1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:17,239 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy B. Wilson and I'm Holly Frying. Holly, I 4 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:20,439 Speaker 1: am sure you've seen a league of their own. I have. 5 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:25,160 Speaker 1: I feel like it's safe to say most of our 6 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 1: listeners have either seen a league of their own, or 7 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 1: at the very very least have heard someone say there's 8 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: no crying in baseball, which is probably its most quoted line. 9 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:36,479 Speaker 1: I think you could come to my house and here 10 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:38,720 Speaker 1: at once a week out of my husband's mouth, if 11 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:43,600 Speaker 1: you want to just hang out. So this is film 12 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 1: that tells the story of the All American Girls Professional 13 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:49,920 Speaker 1: Baseball League. It is a work of fiction, but it 14 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,840 Speaker 1: also gets some of the highlights correct. The league was 15 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:56,880 Speaker 1: founded during World War Two, as many of Major League 16 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:00,600 Speaker 1: Baseball's male players had joined the military, but the movie 17 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: also kind of makes it seem like this was a 18 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:05,959 Speaker 1: temporary diversion that ended when the war did. There's a 19 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:09,040 Speaker 1: line basically about continuing on with it, but it's not 20 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:13,520 Speaker 1: really explored beyond that. In reality, though these women were athletes, 21 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:17,199 Speaker 1: some of them thought they were starting a lifelong career 22 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: in professional baseball that would last as long as they 23 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:22,920 Speaker 1: were able to play. The league itself also went on 24 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:25,480 Speaker 1: for years after the war was over, and this is 25 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:28,600 Speaker 1: also a listener request. We've heard about it at various 26 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:30,560 Speaker 1: points over the years, but the one that I wrote 27 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:34,240 Speaker 1: down was from listener morev So, by ninety three, when 28 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 1: this league was founded, baseball was considered both of the 29 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:41,000 Speaker 1: national pastime in the United States and a man's game, 30 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:44,080 Speaker 1: but it didn't start out that way. As the game 31 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:46,960 Speaker 1: of baseball was developing in the nineteenth century, it wasn't 32 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 1: just for men and boys. Children played together in neighborhood 33 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:55,120 Speaker 1: games regardless of their gender. Semi professional and professional leagues 34 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:58,720 Speaker 1: included women players and women's teams, and there were also 35 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: teams at women's college is, the first being at Vasser 36 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty six, and all black women's team called 37 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: the Dolly Vardens was established in Philadelphia in eighteen sixty seven. 38 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: During baseball's earlier years, the rules weren't particularly standardized, and 39 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 1: there were all kinds of variations and things like the 40 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:20,240 Speaker 1: size of the playing field, the size of the ball, 41 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 1: and the style of pitching, and a lot of places 42 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 1: everyone played by the same rules regardless of their gender. 43 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: Although it was not uncommon for women to be expected 44 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: to play in floor length stresses. It was also common, though, 45 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: for girls baseball teams specifically to have modified rules sets that, 46 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:41,160 Speaker 1: for example, made the playing field a little smaller. Barn 47 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: Storming became an important part of baseball's development. Starting in 48 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:48,040 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty, teams would go on the road to play 49 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 1: exhibition matches outside of official league play. By the eighteen nineties, 50 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:56,239 Speaker 1: barn stormers included all women teams known as bloomer girls 51 00:02:56,280 --> 00:03:00,160 Speaker 1: because of their billowy uniform legs, so they resembled the 52 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,680 Speaker 1: loose trousers advocated by dress reformers in the nineteenth century. 53 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:08,440 Speaker 1: That's not underwear, imagining that when they said bloomer girls, 54 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:10,919 Speaker 1: it meant playing in their underwear. Maybe giggle a little bit, 55 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:14,880 Speaker 1: but that's not what it meant. Over time, one set 56 00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: of baseball rule modifications morphed into its own distinct sport, 57 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: and that sport was softball. These two games have a 58 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:26,360 Speaker 1: lot of similarities. They both involve hitting a throne ball 59 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:28,840 Speaker 1: with a bat and then rounding a set of bases 60 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:32,960 Speaker 1: that are arranged as a diamond, but softball uses a larger, 61 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:37,240 Speaker 1: softer ball, thus the name that ball is pitched underhanded 62 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,920 Speaker 1: rather than overhand or side arm, the pitching distances shorter, 63 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: and the overall field of play is a little smaller. Initially, 64 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:47,120 Speaker 1: the game that developed into softball was meant as a 65 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 1: baseball alternative that could be played indoors in bad weather. 66 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:54,840 Speaker 1: Sometimes it was even called just indoor baseball. It became 67 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 1: particularly popular in places where space was limited or were 68 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:01,280 Speaker 1: the only place to play was indoors. It was also 69 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:04,800 Speaker 1: played outdoors in places with limited space. In the late 70 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:09,040 Speaker 1: nineteenth century, settlement houses in the US started establishing playgrounds 71 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 1: and encouraging active play in urban areas, especially among boys. 72 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:17,720 Speaker 1: Softball became so closely connected to the settlement movement into 73 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 1: these playgrounds that some sources have erroneously credited Chicago's Hull 74 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 1: House with inventing it, and we talked about Hull House 75 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 1: and its founder, Jane Adams in a previous two parter 76 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 1: on the show. Did not invent softball, did play it 77 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:37,120 Speaker 1: a whole lot, though The overlap