1 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:06,600 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. On May seventeenth, nineteen forty three, spring training 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,239 Speaker 1: started for what would eventually be known as the All 3 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:13,319 Speaker 1: American Girls Professional Baseball League. That was eighty two years 4 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:16,200 Speaker 1: ago on the day that this episode publishes, so that 5 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:20,759 Speaker 1: is today's Saturday Classic. Since we released this episode, which 6 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:23,680 Speaker 1: was on March eighteenth, twenty twenty, there has been a 7 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:26,920 Speaker 1: remake of A League of Their Own, which was in 8 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:29,479 Speaker 1: the form of a TV show that ran for sadly 9 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:34,960 Speaker 1: only one season on Amazon Prime. The documentary A Secret Love, 10 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: which we mentioned at the very end of this episode, 11 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:45,120 Speaker 1: is also indeed available on Netflix, so enjoy. Welcome to 12 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 1: Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio. Hello, 13 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracey B. Wilson and 14 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fryne. I am sure you've seen a League 15 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:06,759 Speaker 1: of their Own? I have. I feel like it's safe 16 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:10,880 Speaker 1: to say most of our listeners have either seen a 17 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:13,039 Speaker 1: League of their Own or at the very very least 18 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:16,039 Speaker 1: have heard someone say there's no crying in baseball, which 19 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:18,760 Speaker 1: is probably its most quoted line. I think you could 20 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:20,320 Speaker 1: come to my house and hear it once a week 21 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:22,960 Speaker 1: out of my husband's mouth. If you want to just 22 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:26,840 Speaker 1: hang out. So this is a nineteen ninety two film 23 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:29,840 Speaker 1: that tells the story of the All American Girls Professional 24 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 1: Baseball League. It is a work of fiction, but it 25 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:37,039 Speaker 1: also gets some of the highlights correct. The league was 26 00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:40,119 Speaker 1: founded during World War Two, as many of Major League 27 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:43,880 Speaker 1: Baseball's male players had joined the military, but the movie 28 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:45,640 Speaker 1: also kind of makes it seem like this was a 29 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:49,160 Speaker 1: temporary diversion that ended when the war did. There's a 30 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 1: line basically about continuing on with it, but it's not 31 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:56,760 Speaker 1: really explored beyond that. In reality, though these women were athletes, 32 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:00,440 Speaker 1: some of them thought they were starting a lifelong career 33 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,120 Speaker 1: in professional baseball that would last as long as they 34 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 1: were able to play. The league itself also went on 35 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:08,679 Speaker 1: for years after the war was over. And this is 36 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:11,800 Speaker 1: also a listener request. We've heard about it at various 37 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 1: points over the years, but the one that I wrote 38 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:17,080 Speaker 1: down was from listener morev So, by nineteen forty three, 39 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: when this league was founded, baseball was considered both the 40 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:24,240 Speaker 1: national pastime in the United States and a man's game, 41 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: but it didn't start out that way. As the game 42 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: of baseball was developing in the nineteenth century, it wasn't 43 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 1: just for men and boys. Children played together in neighborhood 44 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:38,360 Speaker 1: games regardless of their gender. Semi professional and professional leagues 45 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:41,960 Speaker 1: included women players and women's teams, and there were also 46 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 1: teams at women's colleges, the first being at Vassar in 47 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:48,679 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty six. An all black women's team called the 48 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:52,799 Speaker 1: Dolly Vardens was established in Philadelphia in eighteen sixty seven. 49 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:57,680 Speaker 1: During baseball's earlier years, the rules weren't particularly standardized, and 50 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 1: there were all kinds of variations and things like the 51 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: size of the playing field, the size of the ball, 52 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 1: and the style of pitching, and a lot of places 53 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: everyone played by the same rules regardless of their gender. 54 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: Although it was not uncommon for women to be expected 55 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: to play in floor length dresses. It was also common, though, 56 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:20,880 Speaker 1: for girls baseball teams specifically to have modified rule sets that, 57 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:24,920 Speaker 1: for example, made the playing field a little smaller. Barnstorming 58 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,360 Speaker 1: became an important part of baseball's development starting in eighteen 59 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 1: sixty Teams would go on the road to play exhibition 60 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 1: matches outside of official league play. By the eighteen nineties, 61 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 1: barnstormers included all women teams known as Bloomer Girls because 62 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 1: of their billowy uniform legs, so they resembled the loose 63 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: trousers advocated by dress reformers in the nineteenth century. That's 64 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:51,760 Speaker 1: not underwear, imagining that when they said bloomer girls, it 65 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 1: meant playing in their underwear. Maybe giggle a little bit, 66 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:58,120 Speaker 1: but that's not what it meant. Over time, one set 67 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 1: of baseball rule modification morphed into its own distinct sport, 68 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:06,120 Speaker 1: and that sport was softball. These two games have a 69 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 1: lot of similarities. They both involve hitting a throne ball 70 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:12,080 Speaker 1: with a bat and then rounding a set of bases 71 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: that are arranged as a diamond, but softball uses a larger, 72 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:20,479 Speaker 1: softer ball, thus the name. That ball is pitched underhanded 73 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:24,160 Speaker 1: rather than overhand or sidearm, the pitching distance is shorter 74 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:27,720 Speaker 1: and the overall field of play is a little smaller. Initially, 75 00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:30,359 Speaker 1: the game that developed into softball was meant as a 76 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 1: baseball alternative that could be played indoors in bad weather. 