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The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League 1943-1954 Players for the 1944 South Bend Blue Sox From 1875-1934, “Bloomer Girls” played men’s minor league teams around the country. After this stopped, many women played on semi-professional softball teams, but no

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The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

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  1. The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League 1943-1954 Players for the 1944 South Bend Blue Sox

  2. From 1875-1934, “Bloomer Girls” played men’s minor league teams around the country. After this stopped, many women played on semi-professional softball teams, but no women played baseball.

  3. After Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt wrote the “Green Light Letter” to Kenesaw Landis, the Commissioner of Baseball, saying that Major League Baseball should continue for the good of the country. People still worried that the league would have to suspend play.

  4. When America entered World War II, women across the country pitched in to help with the war effort. Women “pitching in?” Hhhmmm...

  5. Philip K. Wrigley, owner of the Chicago Cubs, had an idea. Female softball players would form a professional league. He enlisted the help of several major league owners including Branch Rickey, to be trustees. He also hired former MLB players such as Jimmy Foxx to manage. Philip K. Wrigley Jimmy Foxx Branch Rickey

  6. Wrigley sent scouts around to softball teams. In May of 1943, 280 women were invited to Wrigley Field to compete for 64 spots on four teams. The women came from 26 states and five Canadian provinces. In the spring of 1943, the All-American Girls Softball League was formed. The first four players signed were Clara Schilace, Ann Harnett, Edie Perlick and Shirley Jamerson (sitting).

  7. Play ball!!!! The original four teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (Wrigley changed the name halfway through the first season) were...

  8. The Kenosha Comets

  9. The Racine Belles

  10. The Rockford Peaches

  11. The South Bend Blue Sox

  12. The other teams in the League: The Muskegon Lassies (1946-1950) moved to Kalamazoo (1950-1954). The Milwaukee Chicks (1944) moved to Grand Rapids (1945-1954) The Chicago Colleens and the Springfield Sallies lasted only a year: 1948. The Fort Wayne Daisies 1945-1954 The Battle Creek Belles 1951-1952 The Peoria Red Wings: 1946-1951

  13. Because many girls were very young, each team had a female chaperone. More than two-thirds of the players were between the ages of 17 and 22. Uniforms were very feminine and unpractical. Players wore belted dresses with satin briefs underneath, along with high socks.

  14. Wrigley was adamant that the players act like ladies at all times. For the first several years of the league, the players attended charm school at night. At left is an AAGPBL guide on how to dress, act and apply make-up properly.

  15. The League was a big hit. Due to gas rationing, folks couldn’t travel, and the games gave them hometown entertainment. Often the teams played at military bases and veterans’ hospitals. During World War Two, the teams would form a “V” for “Victory” during the anthem. Fun fact: Thanks to portable lights, the first night game ever played at Wrigley Field was on July 1, 1943 at an AAGPBL All-Star game!!

  16. The fact that the players were really good was the biggest draw. These ladies could play! The rules changed as the league grew, and by 1954, they were almost exactly like those of Major League Baseball. Faye Dancer sliding into third base

  17. The players worked hard: daily games, two on Sundays, traveling often. During rationing, they went by train, switching to buses after the War. Most players were paid well for the times; starting weekly salaries ranged from $40 - $85, with some making $125. Player treated for a strawberry suffered while sliding into a base. Players had the same worries as other American women; one night, Mickey Maguire played minutes after learning her husband had been killed in action.

  18. Jean Faut After debuting at 15, Dottie Schroeder was the only player to play all 12 years in the League. Joanne Weaver

  19. On April 7, 1945, Annabelle “Lefty” Lee, throwing a knuckleball, became the first player to throw a no-hitter in the League.

  20. Sophie Kurys, “The Flint Flash,” was a star player for the Racine Belles. In 1946, she played so well that she was featured on the back cover of the 1947 Major League Baseball Yearbook; Stan Musial was on the front cover. Her most amazing accomplishment? In 1946 alone, she stole 201 bases out of 203 tries. That record is unequaled to this day, even allowing for distance discrepancy. AND she did it in a skirt!

  21. Dottie Kamenshek was an incredible first baseman, the best all-around player in the League, and a seven-time All-Star. Connie Wisniewski, the League’s first Player of the Year.

  22. Connie Mack in the Kenosha Comets’ dugout. After seeing Dottie Schroeder in action at shortstop, he said, “If that girl were a man, she’d be worth $50,000 to me.”

  23. 1946 playoff trophy won by The Racine Belles Cartoon poster featuring Faye Dancer

  24. After years of declining attendance, The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League folded in 1954. Among the contributions to its demise were the growth of television, other ways of spending free time, and regressive views of women’s roles in society.

