women’s tournaments then. In 1965, Ramsey pitched 98 1/3 scoreless innings for the Pekin Lettes, breaking the old mark of 59 held by Hall of Famer Marie Wadlow. Ramsey was born July 10, 1936. Retired April 1, 2003 from Illinois Central College. Is also a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, TN.