between baseball and softball 78 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:41,039 Speaker 1: and who was playing it continued until about nineteen thirty three, 79 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 1: that is when the Amateur Softball Association was founded as 80 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:48,920 Speaker 1: that sports governing body, and the name softball was formally 81 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:52,800 Speaker 1: adopted for it, and at this point girls baseball teams 82 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:55,719 Speaker 1: that had been using some kind of modified rules set 83 00:04:55,880 --> 00:04:59,479 Speaker 1: generally moved over to playing softball. It did not take 84 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:02,320 Speaker 1: long the four people took for granted that baseball was 85 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:06,080 Speaker 1: for boys and softball was for girls, a distinction that 86 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:09,919 Speaker 1: persists in a lot of places today. When Little League 87 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:12,920 Speaker 1: Baseball was founded in nineteen thirty nine, it was intended 88 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:15,719 Speaker 1: for boys, although that did not become an official rule 89 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:19,720 Speaker 1: until nineteen one, in response to k Johnston of New 90 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:22,919 Speaker 1: York cutting her hair to join a team under the 91 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:27,239 Speaker 1: name Tubby. The Tubby rule remained in place until nineteen 92 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: seventy four, after a series of court cases and a 93 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 1: ruling by the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights. I 94 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:37,039 Speaker 1: guess that's it's such a good illustration of how it 95 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:40,760 Speaker 1: was assumed to be for boys, so much so that 96 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:45,080 Speaker 1: it wasn't even in the rules until after a girl 97 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:47,919 Speaker 1: cut her hair to join a team. Like Yeah, it 98 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,160 Speaker 1: was just taken totally for granted. So by the nineteen forties, 99 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:55,160 Speaker 1: both softball and baseball were well established in the United States. 100 00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 1: They were two separate sports, one for men, and boys, 101 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 1: the other for women and girls. Both had the amateur, 102 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:04,279 Speaker 1: semi professional, and professional teams and leagues. And that brings 103 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:07,320 Speaker 1: us to World War two, if you remember our October 104 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 1: episode on the Black Sox scandal. During World War One, 105 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:14,839 Speaker 1: the idea of Major League Baseball continuing on in spite 106 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:19,440 Speaker 1: of the war was deeply controversial. Secretary of War Newton D. 107 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:23,280 Speaker 1: Baker issued a work or Fight order which required any 108 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:26,240 Speaker 1: man eligible for the draft to either work in a 109 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:30,680 Speaker 1: war critical industry or join the military. Men who continued 110 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:34,480 Speaker 1: to play baseball were viewed as abandoning their patriotic duty, 111 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:37,719 Speaker 1: and after the US joined the war, Major League Baseball 112 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:41,920 Speaker 1: shortened the nine eighteen season. As war once again started 113 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:45,120 Speaker 1: to spread through Europe in nineteen thirty nine, people feared 114 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:47,960 Speaker 1: that the sport of baseball would be disrupted, as it 115 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:51,600 Speaker 1: had been a couple of decades earlier. These fears escalated 116 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:55,040 Speaker 1: after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in December of nineteen 117 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:57,800 Speaker 1: forty one, and the United States entered the war at 118 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:00,840 Speaker 1: that point. In January of nineteen four A two Kenna 119 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:04,599 Speaker 1: saw Mountain Landis, the Commissioner of Baseball, wrote to President 120 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:07,720 Speaker 1: Franklin Delano Roosevelt to ask, quote, what you have in 121 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:11,560 Speaker 1: mind as to whether professional baseball should continue to operate? 122 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:17,880 Speaker 1: On January Roosevelt, who was a fan of baseball, responded 123 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:20,360 Speaker 1: with what has become known as the green Light Letter. 124 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:23,440 Speaker 1: It read, in part, quote, I honestly feel that it 125 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:25,960 Speaker 1: would be best for the country to keep baseball going. 126 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:29,640 Speaker 1: There will be fewer people unemployed, and everybody will work 127 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:33,160 Speaker 1: longer hours and harder than ever before, and that means 128 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 1: that they ought to have a chance for recreation and 129 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:38,720 Speaker 1: for taking their minds off their work even more than before. 130 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 1: And his letter, the President stressed that players who were 131 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:44,800 Speaker 1: of an age to join the military should do so, 132 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 1: but that they might be replaced with older players who 133 00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 1: could still play an exciting game. The President also advocated 134 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:54,440 Speaker 1: for more night games so that day shift workers at 135 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: wartime factories could go The President ended the green Light 136 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:00,760 Speaker 1: Letter by saying, quote, here's an their way of looking 137 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:04,000 Speaker 1: at it. If three hundred teams used five thousand or 138 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: six thousand players, these players are a definite recreation asset 139 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:11,920 Speaker 1: to at least twenty million of their fellow citizens, and that, 140 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:16,320 Speaker 1: in my judgment, is thoroughly worthwhile. So even though baseball 141 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:19,800 Speaker 1: had the President's seal of approval, Roughly half of the 142 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:23,320 Speaker 1: regular players in Major League Baseball wound up serving in 143 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:26,880 Speaker 1: the military. Some of its best and most popular players 144 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 1: were drafted. Of course, that trend also applied to the 145 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:33,320 Speaker 1: minor leagues and to other baseball teams as well. So 146 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:36,160 Speaker 1: even though the President himself had given the okay for 147 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:39,560 Speaker 1: baseball to continue, there were people worried that the sport 148 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:42,400 Speaker 1: was going to struggle, and that this might even lead 149 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:45,560 Speaker 1: to the closure of some of the nation's ballparks. One 150 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 1: of these concerned people was Philip K. Wrigley. His