Jennie Finch is a famous American softball player. She won a gold medal as a pitcher for Team USA at the 2004 Summer Olympics . She pitched for the Arizona Wildcats , the USA national softball team and the Chicago Bandits. Time magazine described her as the most famous softball player in history .

Fact 1:
Jennie Finch was born in September 3, 1980 to parents Doug and Bev Finch in La Mirada, California where she is the youngest of the three siblings. Her father encouraged her to hone her skills by spending time working with her; put up a batting cage in their backyard and transformed a small trampoline as her pitch-back. He became Jennie’s personal coach later on .

Fact 2:
In 2003, Jennie Finch beat Anna Kournikova as ESPN’s Hottest Female Athlete by grabbing 61.5% of the total votes compared to Kournikova’s 38.4% .

Fact 3:
While attending at La Mirada High School, Jennie Finch does not only excel in softball but in volleyball and basketball as well. In 1997, she was the captain of her volleyball team and in 1998 during her senior year she was team captain for her softball, volleyball and basketball team.

In 1998, her school named her as the Female Athlete of the Year and Athletics Director Female Athlete of the Year. Jennie Finch lead her softball team to win the league championship everytime she played earning the MVP for two consecutive years (1997, 1998).

Fact 4:
The University of Arizona had retired Jennie Finch’s #27 jersey number . Finch chose 27 to commemorate her parents’ first date .

Fact 5:
Jennie Finch has three children with husband Casey Daigle: a son, Ace Shane Daigle on May 4, 2006; another son, Diesel Dean Daigle on June 19, 2011 and daughter Paisley Faye Daigle on January 12, 2013.

Fact 6:
Jennie Finch towers at 6’1; she’s blond, has hazel eyes with a mega-watt smile that makes her look like a model instead of a famous softball player. She turned down offers from Playboy and Maxim to disrobe . She said she takes her role seriously and enjoys the positive impact she has on kids, especially with young girls which is much greater than to be portrayed in a sexual manner .

Fact 7:
Casey Daigle, Jennie Finch’s husband underwent a humorous hazing ritual way back in 2004. His teammates forced him to wear a blond wig and wear a replica of his wife’s uniform before boarding the plane .

Fact 8:
Jennie Finch, being a successful and famous softball athlete had endorsed products and services such as Mizuno, Audemars Piguet, Innovative Sports, Bollé, Bank of America, The Sak, The Heater pitching sleeve, Gatorade, Sportskool, and Sprint. She also formed partnerships with the Chicago Bandits and Major League Baseball. She also endorsed her own product, the Finch Windmill, as well as a number of her apparel, softball equipment, and collectibles on her official website .

Fact 9:
Jennie Finch announced her retirement ending her ten-year softball career in July 20,2010 at the age of 29. She decided to give up playing softball so she can give time for her family.

Many were shocked on her early retirement from the sport. Finch’s coach, Mike Andrea said “Jennie has transformed this sport, touched millions of young kids in many different ways – whether it’s fashion, whether it’s the way she plays the game – but through it all she’s been very humble.” .

Fact 10:
Jennie Finch became a co-host for This Week in Baseball and had a segment Jennie Challenge where she pitches for MLB players and often times strikes them out. She struck out Albert Pujols, Mike Piazza and Brian Giles during the 2004 Pepsi All-Star Softball game. Giles commented that her fastball was the fastest thing he had ever seen from that distance ..