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Vaccaro grew up playing softball in Missouri. When she and husband,
Charles, moved to Centralia in 1955, her association with the game continued for nearly fifty more years. For all
these years, she either played, coached or helped organize the sport.
She pitched for the Centralia Paydays
(1956-1962) fast pitch softball team coached by Alonzo Karr and sponsored
by Hollywood Candy Co. They belonged to the nine-team Clinton County League. She pitched one no-hit game.
Vaccaro coached the girls’ softball team for St. Mary School for 23 years (1960-1982) at Lions Park and at
the same time managed the park for the recreation department for fifteen years. Also, during this
same period, she worked with Howard Cooksey at the Recreation Department, organizing girls’ softball
leagues for four age groups with six to ten teams in each league.
After 1982, she gave up coaching
and went back to playing in the Centralia Women’s League where she played
slow pitch softball until the league disbanded in 1998. She played one more year in the Salem Women’s League
(1999).
From 2000 to 2003, Vaccaro went back to coaching in the Girls’ Mustang League for her
granddaughters’ team, Shores Builders.
In addition to all her involvement with softball, she also
coached girls’ volleyball for the Recreation Department
Play Day, which was a competition between area recreation departments.
Vaccaro also found time to show her excellence on the local bowling lanes from the time she
moved to town until 2004.
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