Background
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Filarski grew up dreaming about being a professional athlete. She was supported by her mother, who never had the chance to play sports because girls were not supposed to be too physical.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Filarski grew up dreaming about being a professional athlete. She was supported by her mother, who never had the chance to play sports because girls were not supposed to be too physical.
Listed at 5 ft 2 in (157 m), 125 pounds, she batted and threw right-handed. Basically a line drive hitter, she was able to be patient and swing at good pitches at the same time, as evidenced by her.309 career on-base percentage and her 1.81 walk-to-strikeout ratio. After her playing days, she coached hundreds of girls for more than 40 years.
After graduating at high school Helen went to work for the Briggs Manufacturing Company on the B-29 wings.
In her spare time she played amateur baseball around the playgrounds of Detroit, starting at shortstop, and then switched to second base, before finally settling in at third base. During a local tournament Filarski was invited to a tryout for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in Chicago, Illinois.
She made the trip and accepted an offer contract because the money was so much better than she could make in the factory. Filarski entered the league in 1945 with the Rockford Peaches, playing for them two years before joining the Peoria Redwings (1947), Kenosha Comets (1947) and South Bend Blue Sox (1948–1950).
Her biggest contribution during the postseason came in the final best-of-seven series, against the Fort Wayne Daisies, when she scored two decisive runs and led her team with three runs batted in, though in the series she got knocked out and lost her two front teeth after a frightening collision with a base runner.
In 1946, Filarski was the best defensive player at third base with a.932 fielding average. Her most productive season as a hitter came in her last year, when she posted career numbers in batting average (209), extrabases (12) and on-base percentage (314). Eventually, she also traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico for a baseball tournament.
Filarski did not return to the league after marrying Donald Steffes in 1951.
The couple raised six children, four boys and two girls. In addition, her hobby activities included photography and playing basketball and bowling.
In 1988, Helen Filarski became part of Women in Baseball, a permanent display based at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, which was unveiled to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.