{{Infobox baseball biography | name = Carol Habben | image = Carol Habben.jpg | image_size = 175px | caption = | team = | position = Center fielder / Utility | birth_date = {{birth date|1933|5|15}} | birth_place = Midland Park, New Jersey, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1997|1|11|1933|5|15}} | death_place = Ridgewood, New Jersey, U.S. | bats = Right | throws = Right | debutyear = | debutteam = | finalyear = | finalteam = | stat1label = Batting average | stat1value = .231 | stat2label = Home runs | stat2value = 15 | stat3label = Runs batted in | stat3value = 65 | teams = *Rockford Peaches (1951–1953) *Kalamazoo Lassies (1954) |highlights= *AAGPBL Champion Team (1954) }}
'''Carol Habben''' (May 15, 1933 – January 11, 1997) was a center fielder and backup catcher who played from {{baseball year|1951}} through {{baseball year|1954}} in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Listed at {{height|ft=5|in=5}}, 135 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.<ref name=AAGPBL>[https://www.aagpbl.org/profiles/carol-habben/314 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League – Carol Habben]. Retrieved 2026-02-26.</ref>
==Early life== Born in Midland Park, New Jersey, Carol Habben began playing ball on sandlots in Rahway at age 12 and joined the Flashettes of Garfield two years later. In the process, Habben played baseball at Pompton Lakes High School. At age 17, she attended an AAGPBL tryout and signed a contract for $250 a month to play in the league. While still in high school, she had to take her exams early in order to make it for the start of the 1951 season.<ref name="EWB">''Encyclopedia of Women and Baseball'' - Leslie A. Heaphy, Mel Anthony May. Publisher: McFarland & Co., 2006. Format: Paperback, 438 pp. Language: English. {{ISBN|0-7864-2100-2}}</ref><ref name=NYT-Obit>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/14/sports/carol-habben-63-ex-baseball-player.html|author=The Associated Press|author-link=The Associated Press|title=Carol Habben, 63, Ex-Baseball Player|work=The New York Times|date=1997-01-14|accessdate=2019-04-13}}</ref>
==AAGPBL career== Habben played for the Rockford Peaches. During the final season of the AAGPBL, she was a hitter for the team.
In 1951, Habben went 1-for-26 for a batting average of .038 as a rookie, and saw limited action the next season. In 1953, she hit .194 with a .238 on-base percentage in a utility role, playing in the outfield, catching, and also pitching in case of an emergency. Then she was dealt by Rockford to the Kalamazoo Lassies before the 1954 season.<ref>''The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: A biographical dictionary'' - W. C. Madden. Publisher: McFarland & Co., 1997. Format: Paperback, 295 pp. Language: English. {{ISBN|0-7864-0304-7}}</ref>
Habben showed how much power she had in her bat when the AAGPBL's ball was switched to 9 ¼ inches—the same size used in the Major Leagues.<ref name="AAGPBL-Rules">[https://www.aagpbl.org/history/rules-of-play All-American Girls Professional Baseball League – Rules of Play]. Retrieved 2026-02-26.</ref>
As an everyday center fielder in 1954, Habben hit a .276 average with a .363 OBP in 98 games, while slugging for a .445 average to become the second half of the so-called ''Home Run Twins'', as she hit 15 home runs and Chris Ballingall belted 17 to power the Lassies to the Championship Title.<ref name="EWB"/><ref>[https://www.aagpbl.org/profiles/june-peppas-lefty/3 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League – June Peppas]. Retrieved 2026-02-26.</ref>
==Life after baseball== After the AAGPBL folded, Habben returned to New Jersey, competing in ASA fast-pitch softball in Linden until 1973, and also umpiring in men's and women's leagues.<ref name=NYT-Obit/>
Habben lived in Ringwood and worked 37 years for Merck & Co. as a credit manager until her retirement in 1994. She is part of the AAGPBL permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, New York, opened in {{baseball year|1988}}, which is dedicated to the entire league rather than any individual player.<ref name=NYT-Obit/>
Habben spent the last days of her life in Ridgewood, New Jersey, where she died of a long illness at the age of 63.<ref name=AAGPBL/>
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Habben, Carol}} Category:Rockford Peaches players Category:Kalamazoo Lassies players Category:People from Midland Park, New Jersey Category:Pompton Lakes High School alumni Category:People from Ringwood, New Jersey Category:Baseball players from Bergen County, New Jersey Category:Sportspeople from Passaic County, New Jersey Category:1933 births Category:1997 deaths Category:20th-century American sportswomen