  25. In 1988, the women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League were finally recognized at the opening of a permanent exhibition at Cooperstown. Museums around the country honor the players as well.

  26. Letter written by former President Ford to Vivian Kellogg, who played for the Fort Wayne Daisies.

  27. Victory Song co-written by LaVonne Paire-Davis and Nalda Phillips Batter up! Hear that call! The time has come for one and all To play ball. For we’re the members of the All-American League, We come from cities near and far. We've got Canadians, Irishmen and Swedes, We're all for one, we’re one for all, We're All-American. Each girl stands, her head so proudly high, Her motto Do or Die. She’s not the one to use or need an alibi. Our chaperones are not too soft, They’re not too tough, Our managers are on the ball. We’ve got a president who really knows his stuff, We’re all for one, we’re one for all, We’re All-Americans!

  28. Slide One: -All-American Girls Professional Baseball League logo. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from http://members.tripod.com/bb_catchers/catchers/aagpbl.htm -1944 Candid Blue Sox. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from aagpbl.org/photos/phm44sb.html. Slide Two: -Western Bloomer Girls. Retrieved October 14, 2004 from http://www.vbba.org/images/pics/bloomer.jpg Slide Three: -Green Light Letter written by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to baseball commissioner Kenesaw M. Landis. Retrieved October 13, 2004 from http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/exhibits/online_exhibits/baseball_enlists/images/a01.jpg Slide Four: -Rosie the Riveter. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from www.tamucc.edu/wiki/KathrynGrubaugh/PortfolioOne. -Who Said Girls Can’t Play Baseball? Located at Grand Rapids History and Special Collections Center. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from http://www.grpl.org/coll/grhsty_spcoll/exhibits/baseball/ Slide Five: -Philip K. Wrigley at the ballpark, CHS-DN-99483. Retrieved October 13, 2004 from www.chicagohs.org/AOTM/mar99/mar99fact2g.html. -Branch Rickey. /http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/hofer_bios/images/ rickey_branch_5.jpg -Jimmy Foxx. Retrieved October 13, 2004 from http://members.aol.com/jsoco3/jfoxx.jpgmar99/mar99fact2g.html References

  29. Slide six: -See the girls play ball today poster. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from www.aagpbl.org. -Women got a baseball league of their own. Photo courtesy of Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from www.kcstar.com/sports/history/junerep.html. -All-American Girls Softball League Official Program. www.aagpbl.org Slide seven: - Rockford v. Kenosha poster. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from ali.apple.com/.../ files/gifs/phposter5.gif -Box lid from a ‘47 MacGregor Goldsmith baseball. Retrieved October 13, 2004 from http://www.aagpbl.org/photos/phmp47bb.html Slide eight: -1943 Kenosha Comets. Retrieved October 13, 2004 from www.aagpbl.org/photos/phtp43kc.html. -1946 Kenosha Comets Yearbook. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from www.aagpbl.org. -Kenosha Comets logo. Retrieved October 13, 2004 from www.logoserver.com/AAGPBL.html. Slide nine: -1943 Racine Belles. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from www.aagpbl.org/photos/phtp43rb.html. Photo contributed by Kay Bowser from the Mackie Peters collection. -1946 Racine Belles Yearbook. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from www.aagpbl.org. -1946 Racine Belles logo. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from www.logoserver.com/AAGPBL.html. Slide ten: -1944 Rockford Peaches. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from www.aagpbl.org/photos/phtp44rp.html -Rockford Peaches yearbook. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from www.aagpbl.org. -Rockford Peaches logo. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from www.logoserver.com/AAGPBL.html. Slide eleven:l-1943 So. Bend Blue Sox. Retrieved October 12, 2004, www.aagpbl.org/photos.phtp.43bs.html. -South Bend Blue Sox yearbook. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from www.aagpbl.org. South Bend Blue Sox logo. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from www.logoserver.com/AAGPBL.html. References, continued

  30. References, continued Slide twelve: -The other AAGPBL teams logos. All Retrieved October 13, 2004 from logoserver.com/AAGPBL.html. -Fort Wayne Daisies and Peoria Redwings yearbooks. Both retrieved October 13, 2004 from www.aagpbl.org. Slide thirteen: -Fort Wayne players. Retrieved October 12, 2004, www.baseball-almanac.com/hero/doris-sams_JOES.jpg Kalamazoo Lassies uniform, worn by Gloria Cordes.Retrieved October 13, 2004 from fmnh.org/trivia5.html. Slide fourteen: -A Guide for All American Girls. Retrieved October 13, 2004 from http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/education/primary_sources/women/document_01_page_01.htm Slide fifteen: -V is for Victory 1945. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from http://eteamz.active.com/hallfame/albums/index.cfm?id=134685&picture=920922. -1944 advertisement. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from www.chicagohs.org/AOTM/mar99/mar99fact1.html Slide sixteen: -Cover of an official 1944 schedule. Contributed by Jim Sargent. Retrieved October 13, 2004 from http://www.aagpbl.org/graphics/phmp44os.jpg. -Faye Dancer sliding into third. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from http://eteamz.active.com/hallfame/albums/index.cfm?id=133054&picture=906150.

