Moment of silence ahead of Tuesday Night’s South Bend Cubs game for final founding member of South Bend Blue Sox

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The South Bend community is paying tribute to a pioneer in women’s sports. Betsy “Sockum” Jochum, the last living founding member of the South Bend Blue Sox, passed away over the weekend at the age of 104.

She was a legend not only in South Bend but across the country, remembered as a key figure in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which inspired the 1992 film A League of Their Own.

Tonight, ahead of the South Bend Cubs game at Four Winds Field, a moment of silence was be held in her honor. Jochum’s legacy will live on through the countless lives she touched as a professional athlete, an educator, and trailblazer in women’s sports.

After her standout baseball career, which ran from 1943 to 1948 and included leading the league in hits, singles, and stolen bases during the 1943 season, she turned down an opportunity to be traded and instead chose to retire in South Bend.

She went on to teach at Muessel Elementary School in South Bend, inspiring new generations to dream big and "play ball like a girl."

Those who knew her through The History Museum describe her as “a pistol”, a woman full of passion, and commitment to preserving the league’s legacy.

Catherine Page-Vanore, the museum’s registrar, shared, “She’s touched so many lives over the course of her teaching career, her playing career, and even in retirement, volunteering in our community and being a part of preserving the league’s history.”

Betsy Jochum is permanently honored in the South Bend Baseball Hall of Fame at Four Winds Field. Her impact reaches beyond South Bend as well with her South Bend Blue Sox uniform is proudly displayed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Services will be held Saturday June 7, 2025 at 2pm (Visitation begins 1pm) at Kaniewski Funeral Home 3545 N. Bendix Drive, South Bend.