Many baseball fans have a fondness for “A League of Their Own”, the classic 1992 story based on the World War II-era women’s professional baseball league (full page ad here as well as stories of some of the lesser known actors in the film).

Recently, Betsy Jochum, the last of the original 60 players of what became known as the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League passed away at age 104 (see obits here and here). Known as “Sockum” Jochum, she was one of the league’s stars, as described in this article on the 25th anniversary of the movie “A League of Their Own”, though her athletic prowess was evident in her younger years in Cincinnati.

The league was formed in February 1943, as major league baseball owners and the country wrestled with what to do with the sport during World War II, with some seeing it as yet another arena in which women were stepping to the forefront. Recruiting of managers — sometimes drawing from Major League Baseball figures — began right away as did the search for players (here and here). For some aspiring players, this was a life-changing opportunity.

Beyond forming teams with players and managers, finding places to play had to happen. In Jochum’s South Bend, they approved use of a local field in the same meeting they voted on purchasing war bonds.

When May 1943 arrived, league play began. Betsy and her team — the South Bend Blue Sox — opened the season with a double header against the Rockford Peaches (see the article continuation and box score for game two). Jochum collected hits in both games.