Joanne Weaver

In 1990 Joanne moved back to her hometown of Metropolis, Illinois, to be with her parents. Betty returned in 1994 while Jean moved back in 1995, allowing the three Weaver sisters to see each other every day. Betty died in 1998, at the age of 68, following complications related to Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease). Joanne died in 2000 at age 64 of the same disease that claimed her sister. Eight years later, Jean died at age 74.

Following her baseball career, Joanne Weaver lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana for more than 30 years. In November 1988, the Weaver sisters received recognition when the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York dedicated a permanent display to the entire league rather than any individual player.

During the 1954 midseason the AAGPBL reduced the ball from 10.00 inches to the major league size, around 9.00 inches. The league also extended pitching distance from 56 feet to 60 feet and base paths from 75 feet to 85 feet. As a result, Joanne earned the Player of the Year Award and made the All-Star Team for the third consecutive year after setting season-records with 29 home runs and 254 total bases, while leading the league in hits (143), runs (109) and stolen bases (79). She finished second in doubles (16) and triples (4), and joined Eleanor Callow as the only players in the league's history to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases during a regular season. Weaver also hit a league-leading .429, which remains the highest professional baseball batting average posted in the 20th century.

Once the league disbanded in 1954, Joanne Weaver was one of eleven players selected by former Daisies manager Bill Allington to play in the national touring team known as the All-Americans. The Allington All-Stars played 100 games between 1954 and 1958, each booked in a different town, against male teams, while traveling over 10,000 miles in the manager's station wagon and a Ford Country Sedan. Besides Weaver, the All-Americans included her sister Betty Foss, Joan Berger, Gloria Cordes, Jeanie Descombes, Gertrude Dunn, Jean Geissinger, Mary Froning, Katie Horstman, Maxine Kline, Dolores Lee, Magdalen Redman, Ruth Richard, Jean Smith, Dorothy Schroeder and Dolly Vanderlip, among others.

Weaver improved her fielding considerably in 1953, when she finished the year with a .952 average. Her hitting stayed about the same, which was good enough to win another batting title with a .346 average, ending second to Betty in total bases (187) and hits (142, two behind). Joanne also finished third in runs (79), stolen bases (70), and runs batted in (76). Fort Wayne added another playoff trip, and she made the All-Star Team again.

One of the most talented hitters in AAGPBL history, Joanne Weaver was the youngest of three sisters to play for the Fort Wayne Daisies in the final years of the league. Weaver often outdid her renowned sister, Betty, as a power hitter, winning three consecutive batting titles and setting several all-time records. At this point, the Weaver-Foss duet led the AAGPBL in most major offensive categories between 1952 and 1954. A three-time All-Star, Weaver earned Player of the Year honors in 1954, when she hit a .429 average to set an AAGPBL single-season record. Besides this, her .429 mark was the highest Professional American Baseball batting average collected by any player in a single season in a minimum of 300 at-bat appearances.

Weaver's performance exploded in her second season. After moving to right field in 1952, she led all hitters with a .344 average, surpassing her sister Betty (.331), who led five offensive categories and earned the Player of the Year Award, while Joanne did not rank high in any other category. Both sisters were selected for the All-Star Team and helped Fort Wayne advance to the playoffs.

Joanne Weaver debuted at third base with the Daisies in the 1951 season. She hit .276 in 53 games, showing a smooth, quick swing with good speed and above average base running instincts. Her fielding was the only skill lacking. Meanwhile, her sister Betty won batting titles in back-to-back seasons in 1950 and 1951, helping Fort Wayne to make the playoffs in these years.

A native of Metropolis, Illinois, Joanne Weaver was the daughter of minor league pitcher Lloyd Weaver and Elsie (Dummeier) Weaver. At the age of 11, she began playing softball with her sisters Betty and Jean. Their father tried to get them to play on a local boys' baseball team, with little success, until he managed to insert them into the Magnavox team of the Chicago industrial league, a successful fastpitch softball squad in which they finally started to play regularly. In 1950, Betty rejected a contract offer from the Chicago White Sox minor league system and opted to sign with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Betty was allocated to the Fort Wayne Daisies and her sisters joined her on the team a year later.

The sisters Foss-Weaver were able to win the final five batting championships of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and two Player of the Year awards. With Helen Callaghan winning the batting title in 1945, the Fort Wayne Daisies amassed six batting crowns to set a league record. But while Fort Wayne made the playoffs in the last seven seasons of the league, the team struggled in the post-season and never won a Championship Title. In 1952 and 1953, the Daisies were knocked out in the first round after posting the best regular-season record.

Joanne "Joltin' Jo" Weaver (December 19, 1935 – March 19, 2000) was a right fielder who played from 1951 through 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m), 142 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.