NBC’s ‘Today’ Pays Homage to Indiana’s Real-Life ‘League of Their Own’ Star
One of the last remaining players from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) has passed away at age 104.
The league was highlighted in the 1992 Hollywood film A League of Their Own which also spawned a spin-off series of the same name on Amazon Prime in 2022.
Betsy "Sockum" Jochum
Sadly, today less than 30 women from the AAGPBL remain. If you missed it, over the weekend NBC's Today paid tribute to Betsy "Sockum" Jochum who played for the South Bend Blue Sox from 1943 to 1948.
Jochum was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1921 and according to an interview with GVSU she was playing in a women's softball league when she was scouted for the AAGPBL-- just like the girls in the movie!
She started and played all six years of her professional baseball career with the South Bend Blue Sox. Betsy was a strong player, consistant [sic] in the outfield, and she had a strong bat at the plate. She won the League batting crown in 1948, and her lifetime batting average was .246. -AAGPBL
After her time in the league Jochum stuck around the South Bend area where she later became a physical education teacher. Jochum continued to give interviews and make appearances at AAGPBL reunions and events where she continued to inspire women of all ages. According to NBC's Today Jochum passed away at home in South Bend on May 31, 2025.
About the League
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was founded by chewing gum magnate Phillip K. Wrigley as a way to keep professional baseball in the public eye while men were overseas fighting in World War II. As the league's website explains,
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League gave over 600 women athletes the opportunity to play professional baseball and to play it at a level never before attained. The League operated from 1943 to 1954 and represents one of the most unique aspects of our nation's baseball history.