#59.5 – The History of Women’s Baseball

If it weren’t for World War II, the history of women’s baseball may have never […]

If it weren’t for World War II, the history of women’s baseball may have never been written. When the United States entered into the war, over 3,000 minor league MLB players went off to war to fight for our country. Roughly 500 players from the big show went as well, but the absence of the minor league teams that disbanded during the war left an opportunity for women to get on the field.

Philip K. Wrigley, owner of the Cubs, Wrigley field and the chewing gum king, saw the empty stadiums and had an idea. Some say he was inspired by Rosie the Riveter posters and got a plan set in motion to form a women’s baseball league. Initially not too many other owners were keen on the idea and no MLB team would host the womens teams, so Wrigley looked to the minor league stadiums that were vacant. At the start of what would become the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, there were four teams, the Racine Belles and Kenosha Comets in Wisconsin, the Rockford Peaches of Illinois and the South Bend Blue Sox of Indiana. The Peaches would experience the most success in the 12 years of the league, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

To say that the league wasn’t created in the spirit of making money would be a lie, but it wasn’t the only reason the league was formed. With the increase in manufacturing of wartime goods, people needed some form of recreation. Something normal to keep their minds off of the war and a place to go and just relax. The AAGPBL (All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, yes “Girls”, don’t write me hate mail) offered that chance at normality and relaxation, after all it was just baseball, the national past time. Of course, it helped that the president was urging Kenesaw Mountain Landis (the commissioner of baseball) to continue the game.

“Baseball provides a recreation which does not last over two hours or two hours and a half, and which can be got for very little cost. And, incidentally, I hope that night games can be extended because it gives an opportunity to the day shift to see a game occasionally.” – President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

In the initial tryouts, over 250 women showed up from all over the US and Canada and got whittled down to 64. These 64 would make up the first four teams in what would become a twelve-team league. Players were paid $40 – $85 a week plus expenses, a paycheck that was overall higher than what players would have made working in factories at the time. With the decent wages, this sport not only became a game for women that were thrilled to be given the chance to play on a big stage, it became a way of life.

The first season saw decent success and teams played 108 games, starting in May and ending in September. This meant teams were playing a lot of games per week and sometimes two on Sundays. The league would last 12 years and officially closed its doors in 1954. All in all, over 550 women played in the league and many of their names can be found hanging in the women’s baseball section of Cooperstown.

Femininity was a large part of promoting the league for Wrigley and a strict set of rules were put in place to keep the public image of players held in the highest regards. The rules included not fraternizing with opposing teams to keep a sense of rivalry, chaperones were put in place to ensure players were staying out of trouble and even certain rules about makeup that should be worn in public. Wrigley even had women attend charm school to Of course there were players that broke from the strict guidelines, but overall many of the women interviewed from the AAGPBL have said it was the way they needed to behave at the time to be respected as baseball players. The uniforms were a bit bizarre and ended up being painful to anyone that slid. Rules changed from year to year going from underhand and close to the plate to overhand and further away (similar to standard baseball rules).

Will we ever see women playing in the MLB? We’ve already seen Stacy Piagno (25) and Kelsie Whitmore (17) enter the scene this year for the Sonoma Stompers, an Independent League team in the Pacific Association. It’s my hope and thought that we’re not too far off from seeing women start to break into the majors. If the skill is there, gender should not matter. Old school managers may not have the same mindset, but hey, if unorthodox Tim Tebow can get a shot with a team, why not women. To see some of the top players from around women’s baseball check out the Women’s Baseball World Cup, which is wrapping up this week.

Here’s some video from (possibly) the Racine Belles:

Also, I generally don’t like linking out to Buzzfeed because this isn’t an “I BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW THESE 10 THINGS WERE ACTUALLY KILLING YOU” post, but here’s a nice collection of AAGPBL pictures and descriptions that will give you a good idea of what the league was like.