America’s favorite pastime was an important part of many former Members' lives. Here are some House Members who played for, managed, or owned various baseball teams.
Gaynor Cawley
Cawley played baseball throughout high school. After college, he signed with the Detroit Tigers in 1962, playing with their farm team, the Thomasville Tigers. He later played with the Houston Colt 45’s, a farm team of the Houston Astros.
Ralph T. Jefferson
Jefferson played baseball and coached teams in the Negro Leagues for much of the 1920s. He played for five different teams: the Indianapolis ABCs, the Brooklyn Royal Giants, the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants, the Washington Potomacs, and the Cuban Stars East.
After Jefferson concluded playing, he stayed heavily involved by managing four different teams: Brooklyn Cubans, Texas Eagles, Philadelphia Giants, and California Giants.
Representative Kenneth G. Haines by Pennsylvania House of RepresentativesPennsylvania House of Representatives Archives
Kenneth G. Haines
Haines attended Penn State University, but only played three years of varsity baseball for the Nittany Lions. He began his professional baseball career in 1928. Haines played minor league baseball for the Williamsport Grays of the New York-Pennsylvania League.
Hained pitched three seasons for the Grays but left in 1932 to play for Baltimore. Unfortunately, Haines could not finish the season with the team due to an injury he suffered while pitching that forced him to retire from baseball.
Leo J. Trich
He was a commissioner of the Protect Our Nation’s Youth Baseball organization where he is a member of their hall of fame. Trich later served as the Vice President of USA Baseball, in addition to being the director of development for the Frontier Professional Baseball League.
Thomas J. Foerster
After being the coach and athletic director at Nativity School, Foerster soon became the coach of the Perry Atoms Colt baseball team. He was the director of District IV Little League Baseball and the eventual president of Allegheny County Little League.
Baseball team photograph by Pennsylvania House of RepresentativesPennsylvania House of Representatives Archives
Baseball unites Members of the General Assembly, just like in this photo. It was a great way to forget the stresses of daily life and be on a team with colleagues and friends.
