WOMEN & THE GAME OF BASEBALL

One of my favorite movies of all time came out when I was an awkward eight year old. I was a tomboy with a passion for baseball. And while watching the Yankees growing up was great, those men on the field did not reflect me.

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was founded in 1942 and lasted until 1954. It was a group of women put together to keep the baseball tradition going while the baseball players who were old enough were drafted to fight in World War II. In truth, the idea was genius. There were already several women’s softball leagues. Philip Wrigley, owner of the Chicago Cubs, had scouts go out and spread the word. Over six hundred women showed up at Wrigley’s field for tryouts.

It was a hard sell though. I mean, let’s face it, the 1940’s were not famous for women being on equal footing as men. Rosie the Riveter only came up out of necessity. With men off to war, someone had to get the job done. But baseball owners were just not buying this. As a result, they were forced to find locations in non-major cities that were close to each other and to Wrigley’s.

Much to the surprise of most people, the women in the league were actually really good athletes. One of my favorites, Shirley Jameson, who is one of the first four women signed to the league, had a .229 BA, .359 OBP and a .967 fielding percentage. But, this league was really nothing more then a pageant to keep people interested in the game until the men came home. They had the women of the league attend “Charm School” where they learned etiquette, hygiene and the correct way of doing their hair and make-up. They also had to keep their hair long and wear lipstick at all times. The league rule was that they remained visually appealing.

Eventually the war was over and the ball players came home. For a few years, the AAGPBL still did pretty well. But with their teams still being in non-major cities they began to lose audience and started disbanding. In 1954 when the last five teams disbanded, the South Bend Blue Sox was the only team to have witnessed the league in its entirety.
 

“There is no crying in baseball,” is a line made famous by the 1992 film “A League of Their Own.” The movie tells the story of the rise and fall of the league. In 1982 the first league reunion was held. In 1988 the league was inducted into the national baseball hall of fame. Although it failed, I kind of have hope that maybe one day it will be revived. Maybe one-day women will be accepted into the sport. And maybe we will get the chance to see an all girls team take on the Yankees in the Bronx. Hey, a girl can dream can't she?

--Erica Morales, BYB Writer




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