Betty Shellenberger (August 8, 1921 – December 30, 2019), sometimes known as "Shelly Shellenberger", was an American

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

and

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

player, coach, and official. She played on the U.S. women's national field hockey team from 1939 to 1941, 1946 to 1955, and in 1960. She was also a member of the USA national lacrosse team from 1940 to 1961. She was in the first class of inductees into the U.S. Field Hockey Association Hall of Fame.

Early years

Shellenberger was born in 1921 and began playing field hockey at age nine.

Constance Applebee Constance Mary Katherine Applebee (June 4, 1873, Chigwell, Essex, United Kingdom – January 26, 1981) is best known for introducing Field hockey in the United States. She was a co-founder of the American Field Hockey Association and served a ...

was one of her coaches. Shellenberger attended

The Agnes Irwin School The Agnes Irwin School is a non-sectarian college preparatory day school for girls from pre-kindergarten through grade 12. It was founded in 1869 by Agnes Irwin in Philadelphia. Irwin, a great-great-granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin, later beca ...

Field hockey and military career

She was a member of the U.S. national field hockey team from 1939 to 1941, 1946 to 1955, and in 1960. She was also a member of the USA national lacrosse team from 1940 to 1961. She served in the United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was stationed at

Marine Corps Air Station El Toro Marine Corps Air Station El Toro was a United States Marine Corps Air Station located next to the community of El Toro, near Irvine, California. Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the home of Marine Corps Aviation on the West Coast ...

in California where she was an aviation mechanic. Shellenberger was also a coach at

Chestnut Hill College Chestnut Hill College is a private Catholic college in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The college was founded in 1924 as a women's college by the Sisters of St. Joseph. It was originally named Mount Saint Joseph College ...

, serving as head coach of the field hockey program from 1964 to 1977, the lacrosse program from 1965 to 1977, and the badminton program from 1950 to 1956, 1960 to 1961, and 1964 to 1977. After her playing career, she served as an umpire in both national and international games. The USA Field Hockey Association established the Shellenberger Umpiring Award in her honor. She was also an administrator with USA Field Hockey, serving as first executive secretary from 1955 to 1978.

Honors and later years

In 1988, she was one of the charter inductees into the

USA Field Hockey Hall of Fame The USA Field Hockey Hall of Fame honors the achievements of sportsperson, athletes and/or Coach (sports), coaches of USA field hockey teams. The permanent home of USA Field Hockey's hall of fame is located at Ursinus College#Athletics, Ursinus Coll ...

. She was also inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1986, the

National Lacrosse Hall of Fame The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum, is located in Sparks, Maryland at the USA Lacrosse headquarters. Prior to moving to its present location in 2016, the hall of fame and museum was located in Baltimore, Maryland, on the Homewood campu ...

in 1994, and the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2009 for lacrosse. In 1987, she was named a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania. She died in 2019 at age 98.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shellenberger, Betty 1921 births 2019 deaths American female field hockey players Marine Corps Women's Reserve personnel 20th-century American women 21st-century American women American women referees and umpires