Joan Holderness obituary
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Joan started her career as the first bat girl for her hometown Kenosha Comets in 1947. The following year, she played for an AAGPBL farm team in Chicago before breaking into the big leagues in 1949. Joan had a cannon for an arm and was cool under pressure as a pinch hitter.
After her AAGPBL career, Joan enjoyed golfing and fishing and excelled in bowling. She was accepted into the National Ladies Professional Bowling Association in 1963, and for her bowling achievements, she was inducted into the Florida Womens Bowling Association Hall of Fame on May 15, 1981. In addition, Joan was inducted into the St. Petersburg, Florida Womens Hall of Fame in 1982 and the Clearwater, Florida Womens Hall of Fame in 1984.
Joan was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Both her father and grandfather played a lot of ball. So she played with them. She had a bat and a ball and they had flat gloves and she remembers playing as a child. She first heard about the league when her mother took her to a ball game when she was in 5th or 6th grade for the Kenosha Comets. She loved it and immediately wished to play for the team. Her mother was strictly against this, and she refused to go to any more of the games. Holderness eventually began watching them practice, and met several ball players, who would play catch with her.
In 1947, at the age of 14, she was asked if she wanted to be Kenosha's batgirl. She accepted, received her uniform, and became the batgirl during the summer. A year later, the AAGPBL began using farm teams, and Holderness was given permission to play once a week. She played shortstop for that year, and moved up to the highest level of the league the next year.
In 1949, Joan was invited to go to Spring training in Indiana. It was there she got a contract which her father signed as she was only 16 (under age). But her mom wouldn't let her travel so half the year she didn't do much. But she was very well-liked and by 1950, she played more, sometimes right-field. She had a good arm and was asked to join the Grand Rapids Chicks which was in town playing against Kenosha.
Throughout her baseball career, Joan played for the Kenosha Comets (1949-1950), the Grand Rapids Chicks (1950-1951), and the Battle Creek Belles (1951). She was a versatile player, playing outfield, shortstop, and utility infield.
In October 1965, Joan moved to Florida where she continued her love of bowling and also became an avid golfer. In 1970 she won the Florida Queens Tournament in Clearwater. In 1977 in the “Bowling Tournament of the Americas,” Joan won the Women’s All Events, Singles, and Doubles. In 1981 she was inducted into the Florida State Hall of Fame for Bowling Achievement, then the St. Petersburg, FL Hall of Fame, and in 1984 the Clearwater, FL Hall of Fame.
After serving 32 years with the Federal Government, Joan retired in 1988 from the Strategic Air Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, FL as a Computer Systems Analyst. After her retirement Joan moved from Clearwater to Spring Hill, FL and later began spending her summers on the beautiful golf courses in Fairfield Glade, TN. In 2007 she left Florida to become a full time resident of Crossville, TN, where she became an avid Lady Vols fan, and continued to cheer on her Chicago Cubbies and Green Bay Packers.
Joan is survived by a brother, two sisters, five nieces and three nephews, as well as several great-nieces and nephews all of whom she loved dearly.
Joan leaves behind a multitude of friends, including two very special friends.
Joan was predeceased by her parents, Charles (Cy) and Gladys Holderness.
In mid-September, Joan’s remains will be interred in the Greenridge Cemetery in Kenosha, WI with a “Celebration of Life” to take place at that time.

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