[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 31 (Tuesday, March 5, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S1125]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                     REMEMBERING LAVONE PAIRE DAVIS

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, today I ask my colleagues to join 
me in honoring Lavone ``Pepper'' Paire Davis, the baseball star and 
pioneer in women's professional sports who died in Los Angeles last 
month at age 88. Ms. Paire Davis was one of the models for Dottie 
Hinson, the immortal Geena Davis character in the hit film ``A League 
of Their Own,'' and she was a role model for millions of women and 
girls across the country.
  Lavone Paire was born in Los Angeles and grew up playing baseball 
with her older brother Joe on the streets of West L.A. By age 9, she 
was playing for an amateur team in Santa Monica and later she and her 
good friend Faye Dancer played together on a girls softball team known 
as the Dr. Peppers.
  In 1944, Lavone was working as a shipyard welder and taking classes 
at UCLA when she and Faye were recruited to join the All-American Girls 
Professional Baseball League, AAGPBL, which recently had been launched 
by Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley and other major league owners 
to help maintain fan interest while many major league players were away 
at war.
  Pepper Paire quickly distinguished herself as an outstanding 
defensive catcher who could also play shortstop and third base, pitch 
when needed, and drive in runs in clutch situations. She also cowrote 
``Victory Song,'' the AAGPBL's anthem, which was later featured in ``A 
League of Their Own.'' She helped the Racine Belles win the league 
championship in 1946 and was named to the AAGPBL all-star team in 1948.
  In 1953, Pepper left baseball to marry Robert Davis, start a family, 
and establish an electronics business with her friend Faye Dancer. But 
``A League of Their Own'' brought Ms. Paire Davis back in the public 
eye. A popular speaker, she used her renewed fame to promote women's 
professional sports and urge girls to fulfill their athletic dreams. In 
2009 she published ``Dirt in the Skirt,'' a book about her adventures 
in the AAGPBL.
  Lavone Paire Davis was a true inspiration both on and off the 
baseball diamond. On behalf of the people of California, I send my 
gratitude and condolences to her brother Joe, sons William and Rob, 
daughter Susan Gardner, four grandchildren, and great-grandson.

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