Women in Baseball Sammi B Horace Greeley HS

Women in Baseball Sammi B. Horace Greeley HS Chappaqua, NY

Essential Question: What role have women played in Baseball? How did the Second World War affect women in Sports? How have female athletes impacted American Sports?

History of Baseball was derived from a variety of earlier English games Cricket Rounders American baseball took its own distinctive form in the 1840 s

Alexander Cartwright A shipping clerk who formed the New York Knickerbockers Created the Layout of the diamond shaped field with four bases and some of the rules Batters with 3 strikes were out Teams with 3 outs switched from batting to playing in the field

th Century Baseball 19 1860—baseball was played by… college students, Irish workers, urban elites, provincial farmers, people of all ethnic groups, and women Free black men formed the first African American baseball teams in Philadelphia They weren’t allowed to play against the white male baseball teams

th Century Baseball 19 cont. Women formed “ladies” teams in the 1860 s at Vassar College Smith and Wellesley followed Vassar’s lead decades later The game discontinued when a player injured her leg because the game was too violent for women “Resolutes”

Red Stockings & Blue Stockings 1883 - Promoters in Philadelphia fielded two teams Red Stockings Blue Stockings Free admission to games More than 500 women spectators Afterwards admission was raised to 15 cents

“Blondes & Brunettes” 1875 - The Springfield ( Illinois) Blondes and Brunettes were the first women to play for pay They were a touring team The team went out of business after four games Men financed the team as barnstorming novelty acts across America.

“Bloomer Girls” Women’s and Girl’s Athletics were common by the late 19 th Century Bloomer League (18901920) A small women’s league that played baseball in different parts of the US Named after Amelia Bloomer A 19 th century advocate for women’s fashion League gave women the opportunity to play professional ball Women’s baseball was used in 1915 by New Jersey suffragists to attract attention of the state’s upcoming referendum on woman suffrage

Lizzie Arlington The first woman to play professional baseball (minor league) Actual Name is Lizzie Stride (or Stroud) She began playing baseball in a coal mining town The owner of the Philadelphia Reserves hired Arlington as a gimmick to increase gate receipts in 1898 Ed Barrow, president of the Atlantic League, then hired her to pitch in some Minor League exhibition games She played her first regulation Minor League game on July 5, 1898 Again she failed to attract the anticipated crowds, and she stopped pitching professionally She only pitched one professional game for Reading (PA) of the Class A Atlantic League

Alta Weiss Born in Ragersville, Ohio A daughter of a doctor Made her professional debut in a men's semi-pro league at age 16 in 1907 She only gave up 4 hits and 1 run in five innings She threw sinking fastballs and off speed pitches to stump the best male batters Made enough money to put her through med school Even after she became a doctor, she continued to pitch in the men’s league (1920 s)

Alta Weiss cont. She drew audiences of 3, 000 people- the biggest box-office draws in the Midwest during the early 1900 s The league tried to force her to wear a skirt, but she found it difficult to play so she began pitching in bloomers

Jackie Mitchell was signed to in 1931 as a 17 -year -old pitcher. In April of 1931, the New York Yankees had an exhibition game against Chattanooga. Over 4, 000 fans attended the game Jackie Mitchell took the field after Bert Niehoff gave up a double and single Babe Ruth was the first batter of her career He let the first one go, but then swung at the following 2 Jackie’s next pitch hit the outside corner and the “Great Bambino” struck out looking Lou Gehrig was next to bat and struck out on 3 pitches Jackie Mitchell with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig

Jackie Mitchell cont. A few days later, Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis voided Mitchell’s contract He stated that baseball was “too strenuous” for women In 1933 Mitchell signed with the men’s team “House of David” Jackie traveled with them until 1937 Jackie Mitchell retired from professional baseball at 23 She grew frustrated with the audience’s comments and began working at her father’s company

The All-American Professional Baseball League

How did the League get Started? Many minor league teams disbanded by the fall of 1942 because of WWII Philip K. Wrigley had a solution to the loss of entertainment—the creation of a girls’ softball league Midwestern businessmen and Mr. Wrigley financially supported the All-American Girls Softball League that first emerged in the spring of 1943 Half-way through the first season, a board of trustees changed the leagues name to the All. American Girls Baseball League (AAGBBL) and at the end of the season the changed it again to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL)