77 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:38,039 Speaker 1: Sometimes it was even called just indoor baseball. It became 78 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:41,280 Speaker 1: particularly popular in places where space was limited or were 79 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:44,480 Speaker 1: the only place to play was indoors. It was also 80 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:48,040 Speaker 1: played outdoors in places with limited space In the late 81 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:52,280 Speaker 1: nineteenth century, settlement houses in the US started establishing playgrounds 82 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:56,679 Speaker 1: and encouraging active play in urban areas, especially among boys. 83 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 1: Softball became so closely connected to the settlement movement into 84 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:05,680 Speaker 1: these playgrounds that some sources have erroneously credited Chicago's Hull 85 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:08,880 Speaker 1: House with inventing it, and we talked about Hull House 86 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:11,280 Speaker 1: and its founder, Jane Adams in a previous two parter 87 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:15,800 Speaker 1: on the show. Did not invent softball, No, did play 88 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:19,720 Speaker 1: it a whole lot, though The overlap between baseball and 89 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:23,440 Speaker 1: softball and who was playing it continued until about nineteen 90 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:27,680 Speaker 1: thirty three. That is when the Amateur Softball Association was 91 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:31,280 Speaker 1: founded as that sports governing body and the name softball 92 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:34,960 Speaker 1: was formally adopted for it, and at this point girls 93 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:38,280 Speaker 1: baseball teams that had been using some kind of modified 94 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:42,240 Speaker 1: rule set generally moved over to playing softball. It did 95 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,440 Speaker 1: not take long before people took for granted that baseball 96 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:48,800 Speaker 1: was for boys and softball was for girls, a distinction 97 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:52,800 Speaker 1: that persists in a lot of places today. When Little 98 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:55,640 Speaker 1: League Baseball was founded in nineteen thirty nine, it was 99 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:58,640 Speaker 1: intended for boys, although that did not become an official 100 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:02,560 Speaker 1: rule until nineteen fifty one, in response to Kay Johnston 101 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:05,680 Speaker 1: of New York cutting her hair to join a team 102 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:09,800 Speaker 1: under the name Tubby. The Tubby rule remained in place 103 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:13,080 Speaker 1: until nineteen seventy four, after a series of court cases 104 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:16,159 Speaker 1: and a ruling by the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights. 105 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:20,320 Speaker 1: I guess that's such a good illustration of how it 106 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:24,040 Speaker 1: was assumed to be for boys, so much so that 107 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:28,359 Speaker 1: it wasn't even in the rules until after a girl 108 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:31,200 Speaker 1: cut her hair to join a team. Like Yeah, it 109 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:34,320 Speaker 1: was just taken totally for granted. So by the nineteen forties, 110 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:38,360 Speaker 1: both softball and baseball were well established in the United States. 111 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:40,880 Speaker 1: They were two separate sports, one for men and boys, 112 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 1: the other for women and girls. Both had amateur, semi professional, 113 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:47,800 Speaker 1: and professional teams and leagues. And that brings us to 114 00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:51,320 Speaker 1: World War Two, if you remember our October twenty nineteen 115 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:54,680 Speaker 1: episode on the Black Sox scandal. During World War One, 116 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 1: the idea of Major League Baseball continuing on in spite 117 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:02,680 Speaker 1: of the war was deeply controversial. Secretary of War Newton D. 118 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:06,520 Speaker 1: Baker issued a work or Fight order which required any 119 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:09,520 Speaker 1: man eligible for the draft to either work in a 120 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:13,920 Speaker 1: war critical industry or join the military. Men who continued 121 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:17,239 Speaker 1: to play baseball were viewed as abandoning their patriotic duty, 122 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 1: and after the US joined the war, Major League Baseball 123 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 1: shortened the nineteen eighteen season. As war once again started 124 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:28,360 Speaker 1: to spread through Europe in nineteen thirty nine, people feared 125 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:31,200 Speaker 1: that the sport of baseball would be disrupted, as it 126 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:34,800 Speaker 1: had been a couple of decades earlier. These fears escalated 127 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:38,280 Speaker 1: after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in December of nineteen 128 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:41,040 Speaker 1: forty one, and the United States entered the war at 129 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:45,240 Speaker 1: that point. In January of nineteen forty two, Kennesaw Mountain Landis, 130 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:49,240 Speaker 1: the commissioner of baseball, wrote to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt 131 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: to ask, quote, what you have in mind as to 132 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:56,520 Speaker 1: whether professional baseball should continue to operate? On January fifteenth, 133 00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:00,200 Speaker 1: nineteen forty two, Roosevelt, who was a fan of baseball, 134 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 1: responded with what has become known as the green Light Letter. 135 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:06,680 Speaker 1: It read, in part, quote, I honestly feel that it 136 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:09,240 Speaker 1: would be best for the country to keep baseball going. 