father, 151 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:52,800 Speaker 1: William Wrigley Jr. Had died in nineteen thirty two, leaving 152 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:56,520 Speaker 1: Philip the William Wrigley Jr. Chewing Gum Company, a fortune 153 00:08:56,960 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 1: and the Chicago Cubs baseball team. We will get to 154 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:10,559 Speaker 1: what he did after a quick sponsor break. About three 155 00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:14,080 Speaker 1: million women joined the workforce in the United States between 156 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:17,640 Speaker 1: nineteen forty and ninety two, and Philip K. Wrigley thought 157 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:20,400 Speaker 1: that maybe the same trend could apply to professional ball. 158 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:24,200 Speaker 1: Women's teams could play in ballparks where the home teams 159 00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:26,840 Speaker 1: were on the road, keeping the sport in the parks 160 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:30,319 Speaker 1: going while so many men were away at war. These 161 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:34,360 Speaker 1: teams of women could also help boost the national morale 162 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:37,120 Speaker 1: and help the war effort with things like fundraising and 163 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:41,000 Speaker 1: recruitment drives. Wrigley teamed up with Ken Cells, who had 164 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:43,920 Speaker 1: previously worked for the chewing gum business but had become 165 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:49,600 Speaker 1: assistant general manager of the Chicago Cubs. On February seventy three, 166 00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:53,080 Speaker 1: they issued a press release announcing the creation of the 167 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:57,280 Speaker 1: All American Girls Softball League. Their plan was to recruit 168 00:09:57,320 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 1: players from the women's softball teams that had been missed 169 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:03,000 Speaker 1: down wished all over the country. At the beginning, Jim 170 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:05,960 Speaker 1: Hamilton's was the lead talent scout in the US, and 171 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:10,120 Speaker 1: Johannes got Sellig known as Johnny, headed up recruitment in Canada. 172 00:10:10,559 --> 00:10:13,720 Speaker 1: But Wrigley also wanted to make the game a little 173 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:17,439 Speaker 1: closer to what spectators might expect from a baseball game, 174 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 1: so they worked out a rule set that had elements 175 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:24,000 Speaker 1: of both baseball and softball. Like softball, it used a 176 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:27,760 Speaker 1: larger ball in an underhanded pitching style, but like baseball, 177 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:31,600 Speaker 1: the teams had nine players per side rather than softball's ten. 178 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:35,560 Speaker 1: The playing field would also have a longer pitching distance 179 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:38,320 Speaker 1: and running path than softball did, but it was still 180 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:41,680 Speaker 1: shorter than what was being used in baseball. Players in 181 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:44,800 Speaker 1: this game would also be allowed to steal bases, something 182 00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:48,480 Speaker 1: that was not allowed in softball. These changes caused some 183 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:52,200 Speaker 1: controversy about exactly what sport was being played out there 184 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:54,480 Speaker 1: on the field, and the league changed its name to 185 00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:59,120 Speaker 1: the All American Girls Baseball League part way through the season. 186 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:02,920 Speaker 1: As You're cruiters visited softball teams to look for players, 187 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:07,320 Speaker 1: hundreds of women and girls expressed interest in playing professionally. 188 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:11,080 Speaker 1: About two hundred eighty were invited to the final tryouts, 189 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:14,520 Speaker 1: and sixty players from the US and Canada were ultimately 190 00:11:14,559 --> 00:11:18,200 Speaker 1: selected to play in the nineteen forty three season. Some 191 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:20,720 Speaker 1: of these young women were as young as fifteen, although 192 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:24,080 Speaker 1: most of them were between eighteen and twenty two. As 193 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:26,439 Speaker 1: was the case with Major League Baseball at the time, 194 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:31,360 Speaker 1: the newly established women's league excluded black players. These players 195 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:35,280 Speaker 1: were arranged into four teams of fifteen players each, the 196 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:39,480 Speaker 1: Rockford Peaches of Illinois, the South Bend Blue Sox of Indiana, 197 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:43,040 Speaker 1: and the Racing Bells in the Kenosha Comments of Wisconsin. 198 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:46,480 Speaker 1: Each of these was not far away from a much 199 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:50,000 Speaker 1: larger major city. They were also close enough together to 200 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:52,960 Speaker 1: allow the teams to travel from one city to the 201 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:56,360 Speaker 1: next for games while still conserving fuel and rubber during 202 00:11:56,400 --> 00:12:00,480 Speaker 1: wartime rationing. The league set up was significantly front from 203 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:03,640 Speaker 1: Major League Baseball or most other leagues at the time. 204 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:07,959 Speaker 1: The league itself was a nonprofit organization, with Philip Wrigley, 205 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:12,000 Speaker 1: Paul Harvey, and Branch Ricky as trustees. Much of the 206 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:15,760 Speaker 1: initial funding came from Wrigley himself. He spent about two 207 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:18,960 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty thousand dollars getting the whole project started, 208 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:22,440 Speaker 1: and he contributed to the team's maintenance costs, especially in 209 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:26,720 Speaker 1: the first year. The players contracts were also centrally owned 210 00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:29,200 Speaker 1: by the league, rather than being owned by one of 211 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:32,520 Speaker 1: the four teams. This meant that the players pay was 212 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:35,720 Speaker 1: set by the league. There were no bidding wars with 213 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:38,600 Speaker 1: teams trying to entice the best players to sign on 214 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:42,280 Speaker 1: with them. That first year, the players made between forty 215 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:44,880 Speaker 1: five dollars and eighty five dollars a week. That does 216 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:47,559 Speaker 1: not sound like much, but it is significantly more than 217 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:50,840 Speaker 1: most of them had been making an agricultural or factory work, 218 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:55,000 Speaker 1: or maybe playing in a paying softball league. Players in 219 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:58,240 Speaker 1: the league were prohibited from doing any other work during 220 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:02,280 Speaker 1: the season. The centrally owned player contracts also meant that 221 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:04,720 Speaker 1: the league had the right to trade players from one 222 