NEW BOOK RELEASE:
The South Bend Blue Sox:
Jim Sargent and Bob Gorman have written a team history of the South Bend Blue Sox covering the years 1943 through 1954. Immortalized by the 1992 movie A League of Their Own, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was created in 1943 as a way to fill ballpark seats in case Major League Baseball had to suspend operations during World War II. Using the All-American League’s unique rules, the game on the field evolved over the years from modified fast-pitch softball during the war years to sidearm pitching in 1946 and 1947 to overhand hurling in 1948. The league also gradually increased the field’s dimensions to match the incremental decreases in the size of the ball, notably from 11.5 inches in circumference in 1944 to 10 inches in 1949 to a regulation 9.25-inch baseball in mid-1954, thus allowing the players to hit the ball harder and longer. From the inaugural season until the final days, fans expecting to see a watered-down version of the national pastime were in for a pleasant surprise. The women proved as tough and competitive as their male counterparts, giving an all-out effort on the diamond, running the bases with abandon, often sliding fearlessly, and diving in the field for catches, all the while wearing short-skirted uniforms. This book details the history of South Bend’s team as well as the AAGPBL as seen through the experiences of the Blue Sox -- one of two teams to play in all twelve seasons. In retrospect, the All-Americans never saw themselves as revolutionaries, but the historic league gave these attractive and talented heroines the chance to live their baseball dreams, and years afterward, remembering those glorious experiences evoked timeless moments of cherished camaraderie and fleeting fame.
Three former All-Americans contributed Forewords to The South Bend Blue Sox: Betsy Jochum (Blue Sox, 1943-1948), Jean Faut (Blue Sox, 1946-1953), and Sue Kidd, (Colleens, rookie tour, 1949; Blue Sox 1950-1954).
Jim has been writing about players and the AAGPBL since 1995 . “My first interview was with Jean Faut. The article appeared in print in Oldtyme Baseball News in 1996, fifteen years ago.” Jim stated. He then joined our Association as an Associate member in 1997 and attended the reunion that year in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and was the guest speaker.
Over the years Jim has written published articles on Jean Faut, Betsy Jochum, Beans Risinger, June Peppas, Lib Mahon, Doris Sams, Dorothy Schroeder, and Sophie Kurys. All of these can be found in our articles section. He has written other articles about Fram Janssen, Edie Perlick, Vivian Kellogg, and Dottie Wiltse as well.
Jim has been a devoted member and supporter of our Association for the past 15 years and has been an active advisor and contributor to our Facebook presence on the Web. He has also been an invaluable resource working with the Helen Nordquist on the website player profiles and teams sections by providing documented information and taking the time to check our site for accuracies and share his research.findings.
Jim has not only been a valuable supporter of our Association but a loving friend to many of us. He never misses sending a Happy Holiday message or a Special Hello when he has good news to share.
We thank you, Jim for being there for us in many different ways and wish you great success with your new release and we will all be looking forward to your next book.
Biographies and Additional Information:
Jim Sargent, a professor of American History at Virginia Western Community College since 1977, retired in 2010 as Dean of the college’s Social Science Division. Before that, he taught on the college/university level for 34 years, including 27 years at VWCC. Jim, a longtime member of SABR who has published more than one hundred baseball articles in various publications and for Internet sites such as SABR’s Bio-Project, lives in Roanoke, Virginia.
Robert M. Gorman is head of the reference department at Winthrop University’s Dacus Library. He received the 2009 Sporting News-SABR Baseball Research Award for his book Death at the Ballpark. Bob, a frequent contributor to Nine: A Journal of Baseball History & Culture, lives in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
McFarland’s web site:
Sargent, Jim, and Gorman, Robert M. The South Bend Blue Sox: A History of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Team and Its Players, 1943-1954. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2012.
Posted on Friday, December 9, 2011
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