137 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:12,880 Speaker 1: There will be fewer people unemployed, and everybody will work 138 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:16,440 Speaker 1: longer hours and harder than ever before, and that means 139 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:18,720 Speaker 1: that they ought to have a chance for recreation and 140 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 1: for taking their minds off their work even more than before. 141 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 1: And his letter, the President stressed that players who were 142 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:27,880 Speaker 1: of an age should join the military should do so, 143 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:31,000 Speaker 1: but that they might be replaced with older players who 144 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:34,680 Speaker 1: could still play an exciting game. The President also advocated 145 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:37,640 Speaker 1: for more night games so that day shift workers at 146 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 1: wartime factories could go The President ended the green light 147 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:43,959 Speaker 1: letter by saying, quote, here is another way of looking 148 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:47,200 Speaker 1: at it. If three hundred teams use five thousand or 149 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:51,400 Speaker 1: six thousand players, these players are a definite recreation asset 150 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:55,160 Speaker 1: to at least twenty million of their fellow citizens, and that, 151 00:08:55,320 --> 00:08:59,520 Speaker 1: in my judgment, is thoroughly worthwhile. So, even though baseball 152 00:08:59,559 --> 00:09:02,920 Speaker 1: had the p President's seal of approval, roughly half of 153 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:06,440 Speaker 1: the regular players in Major League Baseball wound up serving 154 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:09,680 Speaker 1: in the military. Some of its best and most popular 155 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:13,160 Speaker 1: players were drafted. Of course, that trend also applied to 156 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:15,960 Speaker 1: the minor leagues and to other baseball teams as well. 157 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:19,040 Speaker 1: So even though the President himself had given the ok 158 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,400 Speaker 1: for baseball to continue, there were people worried that the 159 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:25,360 Speaker 1: sport was going to struggle, and that this might even 160 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:28,280 Speaker 1: lead to the closure of some of the nation's ballparks. 161 00:09:28,640 --> 00:09:32,720 Speaker 1: One of these concerned people was Philip K. Wrigley. His father, 162 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:36,040 Speaker 1: William Wrigley Junior, had died in nineteen thirty two, leaving 163 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:39,760 Speaker 1: Philip the William Wrigley Junior Chewing Gum Company, a fortune 164 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:43,240 Speaker 1: and the Chicago Cubs baseball team. We will get to 165 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:55,400 Speaker 1: what he did after a quick sponsor break. About three 166 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:58,839 Speaker 1: million women joined the workforce in the United States between 167 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:02,440 Speaker 1: nineteen forty and nineteen two, and Philip K. Wriggley thought 168 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:05,200 Speaker 1: that maybe the same trend could apply to professional ball. 169 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:08,960 Speaker 1: Women's teams could play in ballparks where the home teams 170 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:11,640 Speaker 1: were on the road, keeping the sport in the parks 171 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:15,080 Speaker 1: going while so many men were away at war. These 172 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:19,199 Speaker 1: teams of women could also help boost the national morale 173 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 1: and help the war effort with things like fundraising and 174 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 1: recruitment drives. Wriggly teamed up with Ken Cells, who had 175 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:28,679 Speaker 1: previously worked for the chewing gum business but had become 176 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:33,280 Speaker 1: assistant general manager of the Chicago Cubs. On February seventeenth, 177 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:36,720 Speaker 1: nineteen forty three, they issued a press release announcing the 178 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:41,319 Speaker 1: creation of the All American Girls Softball League. Their plan 179 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:44,040 Speaker 1: was to recruit players from the women's softball teams that 180 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:47,440 Speaker 1: had been established all over the country at the beginning. 181 00:10:47,559 --> 00:10:50,320 Speaker 1: Jim Hamilton was the lead talent scout in the US, 182 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:55,160 Speaker 1: and Johannes Gottselig, known as Johnny, headed up recruitment in Canada. 183 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:58,520 Speaker 1: But Wriggly also wanted to make the game a little 184 00:10:58,559 --> 00:11:02,240 Speaker 1: closer to what spectators might expect from a baseball game, 185 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:04,960 Speaker 1: so they worked out a rule set that had elements 186 00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:08,800 Speaker 1: of both baseball and softball. Like softball, it used a 187 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:12,599 Speaker 1: larger ball and an underhanded pitching style, but like baseball, 188 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:16,440 Speaker 1: the teams had nine players per side rather than softball's ten. 189 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:20,320 Speaker 1: The playing field would also have a longer pitching distance 190 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:23,120 Speaker 1: and running path than softball did, but it was still 191 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:26,480 Speaker 1: shorter than what was being used in baseball. Players in 192 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:29,560 Speaker 1: this game would also be allowed to steal bases, something 193 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:33,200 Speaker 1: that was not allowed in softball. These changes caused some 194 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 1: controversy about exactly what sport was being played out there 195 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:39,280 Speaker 1: on the field, and the league changed its name to 196 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:42,640 Speaker 1: the All American Girls Baseball League part way through the 197 00:11:42,679 --> 00:11:46,800 Speaker 1: nineteen forty three season. As recruiters visited softball teams to 198 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:50,760 Speaker 1: look for players. Hundreds of women and girls expressed interest 199 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:54,640 Speaker 1: in playing professionally. About two hundred and eighty were invited 200 00:11:54,679 --> 00:11:57,640 Speaker 1: to the final tryouts, and sixty players from the US 201 00:11:57,679 --> 00:12:00,920 Speaker 1: and Canada were ultimately selected to play in the nineteen 202 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:04,199 Speaker 1: forty three season. Some of these young women were as 203 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:07,040 Speaker 1: young as fifteen, although most of them were between eighteen 204 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:10,319 Speaker 1: and twenty two. As was the case with Major League 205 00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:14,079 Speaker 1: Baseball at the time, the