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:07,800 Speaker 1: team to another. One of the league's goals was for 223 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:10,440 Speaker 1: all the games to be as evenly matched and exciting 224 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 1: to watch as possible, so player trades happened throughout the 225 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:17,560 Speaker 1: season as they tried to keep this balance. Each team 226 00:13:17,679 --> 00:13:20,160 Speaker 1: had a manager who also acted as a coach. These 227 00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:23,240 Speaker 1: were typically men who had experience in major league or 228 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:26,840 Speaker 1: minor league baseball. Every team also had a business manager, 229 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:29,800 Speaker 1: as well as a chaperone, who was a woman and 230 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:33,040 Speaker 1: was a paid part of the staff. During the league's history, 231 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:35,840 Speaker 1: most of the chaperones had some experience in working with 232 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:40,040 Speaker 1: women's athletic teams. The chaperones were responsible for making housing 233 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:43,920 Speaker 1: arrangements for the team, handling money, and approving any housing 234 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:46,800 Speaker 1: and dining accommodations that the team was going to use. 235 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:50,400 Speaker 1: In some ways, they were a little like athletic trainers 236 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:53,440 Speaker 1: as well, being trained in first aid and responsible for 237 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:56,000 Speaker 1: the team's first aid kit and the treatment of injuries. 238 00:13:56,640 --> 00:14:00,560 Speaker 1: They were also ultimately responsible for the players conduct, behavior, 239 00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:05,440 Speaker 1: and appearance. That last point was a lot most of 240 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:09,120 Speaker 1: the players came from working class and agricultural communities that 241 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:13,319 Speaker 1: didn't really regard women's participation in softball as unusual in 242 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:15,640 Speaker 1: any way. A lot of them had been playing on 243 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:18,760 Speaker 1: teams that had been organized by their employers, with that 244 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:22,360 Speaker 1: involvement being seen as pretty normal and fun. But that 245 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:25,160 Speaker 1: wasn't necessarily true among the middle class, which was a 246 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:27,200 Speaker 1: big part of the audience that the league was hoping 247 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:31,200 Speaker 1: to attract. The idea that women were playing baseball, which 248 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:34,200 Speaker 1: was considered to be a game for men, also raised 249 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:38,160 Speaker 1: some suspicions about the players. A common stereotype was that 250 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:42,200 Speaker 1: women athletes were lesbians. That's a stereotype that still exists today, 251 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:45,680 Speaker 1: but without nearly the level of stigma that was attached 252 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:48,360 Speaker 1: to it in the nineteen forties. So the league went 253 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:51,640 Speaker 1: to great links to reinforce the idea that these players 254 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:58,120 Speaker 1: weren't just women, they were ladies, specifically patriotic, wholesome, middle class, 255 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:02,880 Speaker 1: heterosexual ladies. Outwardly, the league described all its rules and 256 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:06,080 Speaker 1: training about things like beauty and conduct as a service 257 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:10,200 Speaker 1: teaching working class girls to be middle class ladies, which 258 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:13,560 Speaker 1: of course suggested that to be middle class was better 259 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:16,160 Speaker 1: than to be working class, and on top of that, 260 00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:18,560 Speaker 1: a lot of the rules and standards in place were 261 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:23,280 Speaker 1: also meant to reduce suspicions of lesbianism. This included the 262 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:27,320 Speaker 1: players uniforms. These were one piece pastel colored tunic like 263 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:31,040 Speaker 1: garments with a flared skirt which were worn with satin 264 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:35,000 Speaker 1: shorts and knee socks. They were designed by Rigley's wife Aida, 265 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:39,440 Speaker 1: along with poster artist Otis Shepard and softball player And Harnett. 266 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:43,640 Speaker 1: They were also patterned after women's figure skating and tennis attire. 267 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:47,080 Speaker 1: These uniforms were meant to set the players apart from 268 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:50,280 Speaker 1: the barn storming bloomer girls that we referenced earlier, and 269 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:53,120 Speaker 1: to reinforce the idea that the players on the field 270 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:57,200 Speaker 1: were feminine women. These skirts did not really do much 271 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:00,520 Speaker 1: to protect the players legs from scrapes and other injuries, 272 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:03,760 Speaker 1: but the players were also expected to look pristine at 273 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:07,119 Speaker 1: all times and not really have any visible injuries, perfectly 274 00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:15,360 Speaker 1: from athletic lady. The whole kind of convoluted tangle. Yeah, 275 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:18,400 Speaker 1: The specific rules varied over the league's history, but the 276 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:21,520 Speaker 1: general idea of players being the right kind of woman 277 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:26,040 Speaker 1: was part of it. Throughout each player was issued a 278 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:29,680 Speaker 1: guide for all American girls how to look better, feel better, 279 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:35,120 Speaker 1: be more popular. In the season, Helena Rubinstein's Beauty Salon 280 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:39,160 Speaker 1: taught charm and beauty lessons for the players that included hygiene, 281 00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:43,000 Speaker 1: personal appearance, etiquette, and things like how to gracefully get 282 00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:45,920 Speaker 1: in and out of a car or go up and downstairs. 283 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:49,720 Speaker 1: The Ruth Tiffany School provided these lessons the next year. 284 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:54,240 Speaker 1: Formal charm lessons ended after that point, but a focus 285 00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:58,920 Speaker 1: on appropriate feminine behavior continued. Players were also issued a 286 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:01,800 Speaker 1: beauty kit that they were expected to keep stock. It 287 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:06,880 Speaker 1: included cleansing cream, lipstick, rouge, deodorant, a stringent face powder, 288 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:10,560 Speaker 1: hand lotion, and hair remover. They were required to be 289 00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:13,639 Speaker 1: attractive and presentable at all times, and they had to 290 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:15,840 Speaker 1: wear a dress or a skirt anytime they were seen 291 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:18,960 Speaker 1: in public. Most of the players wore trousers on the 292 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:22,120 Speaker 1: bus for the sake of comfort, especially during nighttime road 293 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:25,080 Speaker 1: trips between games, but kept a skirt with them to 294 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:27,680 Speaker 1: change into if they stopped for something like a restroom 295 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:30,320 Speaker 1: break or a meal. Some of the other rules from 296 00:17:30,359 --> 00:17:34,960 Speaker 1: the player's code of conduct no boyish bobbed hair, no smoking, 297 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:39,000 Speaker 1: no drinking alcohol, and no social engagements unless they were 298 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:43,600 Speaker 1: approved by a chaperone. Lipstick was mandatory at all times, 299 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:47,320 Speaker 1: and there were also more mundane rules about things like punctuality. 