AAGPBL The women teams would play at the baseball fields when the men had away games Utilizing the parks by 50% Wrigley funded half the cost and budget expenses for each team, while the host cities funded the other half Teams consisted of 15 players, a manager, business manager, and woman chaperone Tryouts were set up in dozens of major cities, and scouts were sent to find women all over the US and Canada 280 were invited to attend a final tryout 60 were chosen to become the first women to play professional baseball

AAGPBL cont. The league had the same rules as those in Major League baseball however the girls pitched underhand the fields were shorter Overhand pitching and smaller ball sizes were soon adopted There would be 9 fielders like the MLB teams Players were paid in between $45 and $84 a week Although the league discontinued after 1954, it was recognized again in 1988 by the National Baseball Hall of Fame

The Four Original Teams included…. Kenosha Comets South Bend Blue Sox Racine Belles Rockford Peaches

AAGPBL cont. At first, the women’s baseball league struggled There were attempts to add pre-game entertainment, but the league was still failing to increase its attendance Wrigley originally thought that the war would force the MLB to disband When the men’s professional baseball league continued strong, Wrigley lost interest in the AAGPBL and sold it to Arthur Meyerhoff Attendance began to increase, and when the war ended—up to 10, 000 people were in the crowd for a single game and 910, 000 fans on July 4, 1948 The Leagues popularity resulted in…. Training teams The creation of rookie teams the Peaches, Belles, Blue Sox, and Comets could face

Players from the AAGPBL Shirley Jamison rounding Third Base Pitcher Anabelle Lee the first perfect game in league history Catcher Mary “Bonnie” Baker

League Rules of Conduct Femininity was a high priority The Girls who played Professional Baseball were required to follow Management’s high standards Women may never wear slacks or shorts in public Players must have long hair “Lipstick should always be on” No foul language, smoking, or drinking “Baseball uniform skirts shall be no shorter than six inches above the knee-cap” Players may not “fraternize” with players from opposing teams Players were required to attend charm school for proper etiquette (which was discontinued in 1945), and they were supplied with a suggested beauty routine and workout exercises

Why did the League Fail? Attendance and revenues began to decrease in 1949 The team directors bought the AAGPBL from Arthur Meyerhoff because they wanted to operate their teams independently The league had no centralized control of publicity, promotion, player procurement, and the player talent wasn’t evenly distributed Finding good women baseball players was also becoming difficult since the league would have to train skilled softball players As revenues fell, individual teams could no longer support rookie training teams, and advertisement was cut down The League discontinued after the 1954 season

A League of Their Own There was a documentary call “A League of Their Own, the Documentary": written by Kelly Candaele, Helen Callaghan’s son (Helen Callaghan was a former player) He wrote the story in honor of his mother Helen, and his aunt, Marge Callaghan They were both Canadian, but the players weren’t a pitcher and catcher in real life The movie was a good portrayal in general Many women took the train from California to Chicago and then went to the various cities that formed the initial four teams of the league There was a lot of recruiting in Canada because Mr. Wrigley had scouting ties established in the area.

A League of Their Own cont. The characters were fiction but were inspired by some real athletes The third base coach in the movie was an actual player in the AAGPBL The chaperons and etiquette classes resembled players’ real experiences They had to go to etiquette class in order be the desired "All. American Girl“ Although many players were in their early twenties, some were in their teens (as young as 15 years old)

Results of Women in Baseball… Although the League itself failed, the AAGPBL gave over 600 women the opportunity to play professional baseball “This period represents one of the most unique aspects of our nation’s baseball history”— Jeneane Lesko Women not only supported the war by buying war bonds, and working in the factories and shops during WWII, they were also the athletes and form of entertainment

Results of Women in Baseball cont. Women in Baseball may not have had an obvious effect on the nation but many later events prove that women aren’t going down looking Victoria Roche was the first girl to play in a Little League World Series (Williamsport, PA)— 1984 Ila Borders was the first woman to pitch for a men's baseball team (played for Southern California College in Costa Mesa, California)— 1994 Effa Manley was the first woman elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N. Y (she was co-owner of the Newark Eagles, a Negro League team in the 1930 s and 1940 s)— 2006