newly established Women's League excluded 206 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:18,200 Speaker 1: black players. These players were arranged into four teams of 207 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:22,640 Speaker 1: fifteen players each, the Rockford Peaches of Illinois, the South 208 00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 1: Bend Blue Socks of Indiana, and the Racing Bells and 209 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:29,960 Speaker 1: the Kenosha Comets of Wisconsin. Each of these was not 210 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:33,120 Speaker 1: far away from a much larger major city. They were 211 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:36,520 Speaker 1: also close enough together to allow the teams to travel 212 00:12:36,559 --> 00:12:39,240 Speaker 1: from one city to the next for games while still 213 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:43,600 Speaker 1: conserving fuel and rubber during wartime rationing. The league setup 214 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:47,480 Speaker 1: was significantly different from Major League Baseball or most other 215 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:50,400 Speaker 1: leagues at the time. The league itself was a non 216 00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:54,480 Speaker 1: profit organization, with Philip Wrigley, Paul Harvey, and Branch Rickey 217 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:59,280 Speaker 1: as trustees. Much of the initial funding came from Wrigley himself. 218 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:02,480 Speaker 1: It's been about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars getting 219 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:05,480 Speaker 1: the whole project started, and he contributed to the team's 220 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:09,760 Speaker 1: maintenance costs, especially in the first year. The player's contracts 221 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:13,200 Speaker 1: were also centrally owned by the league, rather than being 222 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:16,040 Speaker 1: owned by one of the four teams. This meant that 223 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:19,120 Speaker 1: the players pay was set by the league. There were 224 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:22,400 Speaker 1: no bidding wars with teams trying to entice the best 225 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:25,680 Speaker 1: players to sign on with them. That first year, the 226 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:28,720 Speaker 1: players made between forty five dollars and eighty five dollars 227 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:30,760 Speaker 1: a week. That does not sound like much, but it 228 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:33,640 Speaker 1: is significantly more than most of them had been making 229 00:13:33,679 --> 00:13:37,200 Speaker 1: an agricultural or factory work, or maybe playing in a 230 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:41,400 Speaker 1: paying softball league. Players in the league were prohibited from 231 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:44,959 Speaker 1: doing any other work during the season. The centrally owned 232 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:47,959 Speaker 1: player contracts also meant that the league had the right 233 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:51,319 Speaker 1: to trade players from one team to another. One of 234 00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:53,560 Speaker 1: the league's goals was for all the games to be 235 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:56,880 Speaker 1: as evenly matched and exciting to watch as possible, so 236 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:00,040 Speaker 1: player trades happened throughout the season as they tried to 237 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:03,440 Speaker 1: get keep this balance. Each team had a manager who 238 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:06,160 Speaker 1: also acted as a coach. These were typically men who 239 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:09,880 Speaker 1: had experience in major league or minor league baseball. Every 240 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:12,640 Speaker 1: team also had a business manager as well as a 241 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:15,480 Speaker 1: chaperone who was a woman and was a paid part 242 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:18,280 Speaker 1: of the staff during the league's history. Most of the 243 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:21,960 Speaker 1: chaperones had some experience in working with women's athletic teams. 244 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:25,560 Speaker 1: The chaperones who were responsible for making housing arrangements for 245 00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:29,240 Speaker 1: the team, handling money, and approving any housing and dining 246 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:33,320 Speaker 1: accommodations that the team was going to use. In some ways, 247 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:35,920 Speaker 1: they were a little like athletic trainers. As well, being 248 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:38,920 Speaker 1: trained in first aid and responsible for the team's first 249 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:42,080 Speaker 1: aid kit and the treatment of injuries. They were also 250 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:46,920 Speaker 1: ultimately responsible for the player's conduct, behavior, and appearance. That 251 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:51,160 Speaker 1: last point was a lot. Most of the players came 252 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:55,040 Speaker 1: from working class and agricultural communities that didn't really regard 253 00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:59,320 Speaker 1: women's participation in softball as unusual in any way. A 254 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:01,120 Speaker 1: lot of them had been playing on teams that had 255 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:04,760 Speaker 1: been organized by their employers, with that involvement being seen 256 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:08,440 Speaker 1: as pretty normal and fun. But that wasn't necessarily true 257 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:10,440 Speaker 1: among the middle class, which was a big part of 258 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:13,200 Speaker 1: the audience that the league was hoping to attract. The 259 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:16,680 Speaker 1: idea that women were playing baseball, which was considered to 260 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:20,080 Speaker 1: be a game for men, also raised some suspicions about 261 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:24,760 Speaker 1: the players. A common stereotype was that women athletes were lesbians. 262 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:28,360 Speaker 1: That's a stereotype that still exists today, but without nearly 263 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:30,880 Speaker 1: the level of stigma that was attached to it in 264 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:34,200 Speaker 1: the nineteen forties. So the league went to great lengths 265 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:37,320 Speaker 1: to reinforce the idea that these players weren't just women, 266 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:45,760 Speaker 1: they were ladies, specifically patriotic, wholesome, middle class, heterosexual ladies. Outwardly, 267 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:48,720 Speaker 1: the league described all its rules and training about things 268 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:52,440 Speaker 1: like beauty and conduct as a service teaching working class 269 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:56,080 Speaker 1: girls to be middle class ladies, which of course suggested 270 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:58,920 Speaker 1: that to be middle class was better than to be 271 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:01,560 Speaker 1: working class. And on top of that, a lot of 272 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:04,560 Speaker 1: the rules and standards in place were also meant to 273 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:09,360 Speaker 1: reduce suspicions of lesbianism. This included the player's uniforms. These 274 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:13,400 Speaker 1: were one piece pastel colored tunic like garments with a 275 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:17,200 Speaker 1: flared skirt, which were worn with satin shorts and knee socks. 