Betsy Jochum
Betsy Jochum | |
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Cincinnati, Ohio , U.S. | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
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Career highlights and awards | |
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Betsy "Sockum" Jochum (born February 8, 1921) is a former outfielder and pitcher who played from 1943 through 1948 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 7", 140 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.[1]
Overview profile
A native of Cincinnati, Jochum was one of the sixty original founding members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. An ideal leadoff hitter, she was one of the fastest runners in the early years of the league and rarely struck out, fanning only 104 times in 2,401 plate appearances, which combined with a stellar defense and a strong and secure throwing arm. In addition, she was an All-Star, won a batting title, collected 354 stolen bases, and pitched a full season during her six seasons in the league.[1][2]
Brief biography
Philip K. Wrigley decided, in 1942, to start a women's professional baseball league, concerned that the 1943 Major League Baseball season might be canceled because of World War II. Since the only organized ball for women in the country was softball, the league created a hybrid game which included both softball and baseball. Wrigley had scouts all over the United States, Canada and even Cuba signing girls for tryouts. About 500 girls attended the call. Of these, only 280 were invited to the final try-outs in Chicago, where 60 of them were chosen to become the first women to ever play professional baseball. The girls were placed on the rosters of four fifteen-player teams: Kenosha Comets, Racine Belles, Rockford Peaches and South Bend Blue Sox. The first spring training was set for May 17, 1943, at Wrigley Field. Of the six girls from Ohio who went to Chicago, Betsy Jochum and Dorothy Kamenshek were selected for the new league. Jochum was allocated to the Blue Sox and Kamenshek joined the Peaches.[3][4]
Early life
Betsy was the daughter of Frank and Katherine Jochum,
Jochum started playing
After graduating from high school, Jochum attended Cincinnati Business School and learned to operate the
AAGPBL career
In her rookie season, Jochum posted a .273 average and led the league in at-bats (439), hits (120), singles (100), and doubles (12). She also stole 66 bases, scored 70 runs, and led all hitters in the second half of the season with a .295 average.[2][9] She was selected to the All-Star Game, which coincidentally was the first night game played at Wrigley Field, on July 1, 1943.[2][10][11]
Jochum led the circuit in her sophomore year of 1944 by hitting a respectable .296 average, considering the league's dead-ball era. She also posted career-numbers in games (112), runs (72), hits (128) and stolen bases (127), including seven steals in a game on August 2.[1][2]
Jochum dropped to .237 with 40 runs and 25 stolen bases in 1945 but rebounded in 1946 with a .250 average, including 64 runs, 73 stolen bases, 64 runs and a career-high 63
In 1947, the league moved its spring training camp to
In 1948, the league shifted to overhand pitching.
Statistics
Batting
GP | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | BA | OBP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
645 | 2401 | 307 | 591 | 43 | 29 | 7 | 232 | 358 | 177 | 104 | .246 | .301 |
Fielding
PO | A | E | DP | TC | FA
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|
888 | 76 | 48 | 13 | 1012 | .953 |
Pitching
W |
L |
W-L% | ERA | GP | IP | R | ER | BB | SO | SO/BB |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 | 13 | .519 | 1.51 | 29 | 215.0 | 61 | 36 | 58 | 103 | 1.78 |
Life after baseball
Jochum quit the league after the 1948 season, when she was notified that the Peoria Redwings had acquired her in a transaction with the Blue Sox.[14] After her baseball days, Jochum earned bachelor's and master's degrees in physical education from Illinois State University. She taught girls physical education for South Bend Community Schools at Muessel Elementary/Junior High School for 26 years and retired in 1983. After that, she has participated in golf, bowling, and the Run Jane Run Exhibition Games. She also has assisted in gathering and sorting AAGPBL memorabilia for the Northern Indiana Historical Society.[15]
In November 1988, Jochum, along with her former teammates and opponents, received their long overdue recognition, when the
Sources
- ^ a b c d e "Betsy Jochum – Biography". All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Sargent, Jim. "Betsy Jochum". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
- ^ a b c d e "League History". All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
- ^ "ESPN – Reel Life: 'A League of Their Own', by Jeff Merron".
- ISBN 978-0-313-29884-4
- ISBN 0-7864-2100-2
- ^ a b Biographical Dictionary of American Sports
- ^ "Rules of Play". All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
- ^ a b "Baseball Historian – American Heroes".
- ^ a b "The Diamond Angle – An Interview with Betsy Jochum". Archived from the original on 2012-07-17.
- ^ "ESPN – Reel Life: 'A League of Their Own', article by Jeff Merron". Archived from the original on 2016-07-31. Retrieved 2010-04-11.
- ISBN 0-7864-3747-2
- ^ All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book
- ISBN 978-0-7864-1474-1
- ^ "The History Museum Archives". Archived from the original on 2015-02-22. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
- ^ "Ohio Baseball of Fame and Museum" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-08-08. Retrieved 2010-04-11.
- ^ "Smithsonian National Museum of American History – Sports: Breaking Records, Breaking Barriers Exhibition". Archived from the original on 2018-09-14. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
- ISBN 1-60487-014-1
- ^ "Reflections: How A Year Of COVID-19 Affected America". Archived from the original on 2021-03-11. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
External links
- Valade, Jodie (2018-05-30). "Betsy Jochum Diamond girls: 75 years ago AAGBL broke sport barriers for women". Arizona State University. GlobalSportMatters. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
- Butler, Alex (2018-06-05). "Real-life 'A League of Their Own' players celebrate 75th anniversary". UPI. Retrieved 2019-05-29.