Bibliography 1943 Kenosha Comets. 1943. Kenosha, Wisconsin. All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. AAGPBL Players Association. 24 May 2007 <http: //www. aagpbl. org/teams. cfm? ID=4>. 1943 Racine Belles. 1943. Racine, Wisconsin. All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. AAGPBL Players Association. 22 May 2007 <http: //www. aagpbl. org/teams. cfm? ID=3>. 1943 Rockford Peaches. 1943. Rockford, Illinois. All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. AAGPBL Players Association. 22 May 2007 <http: //www. aagpbl. org/teams. cfm? ID=2>. 1943 South Bend Blue Sox. 1943. South Bend, Indiana. All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. AAGPBL Players Association. 22 May 2007 <http: //www. aagpbl. org/teams. cfm? ID=1>. "AAGPBL FAQ. " All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association. 2005. AAGPBL Players Association. 4 June 2007 <http: //www. aagpbl. org/faq. cfm? qid=7>. Alta Weiss. 1900. National Baseball Hall of Fame Library. Dirt on Their Skirts. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. 9 June 2007 <http: //www. baseballhalloffame. org/education/units/content/womens_history/weiss_alta. htm>. Alta Weiss. Gallery 3 - Women Baseball Players from 1866 to 1954. American Women's Baseball Federation. 1 June 2007 <http: //images. google. com/imgres? imgurl=http: //www. awbf. org/gallery 34. jpg&imgrefurl=http: //www. awbf. org/gallery 3. htm&h=70&w=70&sz=3&hl=en&start=4&tb nid=7 wr 8 VJTAIIik. FM: &tbnh=68&tbnw=68&prev=/images%3 Fq%3 DAlta%2 BWeiss%26 gb v%3 D 2%26 svnum%3 D 10%26 hl%3 Den>. "American Heroes. " Baseball Historian. 2003. Baseballhistorian. com. 26 May 2007 <http: //www. baseballhistorian. com/html/american_heroes. cfm>. Aubrecht, Michael. "Jackie Mitchell- the Pride of the Yankees. " The Pinstripe Press. Nov. 2003. Baseball Almanac. 2 June 2007 <http: //www. baseballalmanac. com/articles/aubrecht 8. shtml>. Baseball 3 -D Magnet. 2007. NC. Magnet America Store. Magnet America. 31 May 2007 <http: //www. magnetamerica. com/store/index. php? main_page=index&c. Path=31_144>.

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Bibliography cont. Lewis, E. B. Dirt on Their Skirts: the Story of the Young Women Who Won the World Championship. By Lyndall Callan. Dial Books for Young Readers, 2000. Midwest Fielders Mitt. 2005. A World of Sporting Action. 1 June 2007 <www. thesportingsites. co. uk/baseball. php>. Moorfield, Amelia B. "Women's Baseball and Suffrage, 1915. " New Jersey Women's History. 21 Sept. 2006. New Jersey Historical Society. 30 May 2007 <http: //images. google. com/imgres? imgurl=http: //www. scc. rutgers. edu/njwomenshistory/P eriod_4/images/baseball. jpg&imgrefurl=http: //www. scc. rutgers. edu/njwomenshistory/Pe riod_4/baseball. htm&h=406&w=325&sz=130&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=Ru. TQ 47 EZnpy 6 g. M: &t bnh=124&tbnw=99&prev=/images%3 Fq%3 Dwomen%2527 s%2 Bbaseball%26 gbv%3 D 2%26 s vnum%3 D 10%26 hl%3 Den>. "Notable Years of Women in Baseball: a Little History. . . " California Women's Baseball. 2003. California Women's Baseball League. 28 May 2007 <http: //calwomensbaseball. thewavemedia. com/history. html>. Patch, G. W. Vassar College's First Baseball Team : "the Resolutes", 1876. Poughkeepsie, NY. Images of Early Vassar College. 8 June 2007 <http: //libweb. vassar. edu/earlyimages/pubdisp. php? id=217>. Pearl, N H. , H E. Brown, and Esther Sherman. A Guide for All American Girls. 1943, All. American Girls Professional Baseball League. 22 May 2007 <http: //www. baseballhalloffame. org/education/primary_sources/women/document_01_sm all. htm>. Richards, John. Catcher Mary "Bonnie" Baker. 1945. All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Other/Misc Photo Gallery. Life Magazine. 21 May 2007 <http: //www. aagpbl. org/gallery/misc. cfm? ID=Life_Magazine_1945>. Richards, John. Pitcher Anabelle Lee. 1945. All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Other/Misc Photo Gallery. Life Magazine. 21 May 2007 <http: //www. aagpbl. org/gallery/misc. cfm? ID=Life_Magazine_1945>. Stereo. Type. Marcelle Font. 2005. dafont. com. 4 June 2007 <http: //www. dafont. com/marcelle. font>. "Women in Sports: Baseball. " Fact Monster Sports. 2000. Pearson Education. 2 June 2007 <http: //www. factmonster. com/ipka/A 0768338. html>.

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