  31. References, continued Slide seventeen: -Ouch! That iodine has got to hurt! From “The Belles of the Ballgame a hit with their fan” by Jack Fincer, Smithsonian Magazine, July 1989, p. 84. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from www.aagpbl.org/phipdgc.html. -Dorothy “Mickey” Maguire at bat for the Muskegon Lassies. Courtesy of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, New York. Retrieved October 13, 2004 from www.chicagohs.org/AOTM/mar99/mar99fact1.html. Slide eighteen: -Dottie Schroeder: Portrait on the cover of Parade magazine in August 1948. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from www.aagpbl.org/ photos/phipdds.html. -Jean Faut poster. Retrieved October 13, 2004 from http://www.aagpbl.org/graphics/arti_jf1.jpg. -Joanne Weaver: Duchess of the Diamond. Retrieved October 13, 2004 from http://jordan.fortwayne.com/ns/sports/top50/art/weaver.jpg Slide nineteen: -Annabelle Lee, from the June 4, 1945 edition of LIFE magazine. Retrieved October 13, 2004 from www.oddball-mall.com/knuckleball. Slide twenty: -Sophie Kurys. Photo courtesy of the Northern Indiana Historical Society. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from http://www.exploratorium.edu/baseball/kurys_2.html Slide twenty-one: -Dottie Kamenshek Rockford Peaches card. Retrieved October 13, 2004 from http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=53&item=5129531467&rd=1#ebayphotohosting

  32. References, continued Slide twenty-one, continued: -Connie Wisniewski. Connie Wisniewski photo collection is housed at the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library. Retrieved October 13, 2004 from http://www.aagpbl.org/graphics/arti_cw2.jpg Slide twenty-two: -Philadelphia Athletics legendary manager Connie Mack joins the Kenosha Comets in the dugout during a home game. Photo courtesy of National Baseball Library, Cooperstown, New York. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from http://ghills.metamora.k12.il.us/webquest/dubois/girlsbaseball.htm Slide twenty-three: -1946 playoff trophy. From the official 1947 AAGPBL yearbook. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from http://www.aagpbl.org/graphics/arti_sp1.jpg -Faye Dancer cartoon poster. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from http://eteamz.active.com/hallfame/albums/index.cfm?id=133054&picture=906152 Slide twenty-four: -The good wife’s guide. Retrieved October 13, 2004 from www.alcade.net/me/junk. -Housewife in kitchen. Retrieved October 13, 2004 from quazynet.no-ip.org?gerry/goddess.html. Slide twenty-five: -National Baseball Hall of Fame logo. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from baseballhalloffame.org. -National Baseball Hall of Fame, view of exterior. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from baseballhalloffame.org. --Ball signed by Springfield Sallies and Chicago Colleens. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from http://users.rowan.edu/~shontz/refpathfinder2003/baseball/baseball/html -Baseball mitt used by Betty Weaver Foss. Retrieved October 13, 2004 from www.baseballhalloffame.org. -1954 Lassie’s Catcher’s Mask.Retrieved Oct.13, 2004 from www.aagpbl.org/ photos/phmp54cm.html

  33. References, conclusion Slide Twenty-six: -Letter written by Gerald Ford to Vivian Kellogg. Retrieved October 13, 2004 from http://www.thediamondangle.com/archive/dec02/kellogg.html-Vivian Kellogg Baseball Card. Retrieved October 14, 2004 from http://www.aagpbl.org/graphics/arti_vk1.jpg Slide Twenty-seven: -Grand Rapids memorabilia. Retrieved October 13, 2004 from http://www.michiganhistorymagazine.com/extra/women/chicks.html -Rockford Peaches pennant. From the collection of Suzanne Atkins, a former Rockford Peach. Retrieved October 13, 2004 from http://talent.ed.uiuc.edu/baseballquest/peaches/peaches.htm Slide Thirty-three: Dottie Stolze: The Big Swing. Retrieved October 12, 2004 from http://www.markreubengallery.com/bs_baseball/bs_0341.html • Information about the AAGPBL obtained from • Macy, S. (1993). A whole new ballgame. Henry Holt and • Company: New York. • www.aagpbl.org

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