As a first baseman for Sulky Inn, Beth performed flawlessly for many years and was named by the Sun-Standard Newspaper as one of the best “first-sackers” in the league who is “wiry and can dig’em out of the dirt with the best of them. As a batter, she was known for her timely hitting and ability to advance the runner when needed.
Beth retired from the game she loved in 2000, but Beth remembers all the great friends that she and her family have made during her years of playing softball.
She just retired as a business analyst in downtown Chicago after 44 years. She and her husband, Al, live in Brookfield, Illinois. They have two sons, Stephan (Lindsey) and Kurt. They also have two beautiful granddaughters, Amelie & Audrey!
Beth Porzelt’s softball career began in the early 1970s in Crestwood when she convinced her father, Joe Schultz, to start a girls’ league that included the surrounding townships of Alsip, Hickory Hills, Oak Forest, and Oak Lawn. Beth played for the Devils, a team that dominated the league for many seasons and earned Beth many MVP awards. She played for the Devils, and her father until she was eighteen when Colleen Logan and other girls Beth met at Eisenhower High School in Blue Island recruited her to play for their team.
While at Eisenhower, Beth played softball and volleyball and was an integral part of the Eisenhower Cardinals conference champion softball team her senior year.
Beth started her women’s softball career with Ray’s Pizza. In her first season, Ray’s won first place against a dominant Pet’s team at Hart Park. They continued their winning streak by capturing the first Windy City Championship and several other championships in the Ethel Stevens Tournament at Hanson Park. Eventually, Ray’s Pizza became the Sulky Inn Favorites, a legendary team considered to be one of the top teams at the time, and went on to win numerous league and tournament championships.