Betty Jane Cornett

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Betty Jane Cornett
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Died: March 18, 2006(2006-03-18) (aged 73)
Reserve, Pennsylvania
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Teams
Career highlights and awards
  • Women in Baseball – AAGPBL Permanent Display
    at Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (1988)

Betty Jane Cornett (November 24, 1932 – March 18, 2006) was an infielder and pitcher who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 5", 125 lb., she batted and threw right handed.[1][2]

Born in

née Bentz) Cornett. She attended St. Ambrose, St. Mary's, Latimer and Allegheny high schools. In her spare time, she went to Cowley Recreation Center on Troy Hill enjoying basketball, softball, swimming and ice skating. As a teenager, she was a member of the Pittsburgh Rockets basketball team, even though her favorite pastime was playing softball. She joined the league in 1950 with the Rockford Peaches.[3]

After spring training camp, Rockford decided that Cornett was not ready for the league and sent her to the Springfield Sallies rookie touring team to acquire more experience. In 1951 she was promoted to the Kalamazoo Lassies and was dealt to the Battle Creek Belles before the 1952 season.[4][5][6][7]

Originally an infielder, the Belles turned her into a pitcher for a couple of games with little success, as she posted an 11.26

third base job, but she hit a paltry .147 average in 47 games and Battle Creek did not offer her a contract the next season.[1][4]

″Curly″, as her teammates called her for her drooping hair, still wanted to play, so she had to wait five years to regain her amateur status again. Then she played successfully in Northwest Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania softball leagues until 1970.[4]

Cornett also worked for

Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, New York, which was inaugurated in November 1988.[4]

In addition, a photograph of Cornett in her wheelchair is featured at the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum next to an enlarged copy of her AAGPBL baseball card, while a second-floor display still holds her baseball glove, cap and spikes.[1][8]

Betty Jane Cornett died in 2006 in Reserve, Pennsylvania at the age of 73, following complications from pulmonary disease.[8]

Career statistics

Batting

GP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB TB BB SO BA OBP
SLG
47 114 10 15 2 0 0 6 7 17 BB=18 30 .132 .250 .149

Pitching

GP W L W-L% ERA IP H RA ER BB SO HBP WP WHIP
2 0 1 .000 11.26 8 12 15 10 12 4 3 0 3.00

Fielding

GP
PO
 A E TC DP FA
39 32 78 18 128 2 .859

[1][4]

Sources

  1. ^ a b c d "All-American Girls Professional Baseball League – Betty Jane Cornett". Retrieved 2019-03-28.
  2. OCLC 60387152
  3. ^ 1950 Rockford Peaches. Retrieved 2019-03-28.
  4. ^
    OCLC 60387152
  5. ^ 1950 Springfield Sallies. Retrieved 2019-03-28.
  6. ^ 1951 Kalamazoo Lassies. Retrieved 2019-03-28.
  7. ^ 1952 Battle Creek Belles. Retrieved 2019-03-28.
  8. ^ a b Harlan, Chico (March 24, 2006). "Obituary: Betty Jane Cornett / Played for women's baseball league featured in movie". Retrieved 2019-03-28.
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