Woody Jensen

Forrest Docenus “Woody” Jensen was born in Washington in 1907 as the son of of a Swedish immigrant.

Jensen played professional baseball for 17 years, nine of which were in the major leagues with Pittsburgh.  His final minor league season was with the Wichita Aviators, where he met his wife.

Jensen broke in with the 1931 Pirates, joining an outfield that included future Hall of Famers Paul and Lloyd Waner.  Jensen was a regular in 1934-36, hitting .290, .324 and .283 respectively.  In the 1936 season, he set a National League record with 731 plate appearances.  For his nine-year career, Jensen hit .285 and struck out only 100 times in 2,869 plate appearances.

After retiring in 1939, Jensen returned to Wichita and owned Rose Bowl East and West, two bowling establishments.  He served as president of the Wichita Braves and the Wichita Indians in the 1950s.

Jensen died in Wichita in 2001 at the age of 94.  His son Mark serves on the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame’s board of advisors.