| South Bend Blue Sox | |||||
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| Minor league affiliations | |||||
Previous leagues | All-American Girls Professional Baseball League | ||||
| Minor league titles | |||||
| League titles | 2 1951, 1952 | ||||
| Team data | |||||
| Colors | Blue, white | ||||
Previous parks | Bendix Field (1943–1945) Playland Park (1946–1954) | ||||
Owner(s)/ Operator(s) | AAGPBL | ||||
TheSouth Bend Blue Sox was a women's professional baseball team who played from1943 through1954 in theAll-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A founding member, the team representedSouth Bend, Indiana, and played their home games atBendix Field (1943–1945) andPlayland Park (1946–1954).
The Blue Sox were one of two teams to play in every AAGPBL season without relocating, the other being theRockford Peaches. Often asecond-division team, they appeared in six playoff series and won two league titles.
In the1943 inaugural season, The Blue Sox finished in third place with a 51–40 mark, only .001 percentage point behind second placeKenosha Comets. Together,pitchersMargaret Berger andDoris Barr threw 79 of the 91 games played by the Sox. Berger was credited with 25 wins and Barr with 15, while Berger posted her greatest triumph in a 13–inning match, which she won 1–0.
The next three years, South Bend finished 64–55 (1944), 49–60 (1945), 70–42 (1946), 57–54 (1947) and 57–59 (1948). After falling in their playoff intents, in the1949 season the team posted the best record in with a 75–36 mark. That year they were swept in the playoffs, 4–to–0, by Rockford, after getting a first-round bye along with them. The South Bend club went on to win their next four playoffs in claiming back-to-back championship titles in1951 and1952. After that, the Blue Sox finished in last place both in the 1953 and 1954 seasons.
Apart from the aforementioned Barr and Berger, the South Bend included talented players asMary Baker (C),Jean Faut (P)Betsy Jochum (OF/1B),Elizabeth Mahon (OF),Betty Whiting (IF), andDottie Schroeder (SS), who played with four teams to become the only girl to play through the 12 years of existence of the circuit.
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