276 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:20,880 Speaker 1: They were designed by Wrigley's wife, Ada, along with poster 277 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:24,760 Speaker 1: artist Otis Shepherd and softball player An Harnett. They were 278 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:29,480 Speaker 1: also patterned after women's figure skating and tennis attire. These 279 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:31,960 Speaker 1: uniforms were meant to set the players apart from the 280 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:36,080 Speaker 1: barnstorming bloomer girls that we referenced earlier, and to reinforce 281 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:39,360 Speaker 1: the idea that the players on the field were feminine women. 282 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:42,720 Speaker 1: These skirts did not really do much to protect the 283 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:45,960 Speaker 1: player's legs from scrapes and other injuries, but the players 284 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:49,200 Speaker 1: were also expected to look pristine at all times and 285 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:54,680 Speaker 1: not really have any visible injuries. Perfectly prim athletic lady. 286 00:16:55,280 --> 00:17:00,840 Speaker 1: It's the whole kind of convoluted tangle. Yeah. The specific 287 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:04,080 Speaker 1: rules varied over the league's history, but the general idea 288 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:07,320 Speaker 1: of players being the right kind of woman was part 289 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:11,399 Speaker 1: of it. Throughout each player was issued a guide for 290 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:14,960 Speaker 1: all American girls how to look better, feel better, be 291 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:19,200 Speaker 1: more popular. In the nineteen forty three season, Helena Rubinstein's 292 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:22,360 Speaker 1: Beauty Salon taught charm and beauty lessons for the players 293 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:26,800 Speaker 1: that included hygiene, personal appearance, etiquette, and things like how 294 00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:29,280 Speaker 1: to gracefully get in and out of a car or 295 00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:33,360 Speaker 1: go up and downstairs. The Ruth Tiffany School provided these 296 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:38,000 Speaker 1: lessons the next year. Formal charm lessons ended after that point, 297 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:42,760 Speaker 1: but a focus on appropriate feminine behavior continued. Players were 298 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:45,600 Speaker 1: also issued a beauty kit that they were expected to 299 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:50,760 Speaker 1: keep stock. It included cleansing cream, lipstick, rouge, deodorant, astringent, 300 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:55,040 Speaker 1: face powder, hand lotion, and hair remover. They were required 301 00:17:55,119 --> 00:17:58,119 Speaker 1: to be attractive and presentable at all times, and they 302 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:00,000 Speaker 1: had to wear a dress or a skirt any time 303 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:02,640 Speaker 1: time they were seen in public. Most of the players 304 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:05,000 Speaker 1: wore trousers on the bus for the sake of comfort, 305 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:09,000 Speaker 1: especially during nighttime road trips between games, but kept a 306 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:11,359 Speaker 1: skirt with them to change into if they stopped for 307 00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:14,119 Speaker 1: something like a restroom break or a meal. Some of 308 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:17,399 Speaker 1: the other rules from the player's code of conduct no 309 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:21,840 Speaker 1: boyish bobbed hair, no smoking, no drinking alcohol, and no 310 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:26,399 Speaker 1: social engagements unless they were approved by a chaperone. Lipstick 311 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:29,680 Speaker 1: was mandatory at all times, and there were also more 312 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:33,359 Speaker 1: mundane rules about things like punctuality. The player's Code of 313 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:36,800 Speaker 1: Conduct specified a five dollars fine for the first offense, 314 00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:39,760 Speaker 1: a ten dollars fine for the second offense, and suspension 315 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:43,520 Speaker 1: for the third, but there were players that faced harsher penalties. 316 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:47,760 Speaker 1: Josephine DiAngelo, known as Jojo, was cut from the Blue 317 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:50,159 Speaker 1: Socks in her second year from the team after she 318 00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:53,280 Speaker 1: got a bobbed haircut that was described as too short 319 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:57,560 Speaker 1: and butchy in some accounts. Frida and Olympia Savona, who 320 00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:00,879 Speaker 1: were star players from the New Orleans Jackson Brewing Company 321 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:04,200 Speaker 1: softball team, were passed over for the All American Girls 322 00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:08,159 Speaker 1: League because of their masculine appearance. There were definitely some 323 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:12,520 Speaker 1: news stories that made disparaging comments about the Savona's appearance, 324 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:15,000 Speaker 1: but Frieda wrote to a reporter to say this had 325 00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:17,840 Speaker 1: nothing to do with why she was not in the league. 326 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:20,320 Speaker 1: She said she was just happier and better paid where 327 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:24,080 Speaker 1: she was. Fraternizing with members of other teams was also 328 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:27,439 Speaker 1: forbidden within the league. The league framed this as a 329 00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:30,880 Speaker 1: way to keep the level of competitiveness high, but many 330 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:33,359 Speaker 1: of the players interpreted it as a way to discourage 331 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:36,960 Speaker 1: romantic relationships between them. So that's kind of an overview 332 00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:40,480 Speaker 1: of what the league was like. When spring training started 333 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:44,480 Speaker 1: its first season on May seventeenth of nineteen forty three. 334 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:47,679 Speaker 1: That happened in Chicago, the first pitch of the season 335 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:50,639 Speaker 1: was thrown on May thirtieth of nineteen forty three, and 336 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:53,200 Speaker 1: we'll talk about how things grew and evolved from there 337 00:19:53,320 --> 00:20:04,320 Speaker 1: after we first have a little sponsor break. The All 338 00:20:04,359 --> 00:20:09,159 Speaker 1: American Girls Baseball League's first season included sporting events as 339 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:13,920 Speaker 1: well as wartime patriotism. Teams made appearances at recruitment drives 340 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:18,359 Speaker 1: and fundraisers, and they visited wounded soldiers that had returned stateside. 