The Belles of Baseball: The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
and television programming generally depict women as spectators not as active participants in the sport Though it's not widely known women have been playing organized baseball in the United States for approximately 150 years They currently play recreational amateur and semipro games on Little League teams on college squads and in international tournaments And the women of the AAGPBL played high quality competitive baseball more than 70 years ago Hidden Heroines In 1943 Philip K Wrigley the owner of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs and president of the Wrigley Chewing Gum Company formed what came to be known as the All American Girls Professional Baseball League His goal was to provide inexpensive entertainment to residents of midwestern towns and cities after the United States 1941 entry into World War II 1939 1945 He also sought to encourage the public's continued interest in baseball so fans would still support it after the war Many of the townspeople supported the war effort by working in nearby factories that produced planes vehicles and other essential materials During its 12 seasons from 1943 to 1954 the league recruited more than 550 women ballplayers They came from all parts of the United States Canada and even
Philip Wrigley owner of the Chicago Cubs founded the AAGPBL to keep fans interested in baseball during World War II
Cuba Most of the women were in their late teens or FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME As baseball's popularity soared the game became an honored and cherished component of American culture Baseball came to be known as the national pastime and America's game Writers and historians gushed over the sport's enormous appeal The national pastime became the great repository of national ideals the symbol of all that was good in America wrote baseball historian John Thorn Former Major League Baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti claimed Baseball is the last great arena where everybody can learn the lessons of life 3 To many people baseball teaches important lessons learned from experiencing both victory and defeat For others baseball is a reminder of simpler times in America Some appreciate the game for its values of individualism and power Poet Walt Whitman wrote It has the snap go and fling of the new American atmosphere belongs as much to our institutions fits into them as significantly as our Constitution's laws early 20s Several players were only 15 years old when they were signed by the league to play The women came mainly from working class families and many had grown up on farms These young athletes were drawn to the league for one reason they loved to play baseball According to former AAGPBL player Lois J Youngen They loved to win they loved to make a great catch they loved to feel the crack of the wooden bat on the ball and to know it would be a base hit Playing baseball was more important than the money as long as you had enough to survive
Young women from many states and Canada tried out for the AAGPBL to pursue their dreams of playing baseball The women who joined the AAGPBL were outstanding accomplished athletes Pitcher Jean Faut played eight years in the league posting a lifetime win loss record of 140 64 with a 1 23 earned run average ERA Doris Sams served double duty as an outfielder and a pitcher She notched a lifetime batting average of 290 and was twice named the AAGPBL's Player of the Year Strikeout queen Collins won 20 or more games in four consecutive seasons and won 117 games in her six year career The best all around player in the league Kamenshek was a hard hitting first basewoman who won two batting titles and finished her career with a 293 batting average among the highest in league history