300 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:51,000 Speaker 1: The player's code of conduct specified a five dollar fine 301 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:53,480 Speaker 1: for the first offense, a ten dollar fine for the 302 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:56,680 Speaker 1: second offense, and suspension for the third, but there were 303 00:17:56,680 --> 00:18:01,440 Speaker 1: players that faced harsher penalties. Josephine d Angelo, known as Jojo, 304 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:04,280 Speaker 1: was cut from the Blue Sox in her second year 305 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:06,959 Speaker 1: from the team after she got a bobbed haircut that 306 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:10,920 Speaker 1: was described as too short and butchy in some accounts. 307 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:14,119 Speaker 1: Frieda and Olympia Savona, who were star players from the 308 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:18,080 Speaker 1: New Orleans Jack's Brewing Company softball team, were passed over 309 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:21,680 Speaker 1: for the All American Girls League because of their masculine appearance. 310 00:18:22,359 --> 00:18:26,359 Speaker 1: There were definitely some news stories that made disparaging comments 311 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:29,400 Speaker 1: about the Savona's appearance, but Frieda wrote to a reporter 312 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:31,679 Speaker 1: to say this had nothing to do with why she 313 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:33,959 Speaker 1: was not in the league. She said she was just 314 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:38,040 Speaker 1: happier and better paid where she was. Fraternizing with members 315 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:41,399 Speaker 1: of other teams was also forbidden within the league. The 316 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:43,560 Speaker 1: league framed this as a way to keep the level 317 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:47,439 Speaker 1: of competitiveness high, but many of the players interpreted it 318 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:50,959 Speaker 1: as a way to discourage romantic relationships between them. So 319 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:53,480 Speaker 1: that's kind of an overview of what the league was 320 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:57,280 Speaker 1: like when spring training started at its first season on 321 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:02,399 Speaker 1: May seventeenthe that happened in Chicago. The first pitch of 322 00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:06,520 Speaker 1: the season was thrown on man, and we'll talk about 323 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:09,280 Speaker 1: how things grew and evolved from there after we first 324 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:20,000 Speaker 1: have a little sponsor break. The All American Girls Baseball 325 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:25,680 Speaker 1: League's first season included sporting events as well as wartime patriotism. 326 00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:29,560 Speaker 1: Teams made appearances at recruitment drives and fundraisers, and they 327 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:33,960 Speaker 1: visited wounded soldiers that had returned state side. On July one, 328 00:19:34,119 --> 00:19:36,320 Speaker 1: they held an all star game against a team from 329 00:19:36,359 --> 00:19:39,159 Speaker 1: the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, which was played under the 330 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:41,800 Speaker 1: lights at Wrigley Field. This event was part of a 331 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:45,320 Speaker 1: recruitment drive, held free of charge and at night so 332 00:19:45,359 --> 00:19:48,920 Speaker 1: that working women could attend. Some of the league's patriotism 333 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:51,520 Speaker 1: was more symbolic, like having the two teams that were 334 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:54,199 Speaker 1: going to be competing lined up in a v for 335 00:19:54,359 --> 00:19:57,399 Speaker 1: victory during the National anthem at the beginning of every game. 336 00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:02,359 Speaker 1: The three season ended with five game championship series in 337 00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:06,280 Speaker 1: which the Racing Bells defeated the Kenosha Comments. More than 338 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:09,479 Speaker 1: one hundred seventy five thousand fans attended games in that 339 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:13,639 Speaker 1: first season. Then in ninety four, the league expanded to 340 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:17,960 Speaker 1: six teams. Another competing league was founded that same year, 341 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:22,480 Speaker 1: the National Girls Baseball League, established in Chicago. This league 342 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:26,520 Speaker 1: continued until nineteen fifty four, although its history and activities 343 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:29,919 Speaker 1: aren't nearly as well documented as the All American Girls League. 344 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:32,919 Speaker 1: At the end of the nineteen forty four season, Philip 345 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:36,280 Speaker 1: Wrigley sold the league to Arthur mayer Hoff for ten 346 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:39,600 Speaker 1: thousand dollars, which was a fraction of what he had 347 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:42,040 Speaker 1: put into getting it started and operating it. In those 348 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:45,119 Speaker 1: first two seasons. It had become clear that the sport 349 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:47,600 Speaker 1: of men's baseball was not in any kind of actual 350 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:50,879 Speaker 1: peril from the war, but apart from that, Wrigley was 351 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:53,720 Speaker 1: just not really interested in being so heavily involved in 352 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:56,560 Speaker 1: the league anymore. Meyer Haff had also been a big 353 00:20:56,600 --> 00:20:59,360 Speaker 1: part of the league since it's an exception, and Wrigley 354 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:02,560 Speaker 1: was confident that he would maintain the same standards that 355 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:05,919 Speaker 1: Wrigley had established in terms of quality and entertainment. The 356 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:08,400 Speaker 1: biggest change at this point was that the league went 357 00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:12,600 Speaker 1: from being a nonprofit to a for profit entity. Otherwise, 358 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:16,040 Speaker 1: the players contracts were still centrally owned, and each team 359 00:21:16,040 --> 00:21:20,200 Speaker 1: continued to have paid managers and chaperons. Meyer Hoff put 360 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:23,199 Speaker 1: a big focus on marketing and promoting the league. He 361 00:21:23,359 --> 00:21:28,200 Speaker 1: also organized postseason exhibition tours to Cuba and South America, 362 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:31,359 Speaker 1: mainly to countries where Wrigley chewing gum had a presence 363 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:35,040 Speaker 1: thanks to the rubber and chickle industries. Over time, the 364 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:38,040 Speaker 1: style of play within the league continued to shift and 365 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:41,760 Speaker 1: become more and more like men's baseball. The ball gradually 366 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:45,719 Speaker 1: got smaller and harder pitching and infield distances got longer. 