Around 600 women suddenly got the opportunity of a lifetime – to play professional baseball in front of millions of fans. We are the members of the All-American League. He started the league out of a concern that men’s major league baseball would suffer when players were called for military service. By the end, when the women get together again for their reunion, it’s touching, the way they have to admit that, whaddaya know, they really were pioneers.”. In an effort to make each player as physically attractive as possible, each player received a beauty kit and instructions on how to use it. The year was 1943. He approached other Major League owners, but the idea was not well received. We’ve got Canadians, Irishmen and Swedes, Talent for the league was abundant, and it was soon evident that the women's high caliber of play was going to be the main drawing card for the fans. It was held in Peru, Illinois, and one hundred twenty girls, six managers and all league personnel were housed either at the Peru Hotel or at the St. Francis Hotel in Peru's twin city, LaSalle. The top teams then competed in a series of play-off games to determine the League Champion. Lovemans & Co. department store on the roof of the building in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, ca. Some of the roles women played have been largely forgotten over time. Of these, only 280 were invited to the final try-outs in Chicago where 60 were chosen to become the first women to ever play professional baseball. Women, who were formerly homemakers, left their homes to support the war by taking jobs in factories that were converted into making munitions and other military machinery. They were tested on playing their field position, throwing, catching, running, sliding and hitting. It was during this time period that overhand pitching and smaller ball sizes were adopted. Chicago would serve as the league’s headquarters. League play officially began on May 30, 1943 with South Bend playing in Rockford and Kenosha playing in Racine. “We were a glamour league. She holds the record for most games played (1,249) and was the only to play in all 12 seasons of the AAGPBL. Wrigley already had an established recruitment network in place from his ownership of the Cubs and had sports connections throughout North America. The league hit its height in 1948, when it saw attendance peak at more than 900,000. Susan King, “National Film Registry selects 25 films for preservation,” Los Angeles Times, December 19, 2012. Seated: Shirley Jameson. Mr. Wrigley wanted us to look like ladies, which we did, and we played ball like men. Share the History Love…FacebookPinterestTwitterTumblrRedditStumbleUponDiggLinkedin, Three female workers of the D.B. After receiving national attention and playing in front of thousands of screaming fans, the girls quickly faded and were lost in the ebb and flow of a changing society. Clubs included in picture are Fort Wayne, South Bend, Peoria, Rockford, Springfield, and Chicago. Boyish bobs are not permissible and in general your hair should be well groomed at all times with longer hair preferable to short hair cuts. Ann Harnett, Chicago softball star and the first girl to sign a contract with the league, became a model for the new uniforms. The proper etiquette for every situation was taught, and every aspect of personal hygiene, mannerisms and dress code was presented to all the players. On Nov. 15, 1944, Meyerhoff met with representatives from the four original cities and re-organized the League so that each franchise would be governed through a League Board of Directors with representatives from each franchise. The players went into the hospitals and spoke to the wounded soldiers before and after the games. To play ball. Players were also forbidden to swear, had to wear lipstick, could not wear baseball uniform skirts that were shorter than 6 inches above the knees, and must “always appear in feminine attire when not actively engaged in practice or playing ball.”. This war effort brought a lot of positive publicity national press to the League. Just because these women were stepping into vacated male positions did not mean they were able to dress, talk or act like the opposite sex. The official All-American Girls Professional Baseball League discussed it’s debut season and how the league ran. But in reality, the final two teams in the 1943 championship were the Kenosha Comets and the Racine Belles. However, when compared to teams playing in smaller parks in the medium-sized cities of Racine, Kenosha, Rockford, and South Bend, the differences were obvious. Especially when some players were as young as 15. Despite poor attendance in the two American Association parks, overall AAGPBL attendance increased. By the end of the season, attendance reached 450,313. “Almost crying in baseball that time.”. Ruth Tiffany School was contracted to run the nightly charm school. Even though the larger cities offered a greater population base, there was also a much greater diversity of entertainment opportunities from which people could choose to spend their leisure time. Share the History Love…FacebookPinterestTwitterTumblrRedditStumbleUponDiggLinkedin, […] paved the way for other female players. Among the League’s Rules of Conduct included: The uniforms worn were specially designed by Mrs Wrigley, Wrigley’s Art Designer, Otis Shepard and player Ann Harnett. All the players stayed at the Belmont Hotel close to Wrigley Field. Satin shorts, knee-high baseball socks and baseball hat completed the uniform. However, the retention of shorter infield distances and underhand pitching caused some controversy in the media about "Baseball" in the League name. By the fall of 1942, many minor league teams disbanded due to the war. This new game would parallel men's baseball in number of players (9) and types of equipment. There were semi-pro women's softball teams of quality women players in Chicago and many other urban centers throughout the U.S. and Canada. The time has come for one and all Another widely considered factor in the demise of the league was the rise of televised major league games. But the Peaches would go on to win more championships than any other team in the league. This charm school guide also had instructions on etiquette, which had this to say about how to interact with fans: There is an old saying that “the customer is always right.” This, in a sense, holds true of the baseball fan, who exercises the right to talk to you without knowing you, to shout at you from the stands and to voice his opinion, good or bad, of the play on the field. The host city directors agreed to pay the other half of projected operating costs. She had passed many years ago, and did state there is no crying when playing ball when I was young. The emphasis changed and Charm School was discontinued. Wrigley contracted with Helena Rubenstein's Beauty Salon to meet with the players at spring training. In the first three years after World War II, teams often attracted between two and three thousand fans to a single game. She’s not the one to use or need an alibi. “Our coach wasn’t like the coach in the movie because he loved to teach women how to play ball,” said Barbara “Bobby” Thompson, an outfielder for the Peaches from 1951 to 1952, in a 2003 interview with WBEZ. The 1948 season was its peak, but as the 1950s rolled in attendance declined. One of the reasons for decreasing attendance and a resulting decrease in revenues was the decentralization of the League. 1898-1900. America's young men were off fighting for our country, dreaming of t he girls they left behind. A single game could bring between two and three thousand fans. The League operated from 1943 to 1954 and represents one of the most unique aspects of our nation's baseball history. Hunter Clauss is a digital editor at WBEZ. Through the organization of the Players' Association in1986, and through their efforts to gain recognition by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988, the league has now come to be recognized as what it was in actuality: the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Since the only organized ball for women in the country was softball, they created a game which included both softball and baseball. Photo Credit: Florida Memory. Will America forget about baseball once the war is over? At the end of the 1943 season, the Kenosha Comets played a 5-game series against the Racine Belles for the Championship. The teams were well received by fans in the four sponsoring cities. A board of trustees was formed which included Philip K. Wrigley; Branch Rickey, Brooklyn Dodgers President and General Manager; Paul V. Harper, Chicago attorney and trustee for the University of Chicago and Chicago Cubs attorney; and Ken Sells, who was named President of the League. Photo Credit: History by Zim via the Louisville Slugger Museum. Another factor in the folding of the league was that ownership kept changing while some teams operated independently. Salaries ranged from $45 to $85 a week plus. “Talk about crying in baseball — almost,” she said with a laugh. She was part of the inspiration behind the lead character, Dottie Hinson, in 'A League of Their Own." The committee recommended a girls' softball league be established to be prepared to go into Major League parks should attendance fall due to franchises losing too many quality players to attract crowds. All around the country an estimated 40,000 women played semipro softball in small towns and communities. Another factor was the limits the war placed on the American people. Share the History Love…FacebookPinterestTwitterTumblrRedditStumbleUponDiggLinkedin, A Douglas Aircraft Company worker rivets a A-20 bomber at the plant in Long Beach, California in October 1942.