Claire Lobrovich Krumpotich (April 5, 1923 – July 29, 2011) was an outfielder who played from 1947 to 1948 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She batted and threw right handed.[2][3]

Claire Lobrovich
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
Fourth outfielder
Born: April 5, 1923
Campbell, California
Died: July 29, 2011(2011-07-29) (aged 88)
Watsonville, California[1]
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Teams
Career highlights and awards
  • AAGPBL Championship Title (1948)
  • Women in Baseball – AAGPBL Permanent Display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (unveiled in 1988)

Lobrovich was born in Campbell, California, to Mitchell and Mary (née Brayevich) Lobrovich. Her father, born Mihovil Lobrović, was Croatian, while her maternal grandparents were Slovenian emigrants.[4] She spent two seasons in the league, including a year with the 1948 pennant-winning Rockford Peaches.[3]

'Buttons', as her teammates dubbed her,[2] posted a batting average of .209 (54-for-258) with three doubles and two triples in 81 games, driving in 21 runs and scoring 22 times while stealing 15 bases.[5] At outfield, she recorded 69 putouts with seven assists and committed six errors in 82 total chances for a .927 fielding average.[5]

In 1988, Claire Lobrovich received further recognition when she became part of Women in Baseball, a permanent display based at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, which was unveiled to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League rather than any individual figure.[6]

In 1951, she married John Krumpotich, a semi-professional baseball player.[7] She resided in Watsonville, California until her death in 2011.[8]

Sources

edit
  1. ^ Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration.
  2. ^ a b Profile. All-American Girls Professional Baseball League website
  3. ^ a b Madden, W. C. (2005) The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-2263-0
  4. ^ 1940 United States Federal Census. Year: 1940; Census Place: Campbell, Santa Clara, California.
  5. ^ a b Madden, W. C. (2000) All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-0597-8
  6. ^ Before A League of Their Own. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
  7. ^ "John Lewis Krumpotich's Obituary on Mercury News". San Jose Mercury News. December 9, 2003. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  8. ^ "Claire Krumpotich - July 29, 2011 - Obituary". Tributes.com.