367 00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:50,040 Speaker 1: Sidearm pitching was introduced in ninety six, and overhand pitching 368 00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:54,399 Speaker 1: in Some players that had been recruited from softball teams 369 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:57,359 Speaker 1: had a little trouble adjusting to these changes, and meyer 370 00:21:57,400 --> 00:22:00,880 Speaker 1: Haff established a junior league and farm team to cultivate 371 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:04,199 Speaker 1: new talent. Although the All American Girls Baseball League had 372 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:06,919 Speaker 1: started out with the idea of being a substitution for 373 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:10,679 Speaker 1: men's baseball during World War Two. It's popularity really peaked 374 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:14,080 Speaker 1: after the war ended in nineteen forty five. In nineteen 375 00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:17,520 Speaker 1: forty six, a July fourth double header in South Bend, Indiana, 376 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:20,840 Speaker 1: drew a crowd of between ten thousand and twenty thousand people. 377 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:25,000 Speaker 1: Attendance peaked in nineteen forty eight, with nearly a million 378 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:28,760 Speaker 1: fans in attendance. That year. The league had ten teams 379 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:34,920 Speaker 1: from Rockford, Peoria, Chicago and Springfield, Illinois, Racine in Kenosha, Wisconsin, 380 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:39,600 Speaker 1: South Bend and Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Grand Rapids in Mouskegan, Michigan. 381 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:46,399 Speaker 1: Most of the team names were distinctly feminine, including the Peaches, Chicks, Millarettes, Daisies, 382 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:51,679 Speaker 1: Lassie's Colleens, Sally's, and Bells. Although the league grew between 383 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:54,600 Speaker 1: nineteen forty five and nineteen forty eight, it also faced 384 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:58,440 Speaker 1: some struggles. In those years. The idea of women playing 385 00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:01,760 Speaker 1: baseball had drawn suspend and since the beginning, but that 386 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:05,280 Speaker 1: increased when there was no longer a wartime patriotic need 387 00:23:05,359 --> 00:23:07,800 Speaker 1: for women to take up what was seen as men's work. 388 00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:12,320 Speaker 1: Individual teams also folded for various reasons from time to time, 389 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:14,480 Speaker 1: and then that put a strain on the rest of 390 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:17,080 Speaker 1: the league as it tried to absorb those other players. 391 00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:21,480 Speaker 1: After a while, friction started to develop between individual teams 392 00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:25,040 Speaker 1: and meyer Hoffs management company. While the league owned the 393 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:28,639 Speaker 1: players contracts, the teams all had their own owners who 394 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:31,119 Speaker 1: started to object to the requirement to send some of 395 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:34,760 Speaker 1: their ticket revenues back to meyer Hoff. Meyer Haff was 396 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:37,240 Speaker 1: putting most of the proceeds back into the league, but 397 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:40,639 Speaker 1: even so, a perception grew that meyer Haff was making 398 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:43,720 Speaker 1: money off of the team's work. As attendants started to 399 00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:48,320 Speaker 1: fall off in meyer Haff embarked on some ambitious plans 400 00:23:48,359 --> 00:23:51,800 Speaker 1: to try to revive the league. This included an attempt 401 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:54,840 Speaker 1: to start an international women's baseball league, which would play 402 00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:58,520 Speaker 1: in Florida, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and Cuba during the winter 403 00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:03,440 Speaker 1: and early spring. Although an international league was formed very briefly, 404 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:05,840 Speaker 1: it never really got off the ground. At the end 405 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:08,600 Speaker 1: of the nineteen fifty season, the teams bought out Mayer 406 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:13,320 Speaker 1: half and became self governing and decentralized. The league's name 407 00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:15,720 Speaker 1: had been through slight tweaks through the years, and at 408 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:19,040 Speaker 1: this point it became the American Girls Baseball League or 409 00:24:19,119 --> 00:24:21,600 Speaker 1: a g b L, although most people still use the 410 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:26,000 Speaker 1: word all. At this point, players started contracting with teams 411 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:28,960 Speaker 1: for their rates rather than the league, which increased paid 412 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:32,560 Speaker 1: disparities as teams trying to attract and keep the best players. 413 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:36,160 Speaker 1: The only paid position in the league at this point 414 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:39,399 Speaker 1: was the commissioner, and without a central league organization that 415 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:42,879 Speaker 1: was promoting and marketing, the game's attendance continued to drop. 416 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:46,600 Speaker 1: The league also faced increased competition from other forms of 417 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:51,080 Speaker 1: entertainment in the fifties, including televised men's baseball games. The 418 00:24:51,119 --> 00:24:55,400 Speaker 1: American Girls Baseball League dissolved in nineteen fifty four. During 419 00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:58,840 Speaker 1: its history, about six hundred women from the United States, Canada, 420 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:02,560 Speaker 1: and Cuba had played for teams in fourteen Midwestern cities 421 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:06,160 Speaker 1: During baseball season. They played six or seven games a week, 422 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:10,480 Speaker 1: with doubleheaders on Sundays and holidays, sleeping on busses overnight 423 00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:13,359 Speaker 1: as they traveled from one city to the next. This 424 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:16,760 Speaker 1: was a grueling schedule, which maybe one reason why about 425 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:19,240 Speaker 1: a quarter of the players only played for one season 426 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:23,680 Speaker 1: or less. Although Major League Baseball had started to desegregate 427 00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:26,760 Speaker 1: in the late nineteen forties and President Harry Truman issued 428 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:30,159 Speaker 1: an executive order to desegregate the armed forces in the 429 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:35,639 Speaker 1: All American Girls Baseball League was segregated throughout its history. 430 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:38,440 Speaker 1: Although two black women practiced with the South Bend Blue 431 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:41,280 Speaker 1: Sox in nineteen fifty one, neither of them wind up 432 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:45,320 Speaker 1: signing a contract with the league. However, there were three 433 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:47,919 Speaker 1: black women who played on men's teams in the Negro 434 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:52,879 Speaker 1: Leagues in the nineteen fifties, Maymie Peanut Johnson, Connie Morgan, 435 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:56,600 Speaker 1: and Marsennia Lysle who used the name Tony Stone professionally. 