341 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:21,480 Speaker 1: On July first, they held an all Star game against 342 00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:24,280 Speaker 1: a team from the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, which was 343 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:27,119 Speaker 1: played under the lights at Wrigley Field. This event was 344 00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:30,359 Speaker 1: part of a recruitment drive, held free of charge and 345 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:33,480 Speaker 1: at night so that working women could attend. Some of 346 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:36,480 Speaker 1: the league's patriotism was more symbolic, like having the two 347 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:39,280 Speaker 1: teams that were going to be competing lined up in 348 00:20:39,359 --> 00:20:41,920 Speaker 1: a V for victory during the national anthem at the 349 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:45,520 Speaker 1: beginning of every game. The nineteen forty three season ended 350 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:48,920 Speaker 1: with a five game championship series in which the Racing 351 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:52,679 Speaker 1: Bells defeated the Kenosha Comets. More than one hundred and 352 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:55,919 Speaker 1: seventy five thousand fans attended games in that first season. 353 00:20:56,720 --> 00:20:59,920 Speaker 1: Then in nineteen forty four, the league expanded to sixteen. 354 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:04,440 Speaker 1: Another competing league was founded that same year, the National 355 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:09,000 Speaker 1: Girls Baseball League, established in Chicago. This league continued until 356 00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:12,879 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty four, although its history and activities aren't nearly 357 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:16,199 Speaker 1: as well documented as the All American Girls League. At 358 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:19,040 Speaker 1: the end of the nineteen forty four season, Philip Wrigley 359 00:21:19,119 --> 00:21:22,880 Speaker 1: sold the league to Arthur Meyerhoff for ten thousand dollars, 360 00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:25,720 Speaker 1: which was a fraction of what he had put into 361 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:28,800 Speaker 1: getting it started and operating it. In those first two seasons, 362 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:31,800 Speaker 1: it had become clear that the sport of men's baseball 363 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:34,400 Speaker 1: was not in any kind of actual peril from the war, 364 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:37,800 Speaker 1: But apart from that, Wrigley was just not really interested 365 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:41,440 Speaker 1: in being so heavily involved in the league anymore. Meyerhoff 366 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:43,160 Speaker 1: had also been a big part of the league since 367 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:46,880 Speaker 1: its inception, and Wrigley was confident that he would maintain 368 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:49,960 Speaker 1: the same standards that Wrigley had established in terms of 369 00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:53,320 Speaker 1: quality and entertainment. The biggest change at this point was 370 00:21:53,359 --> 00:21:55,800 Speaker 1: that the league went from being a nonprofit to a 371 00:21:55,800 --> 00:22:00,679 Speaker 1: for profit entity. Otherwise, the player's contracts were still cently owned, 372 00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:04,360 Speaker 1: and each team continued to have paid managers and chaperones. 373 00:22:05,119 --> 00:22:08,640 Speaker 1: Meyerhoff put a big focus on marketing and promoting the league. 374 00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:13,639 Speaker 1: He also organized postseason exhibition tours to Cuba and South America, 375 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:17,399 Speaker 1: mainly to countries where Wrigley chewinghum had a presence thanks 376 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:21,240 Speaker 1: to the rubber and chickle industries. Over time, the style 377 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:24,080 Speaker 1: of play within the league continued to shift and become 378 00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:27,680 Speaker 1: more and more like men's baseball. The ball gradually got 379 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:32,320 Speaker 1: smaller and harder, pitching and infield distances got longer. Sidearm 380 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:35,760 Speaker 1: pitching was introduced in nineteen forty six, and overhand pitching 381 00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:39,080 Speaker 1: in nineteen forty eight. Some players that had been recruited 382 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:42,600 Speaker 1: from softball teams had a little trouble adjusting to these changes, 383 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:46,000 Speaker 1: and Meyerhoff established a junior league in farm teams to 384 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:49,760 Speaker 1: cultivate new talent. Although the All American Girls Baseball League 385 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:52,280 Speaker 1: had started out with the idea of being a substitution 386 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:56,000 Speaker 1: for men's baseball during World War Two, its popularity really 387 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:59,280 Speaker 1: peaked after the war ended in nineteen forty five. In 388 00:22:59,359 --> 00:23:03,240 Speaker 1: nineteen forty a July fourth double header in South Bend, Indiana, 389 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:06,560 Speaker 1: drew a crowd of between ten thousand and twenty thousand people, 390 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:10,720 Speaker 1: Attendance peaked in nineteen forty eight, with nearly a million 391 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:14,520 Speaker 1: fans in attendance that year. The league had ten teams 392 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:20,600 Speaker 1: from Rockford, Peoria, Chicago and Springfield, Illinois, Racine and Kenosha, Wisconsin, 393 00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:25,320 Speaker 1: South Bend and Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Grand Rapids in Muskegan, Michigan. 394 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:34,560 Speaker 1: Most of the team names were distinctly feminine, including the Peaches, Chicks, Millarets, Daisies, Lassies, Colleen's, Sally's, 395 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:38,320 Speaker 1: and Bell's. Although the league grew between nineteen forty five 396 00:23:38,359 --> 00:23:41,159 Speaker 1: and nineteen forty eight, it also faced some struggles in 397 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:45,320 Speaker 1: those years. The idea of women playing baseball had drawn 398 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:48,560 Speaker 1: suspicion since the beginning, but that increased when there was 399 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:51,880 Speaker 1: no longer a wartime patriotic need for women to take 400 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:55,560 Speaker 1: up what was seen as men's work. Individual teams also 401 00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:58,400 Speaker 1: folded for various reasons from time to time, and then 402 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:00,600 Speaker 1: that put a strain on the rest to the league 403 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:04,040 Speaker 1: as it tried to absorb those other players. After a while, 404 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:08,960 Speaker 1: friction started to develop between individual teams in Meyerhoff's management company. 