One of the outstanding catchers in amateur softball, Ito started out playing the infield as a teenager in Denver, CO before her coach, Andy Hale, asked her to learn catching because the team’s regular catcher left the team to get married. It was a move neither Hale or Ito would regret. In the next two decades, Ito was named a 13-time All-American. She played 10 years before a job transfer brought her to California in 1960 where she joined the Orange, CA Lionettes. In 15 years with the Lionettes, the 5-foot-7 Ito participated in 13 ASA national championships and the 1970 ISF World Championship in Osaka, Japan. She was a member of four national championship teams and four runners-up. An outstanding defensive catcher with a strong throwing arm, Ito made only 10 errors in 1,401 chances in 222 games in the Pacific Coast Women’s League from 1967-1974 for a fielding percentage of .993. Five seasons she made only one error per season and in 1972 was flawless handling 134 chances. Former teammate Carol Spanks called Ito “ the best catcher I’ve ever seen. Not only was she strong and secure around the plate, but she had a great arm and was fundamentally sound in every aspect of defensive play.” She was born June 26, 1933 and died December 19, 1987.