436 00:25:57,359 --> 00:26:01,880 Speaker 1: All three started with the Indianapolis Clown. Tony Stone replaced 437 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:04,560 Speaker 1: Hank Aaron there and her contract was sold to the 438 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:08,720 Speaker 1: Kansas City Monarchs before the nineteen four season. There are 439 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:11,480 Speaker 1: reports that Tony Stone tried out for the All American 440 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:14,640 Speaker 1: Girls League as well, but those are not concretely documented. 441 00:26:15,119 --> 00:26:17,959 Speaker 1: After the All American Girls League was dissolved, many of 442 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:21,800 Speaker 1: the players adopted what's been described as a self imposed silence. 443 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:23,840 Speaker 1: Most of them did not really talk about their time 444 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:28,200 Speaker 1: playing professional baseball, even among their families. Reasons why are 445 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:31,560 Speaker 1: not entirely clear, but stigma may have been one factor. 446 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:35,080 Speaker 1: According to one survey that was conducted in the nineties 447 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:39,439 Speaker 1: about twenty percent of players reported facing discrimination because of 448 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:42,640 Speaker 1: their history as an athlete. However, many used the money 449 00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:44,960 Speaker 1: that they had earned playing baseball to go to college 450 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:47,840 Speaker 1: or to start a career, with some attending college and 451 00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:52,080 Speaker 1: graduate school during the off season. One researcher who interviewed 452 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:54,760 Speaker 1: players later in their life found that about thirty five 453 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:58,000 Speaker 1: percent had graduated from college, compared to less than ten 454 00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:00,760 Speaker 1: percent of women in the general population and in the 455 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:04,159 Speaker 1: same era. This has been described as a precursor to 456 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:08,440 Speaker 1: Title nine's effects on women's college enrollment, giving women educational 457 00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:12,280 Speaker 1: opportunities that they didn't have access to otherwise. When the 458 00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:15,919 Speaker 1: women's liberation movement started in the nineteen sixties and seventies, 459 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:20,000 Speaker 1: historians and other researchers started unearthing the league's history, and 460 00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:23,840 Speaker 1: the players started reconnecting with each other and documenting their 461 00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:26,760 Speaker 1: own history. At the same time. In the late seventies, 462 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:30,800 Speaker 1: Dorothy Camny, cam in Check, and Marge Winzel and June 463 00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:34,520 Speaker 1: Peppis all met up and started talking about organizing a reunion. 464 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:38,199 Speaker 1: In October of nineteen eight, Peppi sent a letter to 465 00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:40,919 Speaker 1: the few players whose addresses she had been able to 466 00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:44,320 Speaker 1: find and started trying to track people down. By January 467 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:47,560 Speaker 1: of nineteen eight one, this had morphed into a newsletter, 468 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:50,600 Speaker 1: which grew from a handful of addresses to more than 469 00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:54,240 Speaker 1: a hundred within a month. This also coalesced into a 470 00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:58,359 Speaker 1: players association that still exists today. The first of many 471 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:02,080 Speaker 1: reunions was held in chicag Go in two and the 472 00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:04,800 Speaker 1: newsletter became part of an effort to establish a league 473 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:07,600 Speaker 1: archive and they get some kind of recognition in the 474 00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:11,320 Speaker 1: National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. It 475 00:28:11,359 --> 00:28:14,200 Speaker 1: was during this process that the league's name became formally 476 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:18,919 Speaker 1: finalized as the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. The 477 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:23,240 Speaker 1: players efforts for recognition came to fruition on November five 478 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:27,800 Speaker 1: with the formal unveiling of a permanent Women in Baseball 479 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:31,320 Speaker 1: exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame. The league's players 480 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:34,400 Speaker 1: had been an active part in this exhibits creation, including 481 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:39,920 Speaker 1: donating their photographs, uniforms, equipment, and memorabilia. A league archive 482 00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:44,120 Speaker 1: was established at the Northern Indiana Historical Society Museum now 483 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:47,720 Speaker 1: called the History Museum in South Bend, Indiana. There was 484 00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:50,880 Speaker 1: also an exhibition through the Smithsonian. The league was also 485 00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:53,400 Speaker 1: the subject of a short documentary called The League of 486 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:57,360 Speaker 1: their Own that aired nationally on public television on September thirtieth, 487 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:01,800 Speaker 1: And of course there's the nine feature film directed by 488 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:04,960 Speaker 1: Penny Marshall, which was a blockbuster and was actually when 489 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:09,280 Speaker 1: many people first heard about women's baseball. Another documentary tells 490 00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:12,960 Speaker 1: the story of Terry Donahue and pat Henschel. Donahue was 491 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:16,720 Speaker 1: recruited from Saskatchewan, Canada, and played for the Peoria Red 492 00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:20,440 Speaker 1: Wings for four seasons. After these two women met. In 493 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:24,200 Speaker 1: between seasons, Henschel left her life in Canada behind to 494 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:27,720 Speaker 1: join Donahue in the United States. Although the two of 495 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:31,080 Speaker 1: them described themselves at the time as cousins and roommates, 496 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:33,680 Speaker 1: they were really a couple and the documentary tells the 497 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:36,680 Speaker 1: story of their lives together. The film is called A 498 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:40,840 Speaker 1: Secret Love. It was supposed to premiere at south By 499 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:44,440 Speaker 1: Southwest in March, but of course, because of the pandemic, 500 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:47,040 Speaker 1: south By Southwest has been canceled. So I'm not sure 501 00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:50,360 Speaker 1: what the status of the film's debut is at this point, 502 00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:52,800 Speaker 1: but at some point I think it might come to Netflix, 503 00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:55,120 Speaker 1: because there is a page for it in the Netflix 504 00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:59,520 Speaker 1: Media Center. Exciting Henschel is also one of the people 505 00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:03,280 Speaker 1: Britain Need de Lacreta interviewed when reporting her article The 506 00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:06,600 Speaker 1: Hidden Queer History behind a League of their Own. At 507 00:30:06,600 --> 00:30:09,000 Speaker 1: that point, both Donna Hue and Henschel were still living, 508 00:30:09,080 --> 00:30:12,680 Speaker 1: but Donna Hughe dine in twenty nineteen. At that time, 509 00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:15,680 Speaker 1: she and Henschel had been together for seventy one years. 