*HC1038*
Introduced Version
HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION No. ____
DIGEST OF INTRODUCED RESOLUTION
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION congratulating
All-American Girls Professional Baseball pioneer Betsy
Jochum on her 100th birthday.
Bauer M, Dvorak, Teshka, DeVon
_______________________, read first time and referred to Committee on
20212682
2021 HC 1038/DI 133
 Introduced
First Regular Session of the 122nd General Assembly (2021)
HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION No. ____
1 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION congratulating
2 All-American Girls Professional Baseball pioneer Betsy
3 Jochum on her 100th birthday.
4 Whereas, Betsy Jochum celebrated her 100th birthday on
5 February 8, 2021;
6 Whereas, Betsy is a longtime Hoosier, educator, and baseball
7 pioneer as an inaugural member of the All-American Girls
8 Professional Baseball League;
9 Whereas, Betsy was born in 1921 in Cincinnati, Ohio, to
10 Frank and Katherine Jochum, Hungarian immigrants who
11 landed at Ellis Island in 1917;
12 Whereas, Betsy enjoyed athletics from a young age and
13 attended Hughes High School in Cincinnati, where she played
14 sports available to girls at the time, including after-school
15 intramural basketball and softball;
16 Whereas, Betsy grew up in a sports-oriented family and
17 played "everything and anything", including fast-pitch softball
18 in leagues where she could find them, into adulthood;
19 Whereas, In 1943 Betsy's life changed forever after she read
20 a newspaper notice from Philip K. Wrigley, owner of the
21 Chicago Cubs, seeking young women to try out for a women's
22 professional baseball league;
23 Whereas, Betsy seized the opportunity, rode a train to
24 Chicago, and went to tryouts at Wrigley Field where she and
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1 other applicants became the first women allowed on the field;
2 Whereas, Betsy became an inaugural member of the
3 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, playing for
4 the Blue Sox out of South Bend, Indiana;
5 Whereas, Betsy played with the Blue Sox for her entire career,
6 from 1943 through 1948;
7 Whereas, Betsy earned $50 a week plus expenses with the
8 Blue Sox, and she played left field and center field, and was
9 known as a dedicated team player;
10 Whereas, Betsy quickly became a fan-favorite as Betsy
11 "Sockum" Jochum as an outfielder, pitcher, and a star hitter;
12 Whereas, Betsy participated in the first All-Star game played
13 under temporary lights at Wrigley Field on July 1, 1943, which
14 was part of a recruitment rally for the Women's Army Auxiliary
15 Corps, the women's branch of the United States Army;
16 Whereas, Betsy held a batting average of .296 and won the
17 league batting crown during the 1944 season with most hits
18 (128) and most singles (120). She struck out only four out of her
19 2,401 times at bat in her career;
20 Whereas, Betsy led the league on August 2, 1944, with most
21 stolen bases in one game seven, and with a total of 127 in 1944.
22 She totaled 358 stolen bases in her career, averaging 60 per
23 year;
24 Whereas, Betsy became pitcher after the league switched to
25 overhand pitching on May 29, 1948, and "gave up two singles,
26 struck out five, walked none, and allowed only four runners on
27 base", winning the first game 6-0. She pitched the Blue Sox to
28 14 of 57 victories;
29 Whereas, Betsy learned of a trade to the Peoria Redwings in
30 1948 and chose to quit the team to start a life in South Bend,
31 where she began work full-time at Bendix Home Appliances;
32 Whereas, Betsy went on to earn her bachelor of arts degree
33 in education from Illinois State University and continued her
34 love of sports and athletics with 26 years teaching for the South
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1 Bend Community School Corporation. She retired from
2 Muessel Elementary School in 1983;
3 Whereas, Betsy contributed greatly in her community as an
4 educator and an athlete;
5 Whereas, Betsy was inducted to the South Bend Community
6 Hall of Fame in 2018 and the Ohio Baseball Hall of Fame and
7 Museum in 1999, and her South Bend Blue Sox uniform is a
8 part of the Smithsonian Institution collection; and
9 Whereas, Betsy Jochum remains a South Bend resident and
10 is an inspiration for athletes across Indiana with her advice to
11 "follow your dreams, never give up, and keep trying":
12 Therefore,
13 Be it resolved by the House of Representatives
14 of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana,
15 the Senate concurring:
16 SECTION 1. That the Indiana General Assembly
17 congratulates centenarian Betsy Jochum on her 100th birthday,
18 celebrated February 8, 2021.
19 SECTION 2. That the Indiana General Assembly recognizes
20 Betsy Jochum for her contributions as a baseball pioneer and
21 member of the American Girls Baseball League.
22 SECTION 3. That the Principal Clerk of the House of
23 Representatives shall transmit copies of this resolution to the
24 office of State Representative Maureen Bauer for distribution.
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