WomenWomen inin

BaseballBaseball

Sammi B.Horace Greeley HS

Chappaqua, NY

EssentialEssential Question: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?

HistoryHistory ofof BaseballBaseball

Baseball was derived from a variety of earlier English games

CricketRounders

American baseball took its own distinctive form in the 1840s

Alexander Alexander CartwrightCartwright

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 outTeams with 3 outs switched from batting to playing in the field

1919thth Century Century BaseballBaseball

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

1919thth Century Baseball Century Baseball cont.cont.

Women formed “ladies” teams in the 1860s 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”

RedRed StockingsStockings &&Blue StockingsBlue Stockings

1883- Promoters in Philadelphia fielded two teams

Red StockingsBlue Stockings

Free admission to gamesMore than 500 women spectators Afterwards admission was raised to 15 cents

““Blondes & Blondes & Brunettes”Brunettes”

1875- The Springfield ( Illinois) Blondes and Brunettes were the first women to play for pay

They were a touring teamThe team went out of business after four games

Men financed the team as barnstorming novelty acts across America.

““BloomerBloomer Girls”Girls”Women’s and Girl’s Athletics were common by the late 19th CenturyBloomer League (1890-1920)

A small women’s league that played baseball in different parts of the USNamed after Amelia Bloomer

A 19th century advocate for women’s fashion

League gave women the opportunity to play professional ballWomen’s baseball was used in 1915 by New Jersey suffragists to attract attention of the state’s upcoming referendum on woman suffrage

LizzieLizzie ArlingtonArlingtonThe first woman to play professional baseball (minor league)Actual Name is Lizzie Stride (or Stroud)She began playing baseball in a coal mining townThe owner of the Philadelphia Reserves hired Arlington as a gimmick to increase gate receipts in 1898Ed 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, 1898Again 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

AltaAlta WeissWeissBorn in Ragersville, OhioA 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 battersMade enough money to put her through med school

Even after she became a doctor, she continued to pitch in the men’s league (1920s)

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

JackieJackie MitchellMitchell

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 gameJackie Mitchell took the field after Bert Niehoff gave up a double and singleBabe 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 pitchesJackie Mitchell with Babe Ruth and Lou

Gehrig

JackieJackie MitchellMitchell cont.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

TheThe All-American All-American ProfessionalProfessional

BaseballBaseball LeagueLeague

HowHow diddid thethe League League getget Started?Started?

Many minor league teams disbanded by the fall of 1942 because of WWIIPhilip K. Wrigley had a solution to the loss of entertainment—the creation of a girls’ softball leagueMidwestern businessmen and Mr. Wrigley financially supported the All-American Girls Softball League that first emerged in the spring of 1943Half-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)

AAGPBLAAGPBLThe 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 halfTeams consisted of 15 players, a manager, business manager, and woman chaperoneTryouts 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 tryout60 were chosen to become the first women to play professional baseball

AAGPBL cont.AAGPBL cont.The league had the same rules as those in Major League baseball however the girls pitched underhand and the fields were shorter

Overhand pitching and smaller ball sizes were soon adoptedThere would be 9 fielders like the MLB teamsPlayers 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 The Four Original Teams includedTeams included….….

Kenosha Comets Racine Belles

Rockford PeachesSouth Bend Blue Sox

AAGPBL cont.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, 1948The Leagues popularity resulted in….

Training teams The creation of rookie teams the Peaches, Belles, Blue Sox, and Comets could face

Players from the Players from the AAGPBLAAGPBL

CatcherMary

“Bonnie” Baker

Pitcher Anabelle Lee

the first perfect game in league history

Shirley Jamison rounding Third Base

League Rules of League Rules of ConductConduct

Femininity was a high priorityThe Girls who played Professional Baseball were required to follow Management’s high standards

Women may never wear slacks or shorts in publicPlayers 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 Why did the League Fail?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 playersAs 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 A League of Their OwnOwn

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 generalMany women took the train from California to Chicago and then went to the various cities that formed the initial four teams of the leagueThere was a lot of recruiting in Canada because Mr. Wrigley had scouting ties established in the area.