510 00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:20,080 Speaker 1: The All American Girls Professional Baseball League's website for the 511 00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:23,719 Speaker 1: player association also has a wealth of information on the 512 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:28,160 Speaker 1: individual players, including their photos, their team histories, their biographies, 513 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:29,960 Speaker 1: and for those who are no longer living, many of 514 00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:33,920 Speaker 1: their obituaries are there as well. It is really a 515 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:36,640 Speaker 1: ton if you want to go read about some women 516 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:39,240 Speaker 1: baseball players. Lots and lots to look at there. Do 517 00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:41,800 Speaker 1: you have listener mail to close this one out? I 518 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:45,760 Speaker 1: sure knew this is from Elizabeth. Elizabeth says, Dear Tracy 519 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:47,960 Speaker 1: and Holly, I've been a listener for several years, and 520 00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:50,320 Speaker 1: yours is my favorite podcast. I saw your live show 521 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:52,480 Speaker 1: in d C last year. I finally have a reason 522 00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:54,880 Speaker 1: to write. My ears perked up when I heard you 523 00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:59,760 Speaker 1: mentioned Alexandria, Virginia and specifically the Kate Waller Barritt Library 524 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:03,200 Speaker 1: and a recent Six Impossible episodes. Kate Waller Barrett is 525 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:06,120 Speaker 1: the namesake for my Alexandria chapter of the Daughters of 526 00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:08,560 Speaker 1: the American Revolution, and you might be interested in knowing 527 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:11,680 Speaker 1: more about her. You can find a biography of her, 528 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:16,240 Speaker 1: and UH provided a link in summary. Kate Waller Barrett 529 00:31:16,360 --> 00:31:19,000 Speaker 1: was an influential public figure in the late nineteenth and 530 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:22,800 Speaker 1: early twentieth century. She advocated for women's political and social rights, 531 00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:26,720 Speaker 1: for compassionate care for unmarried mothers and their children, for education, 532 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:30,640 Speaker 1: and for the interests of military veterans. Her personal style 533 00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:34,320 Speaker 1: merged progressive feminism and traditional femininity, and she had a 534 00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:37,840 Speaker 1: unique ability to speak unpopular truths to both the public 535 00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:40,560 Speaker 1: and the powerful, and to move them to her viewpoint. 536 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:43,600 Speaker 1: She was a medical doctor and was the chief executive 537 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:48,000 Speaker 1: of several national organizations, including the National Florence Crittenden Mission, 538 00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:51,600 Speaker 1: the National Council of Women, and the American Legion Auxiliary. 539 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:53,800 Speaker 1: If she interests you is a podcast subject, I can 540 00:31:53,840 --> 00:31:57,240 Speaker 1: point you to some research I hadn't known about the 541 00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:00,720 Speaker 1: Alexandria Library sit in coincidentally, I was driving through old 542 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:04,440 Speaker 1: Town Alexandria today and at the corner of Washington Street 543 00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:07,200 Speaker 1: and Queen Street. I spied a historic marker about the 544 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:09,680 Speaker 1: sit in. I pulled over and snapped this picture of 545 00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:11,840 Speaker 1: the marker is around the corner from the library, so 546 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:14,560 Speaker 1: the building in the background is not it, The text reads. 547 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:18,160 Speaker 1: On twenty one August nineteen thirty nine, five young African 548 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:21,520 Speaker 1: American men applied for library cards at the new Alexandria 549 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:25,440 Speaker 1: Library to protest its white only policy. After being denied, 550 00:32:25,520 --> 00:32:29,840 Speaker 1: William Evans, Edward Gaddis, Morris Murray, Clearance Strange, and Auto L. 551 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:32,360 Speaker 1: Tucker each selected a book from the shelves, sat down 552 00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:35,480 Speaker 1: and read quietly. The men were arrested and charged with 553 00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:40,640 Speaker 1: disorderly conduct despite their polite demeanor. Local attorney Samuel W. Tucker, 554 00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:44,200 Speaker 1: who helped plan the protest, represented them in court. The 555 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:48,680 Speaker 1: judge never issued a ruling. In nineteen forty, Alexandria opened 556 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:52,480 Speaker 1: the Robert Robinson Library for African Americans. Desegregation of the 557 00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:56,080 Speaker 1: library system began by nineteen fifty nine. Thank you for 558 00:32:56,240 --> 00:32:59,240 Speaker 1: educating me about my own local history. I do try 559 00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:01,360 Speaker 1: to read historical markers, but that is not what I 560 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:07,400 Speaker 1: remember reading before Elizabeth continues on with a topic suggestion 561 00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:11,040 Speaker 1: and says, keep up the great podcast gals, and then says, 562 00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:13,200 Speaker 1: my favorite part of each episode is when one of 563 00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:15,400 Speaker 1: you says, do you have listener mail and the other 564 00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:19,200 Speaker 1: heartily replies, I do. I like this part of the 565 00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:23,960 Speaker 1: episode to Elizabeth. So thank you so much Elizabeth for 566 00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:26,360 Speaker 1: this email, for sending the picture of the historical marker. 567 00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:28,160 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us, we're at 568 00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:30,560 Speaker 1: History podcast that I heart radio dot com, and we're 569 00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:32,800 Speaker 1: all over social media at miss in History. That's where 570 00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:36,600 Speaker 1: you'll find our Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. You can 571 00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:39,720 Speaker 1: also subscribe to our show at Apple podcast, the iHeart 572 00:33:39,760 --> 00:33:47,360 Speaker 1: Radio app, anywhere else you get your podcast. Stuff you 573 00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:50,120 Speaker 1: missed in History Class is a production of I heart Radio. 574 00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:53,280 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the iHeart 575 00:33:53,360 --> 00:33:56,440 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 576 00:33:56,480 --> 00:34:00,600 Speaker 1: favorite shows. One