Carole Nelson-Cammorata is selected into a special category in the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame. She didn’t excel in interscholastic competition while in high school for the basic reason that there was no such competition for women at that time. She did become involved in softball while in school, and after graduation, joined the Fresno Rockets softball team and proceeded to pitch them to three consecutive world championships and earned All-American honors in the process. After winning in 1953, Fresno defended its title in 1954, highlighted by Nelson-Cammorata’s pitching. She allowed only two runs in six complete games and captured the crown with a 1-0 shut out victory over Bertha Ragan and the Orange Lionettes, the host team of the tournament. Nelson-Cammorata and the Fresno team won again in 1955 for their third straight national title. Newspaper articles called Nelson-Cammorata, “Napa’s pride and joy”, “Napa’s claim to fame”, and “Napa’s own”. It is that kind of positive recognition that Nelson-Cammorata brought to the community and the school that earned her the support of the Selection Committee and a rightful place in the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
