As a woman and an historian, I wish you all a wonderful Women’s History Month. Really, every woman can find some piece of history that’s intriguing. From 5000 BCE Egypt to 2019 Indonesia. From oral to pre-columbian, social to economic, local to diplomatic, and on an on, there’s a little bit of history for all of us.

So in honor of Women’s History Month, and the fact that today is the first warm day in months, let’s take a look at women and baseball. The first information we have about girls playing baseball was at Vassar College in 1866. Called the “Bloomer Girls,” they were barnstorming around the east coast. We also know that there was a girls baseball teem in Colorage in 1910.

But the first serious league we know of is the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League that played between 1943 and 1954. At the beginning of World War II, many members of different teams were drafted, or volunteered. Men like Hank Greenberg, Yogi Berra, Jackie Robinson, Bob Feller, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Warren Spahn, Joe DiMaggio, and Ted Williams to list just a few. During the war, a huge number of Americans were involved in war work, but now and then people needed to take a break, and what would be better to take your mind off work than a baseball game?

Philip Wrigley, owner of the chewing gum empire as well as the Chicago Cubs, discussed the possibility of a girls league with Branch Ricky and Paul Harper. They agreed, and some owners also got involved. Initially 200 women, many of whom had played softball in school, tried out at Wrigley Stadium. They were looking for women who could play well while also being “wholesome” girls. Sixty women initially joined the league. During spring training, they would practice during the day, but in the evening they had to attend Helena Rubinstein’s charm school where they took classes in etiquette and manners. They also learned the league’s dress code –no short hair, no smoking or drinking in public, and wearing lipstick at all times. Clearly that was much stricter than that required of the men!

Over 600 women played baseball during the nine years the league was in business. Initially they received $45-$85 a week–noticeably less than men received, though by the last season they received $125 a week. The league traveled throughout the Midwest, and particularly during the war years, the teams received a lot of publicity, both in local newspapers and in national publications like Time, Life, and Newsweek.

One of the fun ways to lear about AAGPBL is in the movie–A League of Their Own (1992). Quite historically accurate, it was directed by Penny Marshall with actors including Geena Davis, Tom Hanks and Madonna. A great film that’s preserved in the National Film Registry. Enjoy!

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