Like many softball players, Gail Livingston loved the game from an early age. However, she grew up in a time before girls played high school sports, so she began playing 12” softball in the parks of Chicago Ridge in her early teens. After she got married in 1967, Gail Livingston signed up to play softball in Blue Island where she was hooked up with the legendary coach, Paul Leonard and the Pets. This chance meeting lead to a six-year career with Pets where Livingston forged a reputation as one of the top pitchers of her era. While pitching for Pets, Rebels, and Ray’s, Gail Livingston amassed a record of 500 wins against only 100 losses; she pitched ten no-hitters and seventy-one hitters. With her trademark pitch that came in high and dropped just behind the plate, Livingston frustrated the hitting skills of many of the top hitters of that era. Additionally, Gail Livingston was known for her defensive skills and her hitting skills. Known as a single hitter with good speed on the bases, she carried a lifetime batting average over .450, hit forty homeruns, and drove in 400 plus runs. Livingston’s pitching and hitting skills helped Paul Leonard and Pets to championships in Blue Island in 1968 and 1969. She remembers beating the mighty Rose “ N “ Crown at Blue Island during their tournament powerhouse days and once played in a televised game with Tim Weigel and Mike Royko as announcers. Besides pitching, Gail Livingston also worked the other side of the plate when she umpired in Blue Island, Midlothian, Homewood – Flossmoor and with the I.H.S.A. as a high school softball official. Gail Livingston and her husband, Thomas, live in Chicago Ridge. They have four children – Lisa, Theresa, Lynae, and Jamie. She has worked for the Post Office for twenty years.
Gail “Boydie” Livingston
