Former Woman Baseball Pro Dies At Age 63 Habben A Home Run Threat In League Glamorized By The Popular Movie ‘A League Of Their Own’

Carol Habben, a former player in the women’s baseball league chronicled in the 1992 film “A League of Their Own,” has died following a lengthy illness. She was 63.

Habben, who died Saturday, was a center fielder and catcher for the Rockford (Ill.) Peaches of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1951 and 1952 and the Kalamazoo (Mich.) Lassies in 1953.

The popular Midwestern league that drew as many as 1 million people during one season was founded in 1943 by Chicago Cubs owner Philip Wrigley to keep fan interest alive during World War II.

It disbanded at the end of the 1953 season after Habben’s team won the league championship.

Habben started playing baseball in high school in Midland Park and played for a women’s sandlot team in Rahway before signing for $250 a month to play with the Peaches at age 16 or 17, said her sister, Jane Iannuzzi.

“She was still in high school when she started to play, so she would take her exams early,” Iannuzzi said. “About the beginning of June we would take her down to the train and she would be off. She played until the fall.”

Habben starred for the Lassies in her final year, and she and teammate Chris Ballingall were known as the “Home Run Twins.” She also stole home in the championship game.

After the league disbanded, she returned to New Jersey, competing in local leagues, umpired in men’s and women’s leagues and was an avid golfer.

“When the movie came out, it kind of revived her,” Iannuzzi said. “She became kind of a local celebrity.”