405 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:12,800 Speaker 1: While the league owned the player's contracts, the teams all 406 00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:15,520 Speaker 1: had their own owners who started to object to the 407 00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:18,960 Speaker 1: requirement to send some of their ticket revenues back to Meyerhoff. 408 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:22,840 Speaker 1: Meyerhoff was putting most of the proceeds back into the league, 409 00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:26,320 Speaker 1: but even so, a perception grew that Meyerhoff was making 410 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:29,439 Speaker 1: money off of the team's work. As attendance started to 411 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:32,800 Speaker 1: fall off. In nineteen forty eight, Meyerhoff embarked on some 412 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:37,000 Speaker 1: ambitious plans to try to revive the league. This included 413 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:40,080 Speaker 1: an attempt to start an International women's Baseball League, which 414 00:24:40,119 --> 00:24:43,760 Speaker 1: would play in Florida, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and Cuba during 415 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:47,720 Speaker 1: the winter and early spring. Although an international league was 416 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:50,760 Speaker 1: formed very briefly, it never really got off the ground. 417 00:24:51,119 --> 00:24:53,560 Speaker 1: At the end of the nineteen fifty season, the teams 418 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:58,240 Speaker 1: bought out Meyerhoff and became self governing and decentralized. The 419 00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:01,119 Speaker 1: league's name had been through slight tweaks through the years, 420 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:03,960 Speaker 1: and at this point it became the American Girls Baseball 421 00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:07,920 Speaker 1: League or AGBL, although most people still use the word all. 422 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:12,040 Speaker 1: At this point, players started contracting with teams for their 423 00:25:12,119 --> 00:25:15,560 Speaker 1: rates rather than the league, which increased paid disparities as 424 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:18,920 Speaker 1: teams tried to attract and keep the best players. The 425 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:22,040 Speaker 1: only paid position in the league at this point was 426 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:25,280 Speaker 1: the commissioner, and without a central league organization that was 427 00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:29,200 Speaker 1: promoting and marketing the games, attendance continued to drop. The 428 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:32,920 Speaker 1: league also faced increased competition from other forms of entertainment 429 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:37,280 Speaker 1: in the fifties, including televised men's baseball games. The American 430 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:41,639 Speaker 1: Girls Baseball League dissolved in nineteen fifty four. During its history, 431 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:44,719 Speaker 1: about six hundred women from the United States, Canada, and 432 00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:49,160 Speaker 1: Cuba had played for teams in fourteen Midwestern cities. During 433 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:51,879 Speaker 1: baseball season. They played six or seven games a week, 434 00:25:52,119 --> 00:25:56,160 Speaker 1: with doubleheaders on Sundays and holidays, sleeping on buses overnight 435 00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:59,040 Speaker 1: as they traveled from one city to the next. This 436 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:02,200 Speaker 1: was a grueling schedule, which may be one reason why 437 00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:04,560 Speaker 1: about a quarter of the players only played for one 438 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:08,560 Speaker 1: season or less. Although Major League Baseball had started to 439 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:12,040 Speaker 1: desegregate in the late nineteen forties and President Harry Truman 440 00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:15,720 Speaker 1: issued an executive order to desegregate them armed forces in 441 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:19,320 Speaker 1: nineteen forty eight, the All American Girls Baseball League was 442 00:26:19,359 --> 00:26:23,280 Speaker 1: segregated throughout its history. Although two black women practiced with 443 00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:26,160 Speaker 1: the South Bend Blue Sox in nineteen fifty one, neither 444 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:29,680 Speaker 1: of them wound up signing a contract with the league. However, 445 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:33,040 Speaker 1: there were three black women who played on men's teams 446 00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:37,400 Speaker 1: in the Negro Leagues in the nineteen fifties, Mamy Panut Johnson, 447 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:41,119 Speaker 1: Connie Morgan, and Marcinia Lyle, who used the name Tony 448 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:46,639 Speaker 1: Stone professionally. All three started with the Indianapolis Clowns. Tony 449 00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:49,879 Speaker 1: Stone replaced Hank Aaron there and her contract was sold 450 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:53,240 Speaker 1: to the Kansas City Monarchs before the nineteen fifty four season. 451 00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:56,560 Speaker 1: There are reports that Tony Stone tried out for the 452 00:26:56,560 --> 00:26:58,919 Speaker 1: All American Girls League as well, but those are not 453 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:03,080 Speaker 1: concretely document After the All American Girls League was dissolved, 454 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:05,959 Speaker 1: many of the players adopted what's been described as a 455 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:08,920 Speaker 1: self imposed silence. Most of them did not really talk 456 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:12,280 Speaker 1: about their time playing professional baseball, even among their families. 457 00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:16,199 Speaker 1: Reasons why are not entirely clear, but stigma may have 458 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:19,960 Speaker 1: been one factor. According to one survey that was conducted 459 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:23,640 Speaker 1: in the nineties, about twenty percent of players reported facing 460 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:27,440 Speaker 1: discrimination because of their history as an athlete. However, many 461 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 1: used the money that they'd earned playing baseball to go 462 00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:33,080 Speaker 1: to college or to start a career, with some attending 463 00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:37,119 Speaker 1: college and graduate school during the off season. One researcher 464 00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:39,879 Speaker 1: who interviewed players later in their life found that about 465 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:43,359 Speaker 1: thirty five percent had graduated from college, compared to less 466 00:27:43,359 --> 00:27:46,280 Speaker 1: than ten percent of women in the general population in 467 00:27:46,359 --> 00:27:49,760 Speaker 1: the same era. This has been described as a precursor 468 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:53,399 Speaker 1: to Title nine's effects on women's college enrollment, giving women 469 00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:57,880 Speaker 1: educational opportunities that they didn't have access to otherwise. When 470 00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:02,320 Speaker 1: the women's liberation movement started nineteen sixties and seventies, historians 471 00:28:02,359 --> 00:28:05,879 Speaker 1: and other researchers started unearthing the league's history, and the 472 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:10,040 Speaker 1: players started reconnecting with each other and documenting their own history. 