Diane Kalliam

Reprint from The Path to the Gold by Mary L. Littlewood

Diane Kalliam could run, field, hit and throw – the four ingredients needed to be an outstanding softball player. Diane could do all of these skills well. She probably will be remembered most for her outstanding hitting in ASA national championship play. Appearing in seven ASA national championships between 1961 and 1979, Kalliam had an accumulative .430 batting average (43 hits in 100 at bats). Five times during her career, she earned ASA All-American honors (1961, 1971, 1973, 1974 and 1975), with four first team selections.

In 15 years, Kalliam batted 2,843 times and smashed 1,060 hits for a .427 lifetime batting average. Diane was an outstanding baserunner. She stole 448 bases, including a career high of 55 in 1969. She also scored 842 runs, including a career best of 89 in 1966.

In the 1975 ASA Women’s Major Fast Pitch National Championship, Kalliam set the all time batting average record for a tournament with 12 hits in 19 at bats, an average of .632. It marked the second year in a row Kalliam led the national championship in hitting after batting .444 in 1974. Kalliam’s .632 average broke the former mark of .615 held by Hall of Famer Margaret Dobson in 1950.

Although Kalliam set an individual record in 1975, her team – the Santa Clara Laurels – didn’t win the national championship, losing 2-1 to Raybestos Brakettes in the final game. “It was the biggest disappointment of my career,” said Kalliam. Setting the batting record and playing in two national championship games were the biggest thrills of her career.

After retiring from amateur softball in 1975, Kalliam played professional softball with the San Jose Sunbirds (1976-77) and San Jose Rainbow (1979). In 1976, she batted .379 to finish second in hitting.

In 1979, Kalliam was named head softball coach at San Francisco State University. In 17 years, her teams compiled a record of 237-474-5. In 1991, she coached the team to a school record of 29 victories. Other highlights included a Western Regional Championship in 1981 and a pair of second-place finishes in the Northern California Athletic Conference (1988 and 1991).

In 1984, Kalliam was elected to the National Softball Hall of Fame. In 1986, she was elected to the California State University, Hayward Hall of Fame and in 1994 to the San Mateo County Hall of Fame. She has a bachelor’s degree from Cal State Hayward (1966) and a master’s degree from San Francisco State (1979). Diane was born August 24, 1943, in San Mateo, California, and was residing in San Francisco in 1998.

For more about DK, see below.