A League of Their A League of Their Own cont.Own cont.

The characters were  fiction but were inspired by some real athletesThe third base coach in the movie was an actual player in the AAGPBLThe 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 Results of Women in Baseballin Baseball……

Although the League itself failed, the AAGPBL gave over 600 women the opportunity to play professional baseball

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

“This period represents one of the most unique aspects of our nation’s baseball history”—Jeneane Lesko

Results of Women Results of Women in Baseball cont.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 1930s and 1940s)—2006

BibliographyBibliography1943 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/gallery3-4.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.awbf.org/gallery3.htm&h=70&w=70&sz=3&hl=en&start=4&tbnid=7wr8VJTAIIikFM:&tbnh=68&tbnw=68&prev=/images%3Fq%3DAlta%2BWeiss%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den>. "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.baseball-almanac.com/articles/aubrecht8.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&cPath=31_144>.

Bibliography Bibliography cont.cont.

"Baseball." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 30 May 2007 <http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-229949>. Berlage, Gai I. Transition of Women's Baseball. Nine: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture. 72-81. 29 May 2007 <http://muse.jhu.edu/demo/nine/v009/9.1berlage.pdf>. Brinkley, Alan. American History: a Survey. 12th ed. NY: McGraw-Hill, 2007. 384-385. Dynamic Graphics . Baseball Diamond. Dynamic Graphics (RF) Image #23296333. Dynamic Graphics. 31 May 2007 <http://www.jupiterimages.com/popup2.aspx?navigationSubType=itemdetails&itemID=23296333>. Elder, Melissa. "Leagues Apart." Kent State Magazine 2000. 30 May 2007 <http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:DgpT13hxfMoJ:www.kent.edu/Magazine/Summer2007/LeaguesApart.cfm+%22Brunettes%22+vs.+%22Blondes%22+womens+baseball&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us>. Frommer, Harvey, comp. Old Time Baseball IV: Women in Baseball. 26 Mar. 2006. Frommer Sportsnet. 30 May 2007 <http://www.travel-watch.com/oldtimebaseball-women.htm>. Henderson, James F. "A New American Sport: Excerpt From the 1947 Muskegon Lassies Year Book." Official Website of the AAGPBL. 1947. AAGPBL. 21 May 2007 <http://www.aagpbl.org/articles/general.cfm?ID=8>. Jackie Mitchell, Babe Ruth, and Lou Gehrig Priop to the April 2, 1931, Exhibition Game in Chattanooga. 1931. Baseball Hall of Fame, Chattanooga. Chasingthefrog.com. 2 June 2007 <http://www.chasingthefrog.com/reelfaces/aleagueoftheirown.php>. A League of Their Own. 1992. David Strathairn Online-Filmography: A League of Their Own. Columbia Pictures. 4 June 2007 <http://www.david-strathairn.com/film/league.html>.A League of Their Own. 1992. David Strathairn Online-Filmography: A League of Their Own. Columbia Pictures. 4 June 2007 <http://www.david-strathairn.com/film/league.html>."League Rules of Conduct." AAGPBL. The Rules of Conduct for Players as Set Up by Hte All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. 22 May 2007 <http://www.aagpbl.org/league/conduct.cfm>.Lesko, Jeneane. "League History." All-American Girls Professional Baseball League History. Ed. Jean Cione, Sue Macy, and Merrie Fidler. AAGPBL Players Association. 21 May 2007 <http://www.aagpbl.org/league/history.cfm>.

Bibliography Bibliography cont.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. 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/Period_4/images/baseball.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.scc.rutgers.edu/njwomenshistory/Period_4/baseball.htm&h=406&w=325&sz=130&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=RuTQ47EZnpy6gM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=99&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwomen%2527s%2Bbaseball%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den>. "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. 1876. Poughkeepsie, NY. Images of Early Vassar. 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_small.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>. StereoType. 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/A0768338.html>.

The EndThe End