In 2003, Salty’s alma mater, Bloomsburg High School, inducted her into the Graduates of Distinction Hall of Fame, she threw the ceremonial first pitch to one of the Little League World Series Games one year, and she served on a panel for two Society for American Baseball Research meetings. In March 2010, she returned to Cooperstown to celebrate Women’s History Month. Through the years, the ladies of the AAGPBL would meet for reunions and Salty would go as often as she could. Many wonder how Salty got her nickname. Well, there was a man in the Bloomsburg area, back in the day, who went by the name “Salty Hazzard”. He was said to be a bit eccentric and was said to wear a thin sweater
in the winter and summer. One day when the family was going out, little Sarah Jane came downstairs in a thin sweater and no jacket. Her father told her mom “She’s just like Salty”. The name stuck and ever since she was known as Salty. Salty married William Ferguson and they had two children, William and Tammy. She became a school bus driver for a local company and remained there for 45 years. Today, retired, she still resides in Columbia County where she learned to love baseball. She will turn 90 years old this July.
** A special thanks to Bill Ferguson for all his help, stories, and photos!
ABOVE: Some of Salty’s original Rockford Peaches gear. RIGHT: Salty makes a cameo appearance in “A League of The Own”.
ABOVE LEFT: Donned in a Rockford Peaches sweatshirt, Salty is honored in Williamsport. ABOVE RIGHT: Article author Linda Sones with Sarah Jane “Salty” Sands Ferguson in 2025.
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