473 00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:14,240 Speaker 1: At the same time. In the late seventies, Dorothy Camney, Camischeck, 474 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:17,800 Speaker 1: and Marge Winzel and June Peppys all met up and 475 00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:22,600 Speaker 1: started talking about organizing a reunion. In October of nineteen eighty, 476 00:28:22,640 --> 00:28:25,840 Speaker 1: Peppa sent a letter to the few players whose addresses 477 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:27,720 Speaker 1: she had been able to find and started trying to 478 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:31,320 Speaker 1: track people down. By January of nineteen eighty one, this 479 00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:34,800 Speaker 1: had morphed into a newsletter, which grew from a handful 480 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:37,840 Speaker 1: of addresses to more than one hundred within a month. 481 00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:42,760 Speaker 1: This also coalesced into a player's association that still exists today. 482 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:46,120 Speaker 1: The first of many reunions was held in Chicago in 483 00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:49,040 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty two, and the newsletter became part of an 484 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:51,960 Speaker 1: effort to establish a league archive and to get some 485 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:54,920 Speaker 1: kind of recognition in the National Baseball Hall of Fame 486 00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:58,280 Speaker 1: in Cooperstown, New York. It was during this process that 487 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:02,000 Speaker 1: the league's name became formally finalized as the All American 488 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:07,480 Speaker 1: Girls Professional Baseball League. The player's efforts for recognition came 489 00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:10,280 Speaker 1: to fruition on November fifth of nineteen eighty eight, with 490 00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:14,040 Speaker 1: the formal unveiling of a permanent Women in Baseball exhibit 491 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:17,160 Speaker 1: at the Baseball Hall of Fame. The league's players had 492 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:20,720 Speaker 1: been an active part in this exhibit's creation, including donating 493 00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:25,840 Speaker 1: their photographs, uniforms, equipment, and memorabilia. A league archive was 494 00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:30,160 Speaker 1: established at the Northern Indiana Historical Society Museum now called 495 00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:33,640 Speaker 1: the History Museum in South Bend, Indiana. There was also 496 00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:36,680 Speaker 1: an exhibition through the Smithsonian. The league was also the 497 00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:39,280 Speaker 1: subject of a short documentary called A League of their 498 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:43,040 Speaker 1: Own that aired nationally on public television on September thirtieth, 499 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:46,160 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty seven. And of course, there's the nineteen ninety 500 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:48,640 Speaker 1: two feature film directed by Penny Marshall, which was a 501 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:52,120 Speaker 1: blockbuster and was actually when many people first heard about 502 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:56,680 Speaker 1: women's baseball. Another documentary tells the story of Terry Donahue 503 00:29:56,680 --> 00:30:01,000 Speaker 1: and pat Henschel. Donahue was recruited from Saskatchewan, Canada, and 504 00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:04,800 Speaker 1: played for the Peoria Red Wings for four seasons. After 505 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:08,560 Speaker 1: these two women met. In between seasons, Henschell left her 506 00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:11,920 Speaker 1: life in Canada behind to join Donahue in the United States. 507 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:15,240 Speaker 1: Although the two of them described themselves at the time 508 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:18,080 Speaker 1: as cousins and roommates, they were really a couple and 509 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:21,600 Speaker 1: the documentary tells the story of their lives together. The 510 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:24,800 Speaker 1: film is called A Secret Love. It was supposed to 511 00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:28,400 Speaker 1: premiere at south By Southwest in March of twenty twenty, 512 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:31,280 Speaker 1: but of course, because of the pandemic, south By Southwest 513 00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:34,000 Speaker 1: has been canceled. So I'm not sure what the status 514 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:36,440 Speaker 1: of the film's debut is at this point, but at 515 00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:38,840 Speaker 1: some point I think it might come to Netflix, because 516 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:42,760 Speaker 1: there is a page for it in the Netflix Media Center. Exciting. 517 00:30:43,680 --> 00:30:46,080 Speaker 1: Henschell is also one of the people Brittany de la 518 00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:50,120 Speaker 1: Creda interviewed when reporting her article The Hidden Queer History 519 00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:52,880 Speaker 1: behind a league of their own. At that point, both 520 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:55,800 Speaker 1: Donahue and Henschell were still living, but Donahue died in 521 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:59,320 Speaker 1: twenty nineteen. At that time, she and Henschell had been 522 00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:04,640 Speaker 1: together for years. The All American Girls Professional Baseball League's 523 00:31:04,840 --> 00:31:08,560 Speaker 1: website for the player association also has a wealth of 524 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:12,840 Speaker 1: information on the individual players, including their photos, their team histories, 525 00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:15,320 Speaker 1: their biographies, and for those who are no longer living, 526 00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:18,560 Speaker 1: many of their obituaries are there as well. It is 527 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:21,920 Speaker 1: really a ton if you want to go read about 528 00:31:21,920 --> 00:31:24,360 Speaker 1: some women baseball players, lots and lots to look at 529 00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:32,840 Speaker 1: their Thanks so much for joining us on this Saturday. 530 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:34,760 Speaker 1: If you'd like to send us a note, our email 531 00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:39,479 Speaker 1: addresses History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com and you can 532 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:43,000 Speaker 1: subscribe to the show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 533 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:48,640 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.