| Jo Sauve - Player, inducted in 2002 |
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Catcher Jo Sauve played competitive softball on some of the elite teams of her era for 25 years, 13 of them in USSSA ball. During that time, she hit nearly .500 with some 50 homers.
It was with the
legendary St. Charles Lassies that the right alley power hitter accomplished the
most. Playing alongside future Illinois USSSA Hall of Famers Hellen
Biddle and Mary Stark, Sauve blossomed into a top tier softball player. "Just being a part of such a
In 1979, Jo was named MVP of the St. Charles USSSA tournament, MVP of the St. Charles League, all-State and helped lead the Lassies to second place at the USSSA World. The team finished fourth at the 125-team USSSA World in 1980 with a 7-2 record. In 1981, with Sauve coaching due to a serious leg injury, they went 6-0 to sweep the winner's bracket at the World, only to lose twice to the Virginia Belles and settle for National runners-up. Over the next six seasons, Sauve and the Lassies qualified for World play four more times. Along the way, the Lassies won many league, state and open Invitational titles. "We had a bus load of fans who traveled with us," Sauve recalls. At times, the Lassies found themselves playing in front of as many as four and five thousand people. After the 1987 season, Sauve played Class B ball with Elgin's Playmates. Through the 1990 season, the team ended each year competing in the USSSA B Divisional. In 1991, Sauve moved over to Milwaukee's Hub South as a coach. A young A team, Hub South qualified for the USSSA Nationals each year and were runnersup in Dallas, Texas. Jo continued to coach the Playmates through 1995, before hanging up her spikes. Sauve wasn't just athletically talented. She was tough. In one game in the early 1980s, she broke the little finger on her right hand, but it was five games later that she finally realized it was fractured. Her response? Tape the injured finger to her ring finger and get right back behind the plate. "Softball opened up everyone's world to new people, new situations and friends," says Sauve. "And an inner feeling of satisfaction I've never gotten from anything else." One memory Sauve is particularly fond of is being named to the 1980 Women's A World all-tournament team with her pitcher, Deb Keller. Sauve is particularly appreciative of Brenda Paulson and the USSSA organization, saying the Illinois USSSA was very instrumental in all of this.
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wonderful, successful organization was
exciting,"
she recalls. 