While America Went to War, South Bend Played Ball

The women of the South Bend Blue Sox took the field during World War II and gave the city a team worth remembering.

In 1943, nobody knew how much longer the war would last.

Families were waiting on letters. Gasoline and tires were rationed. Going to a baseball game meant finding a few hours to think about something besides what might happen next.

That summer, South Bend had a new team to watch.

The Blue Sox were one of four original teams in what became known as the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. Players were recruited from across North America, and some landed right here in South Bend, playing their home games at Bendix Field. The league gave people family entertainment during the war and gave talented women a chance to get paid to play ball.

Betty Luna, Nalda Bird and Charlotte Armstrong at Bendix Field, 1945. Source: Elizabeth Mahon Papers, Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections, Winthrop University.

Imagine being a kid here that summer. The adults are talking about the war, there’s worry in the house, and then somebody takes you to a game. For a couple of hours, the thing you care about most is whether South Bend can get the next batter out.

It’s easy to understand why people kept coming back.

South Bend showed up

The Blue Sox drew nearly 42,000 admissions during their first season. By 1945, that number was around 49,000. Getting to Bendix Field wasn’t especially convenient, and wartime travel restrictions didn’t help. People came anyway.

There was something worth watching.

Betsy Jochum was part of that original South Bend team. So was Dottie Schroeder, a young shortstop who would eventually become the only player to compete in all twelve seasons of the league. These were the beginnings of careers that would outlast the war.

Of course, the opportunity came with conditions.

The league expected its players to meet standards of femininity along with the demands of professional baseball. Their appearance was part of the job. They had to satisfy the people running the league while doing the work that actually brought fans through the gates.

There’s a lot to admire in that. Leaving home to play professionally was a big enough step. Having someone judge how you looked while you did it added another thing to deal with.

The war ended. The Blue Sox kept playing.

The team moved to Playland Park in 1946.

If you know the IU South Bend student housing near Ironwood, you know the area where the park once stood. A historical marker near the old site recognizes the women who played there.

Playland Park in 1946, the year the Blue Sox moved into their new home. Source: Jean Faut Papers, Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections, Winthrop University.

For the Blue Sox, the move made a difference. Playland offered better access, more seating and improved facilities. With the war over and travel restrictions easing, recorded regular season attendance jumped to more than 112,000 in their first year at the new park.

The team that started during wartime had become part of summer in South Bend.

That same year, a player named Jean Faut arrived.

She came from Pennsylvania and was assigned to the Blue Sox after trying out for the league. Over eight seasons in South Bend, she put together a pitching career that deserves a lot more attention than it gets. She finished with 140 wins and a career earned run average of 1.23.

Jean Faut at Playland Park in May 1946. Source: Jean Faut Papers, Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections, Winthrop University.

If you were going to spend an evening at Playland, seeing Faut pitch was a pretty good reason to pick that night.

Twenty seven up. Twenty seven down.

On July 21, 1951, Faut threw a perfect game against the Rockford Peaches.

Nobody reached base. She struck out 11, and only two balls left the infield. Rockford had some of the best hitters in the league, and that day they couldn’t get anything going against her.

Later that season, South Bend and Rockford met again for the championship.

The Blue Sox lost the first two games. In a series that could last only five, they had used up every chance to lose.

Faut pitched Game 3 and kept them alive with a 3 to 2 win. South Bend won the next game, too. After all that, the championship would come down to one game at Playland Park.

Rockford scored in the first inning. South Bend answered with five runs.

Betty Wagoner collected four hits that night. The Blue Sox finished with 13. Faut started at third base, then came in to pitch and earned the victory.

South Bend won 10 to 2. The Blue Sox were champions.

They won the playoff championship again in 1952. By then, nearly a decade had passed since that first wartime summer at Bendix Field.

A piece of town worth knowing

The Blue Sox played through 1954, the league’s final season. South Bend had been there for all twelve years.

Today, The History Museum here in town holds the league’s official archives. Photographs, uniforms and other memorabilia help put faces to a story that can otherwise feel a long way off.

And it is a long way off. Most of us never saw Playland Park. We never bought a ticket to watch Jean Faut pitch or heard the crowd when South Bend finished off Rockford.

But somebody in your family might have.

Maybe they went as a kid during the war. Maybe they took a date after it ended. Maybe they were in the stands for that championship in 1951 and talked about it all the way home.

That’s what makes the Blue Sox worth remembering here. Their story happened in places we still pass, in a city our families helped build, during years that changed just about everything.

For twelve summers, South Bend had the Blue Sox.

They gave people plenty to talk about.

Wear a little South Bend history

Our Blue Sox collection is a nod to the women who took the field here, from that first season at Bendix Field to the championship years at Playland.

Shop the South Bend Blue Sox Tee

Shop the South Bend Blue Sox 1943 Shirt

Shop the 1943 South Bend Baseball Hat

Does your family have a Blue Sox story? Send your memories, old photographs or tickets from Playland Park to theirishecho@gmail.com. We’d love to hear it.

Sources and further reading

Indiana Historical Bureau: South Bend Blue Sox
AAGPBL Players Association: South Bend Blue Sox
Society for American Baseball Research: Jean Faut