Betty Jane Cornett

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

Third base / Pitcher

Born: November 24, 1932
Spring Hill, Pennsylvania

Died: March 18, 2006 (aged 73)
Reserve, Pennsylvania

Batted: Right

Threw: Right

Teams

Career highlights and awards

Women in Baseball – AAGPBL Permanent Display
at Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (1988)

Betty Jane Cornett (November 24, 1932 – March 18, 2006) was an infielder and pitcher who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 5", 125 lb., she batted and threw right handed.

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Betty Jane Cornett was the youngest of 11 children of Francis T. and Stella (née Bentz) Cornett. She attended St. Ambrose, St. Mary's, Latimer and Allegheny high schools. In her spare time, she went to Cowley Recreation Center on Troy Hill enjoying basketball, softball, swimming and ice skating. As a teenager, she was a member of the Pittsburgh Rockets basketball team, even though her favorite pastime was playing softball. She joined the league in 1950 with the Rockford Peaches.

After spring training camp, Rockford decided that Cornett was not ready for the league and sent her to the Springfield Sallies rookie touring team to acquire more experience. In 1951 she was promoted to the Kalamazoo Lassies and was dealt to the Battle Creek Belles before the 1952 season.

Originally an infielder, the Belles turned her into a pitcher for a couple of games with little success, as she posted an 11.26 earned run average in eight innings of work. She was best suited for the third base job, but she hit a paltry .147 average in 47 games and Battle Creek did not offer her a contract the next season.

″Curly″, as her teammates called her for her drooping hair, still wanted to play, so she had to wait five years to regain her amateur status again. Then she played successfully in Northwest Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania softball leagues until 1970.

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Wikipedia