2. The Beginning
o1942, many minor league baseball teams were being disbanded due to the war
oMr. Wrigley, the chewing gum mogul and owner of the Chicago Cubs, suggested a girls’ softball
league
o1943, the All-American Girls Softball League emerged
oMidway through the 1st season the name was changed to the All-American Girls Baseball
League (AAGBBL) to reflect the fact that women were playing by existing baseball rules; not
softball rules
3. 1stMajor Issue
oWas to establish what game of ball was going to be played and to define the rules
oDecided they would create a game that included both softball and baseball
oIn an effort to liven up the game they spotlighted base running and fielding. In addition the
base paths were extended as was the pitching distance
oMen's base running rules were also incorporated, allowing runners to lead off and steal bases
oSoftball plays with ten (10) players on the field but they wanted to emulate baseball so they
decreased that number to nine (9)
4. 2ndMajor Issue
oThey needed to find talented women to play
oA hockey scout was responsible for finding and signing
Mary “Bonnie” Baker who became an All-Star catcher
for the South Bend Blue Sox
o Some sources state this is who the movie ‘A League of the Own’
was based on and Ms. Baker was portrayed by Geena Davis
o Scouts were sent out to the major cities and hundreds
of women from America and Canada tried out
oOnly 280 were invited to the final try-outs and of
those, 60 were chosen to become the first women to
ever play professional baseball
5. Rules of the League
oThe women who made the teams were obligated to sign a contract which stated they could not
have any other employment during the season
oSalaries were high
o Some of the players were as young as 15 years old and were making more than their parents who had full time jobs
o Salaries were $45 to $85 dollars per week
o Players not only had to be skilled at baseball but they also had to comply with high moral
standards and rules of conduct imposed by the league
oFemininity was also a high priority
o Women were required to attend evening charm school
o Each player received a beauty kit and instructions on how to use it
6. Uniforms
oMrs. Wrigley and several others collaborated
to create the uniforms
oIt was decided that they would resemble a
combination of figure skating, field hockey and
tennis “costumes” which were popular at the
time
oSatin shorts, knee-high baseball socks and a
hat completed the uniform
oEach team had a patch that was symbolic to
their team
7. League Play
oThere were a total of 108 games played in the regular reason
oThe first year went well with 176,612 fans tracked for the 1943 season
oThe league continued to thrive and added 2 additional teams in 1944
oAt the end of WWII the AAGBBL was a complete success and attendance reached 450,313
oAs the men came home from war, and returned to playing baseball, the AAGBBL slowly started
to break down
oWomen’s baseball came to an end in 1954
8. Women in Baseball Today
oWomen playing baseball is not as well received as it was during the war efforts of 1943
oIn the 2012-2013 season there were 476,050 baseball players in high schools across America;
just 1,259 of them were girls
oIn contrast, during the same time period, there were 362,488 girls playing fast pitch softball
(National Federation of State High school Associations)
oI believe the US Women’s Softball Team has shown young girls that the sport of softball is just as
challenging and rewarding as baseball therefore making it an easy choice
o They have won 3 gold medals and 1 silver medal during the summer Olympics
o They have won 9 gold and 4 silver medals in the World Championships
o And play throughout the world on one big traveling team
9. Recent History of a Women in Baseball
oIla Borders was the first female to win a men’s
professional game as part of a 4 year career in
the independent leagues in 1998
oThe world was not ready
o She received death threats
o She was threatened with a knife
o She was beaten
oShe is now a firefighter and paramedic with
the Gilbert Fire Department
10. Current Day Women in Baseball
oFast forward to 2014 and you have a super
star in Mo’ne Davis
oThe world seems to be in love with her
o She is the youngest athlete to appear on the cover of
Sports Illustrated
o She attracted over 34,128 fans to the Lamade Stadium
during the recent Little League World Series
o Has more than 27,000 Twitter followers
o Seventeen other girls have played in the Little
League World series in its 68 year history but
no one has captured the hearts of America like
Mo’ne
11. Why the Change?
oI believe the AAGBL was so successful because the country came together to support the troops
and each other during the war. Every action was done to support the troops and this was an
example of entertaining the families that were home and helping them to cope.
oCountry support has drastically changed as more of society is “all about me.” Instead of
supporting women athletes they feel threatened by their wanting to cross over gender
boundaries. (Ila Borders example)
oSociety has made progress from 1998, as is shown in the support for Mo’ne.
oWomen’s athletics have done a great job of promoting their sport and more young girls are
drawn to their gender specific sport (WNBA, US Women’s Softball).
oOnly time will tell if there will continue to be a cultural change and more women will be
accepted into men dominated sports.
12.
13. References
Cione, Macy, Fiddler and Lesko. Official website of the AAGPBL / League History. 2005-2014.
Web. Aug 24 2014.
N.P. TeamUSA.org / US Softball. N.D. Web. Aug 24 2014.
Fenno, Nathan. (2014) Mo'ne Davis' legacy isn't done with this Little League World Series.
Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-mone-davis-baseball-20140823-
story.html#page=1
