AAGPBL

One of the first progressions of women's sports began with All American Girl's Professional Baseball League. The league began in the Spring of 1943, originally called the All American Girl's Softball League. It began with a help from the gum mogel Philip Wrigley. The name from softball to baseball was changed when the board of committees met, and changed the name (for more public notice). The name change caused a lot of controversey because the rule of softball were still initiated, but it was called baseball. Between the years of 1943 and 1945, the league rules slowly changed: underhand to overhand throwing, smaller to larger field dimensions, and from the prototypical big ball to a baseball. After these changes, the league became profoundley popular with the girls hard play and tough attitude.

Why did Philip Wrigley and other investors decide to create the AAGPBL? In the beginning of 1942, the last minor league/professional baseball team disbanded because of the affect of World War II. Young men, 18 years of age and over, were being drafted into the armed services. The fear that this pattern would continue and that Major League Baseball Parks across the country were in danger of collapse. So, Philip Wrigley saw the affect of the war, and tried to replace the MLB with the AAGPBL. At first, the success of the league was triumphed by the prejudice by male comentators or fans, but picked up ground when they saw the women actually play. When looking at the strategies I really don't see any strategies, but looking in depth, any one can see why these women were such a success: THE HARD PLAY, THE AMAZING SKILLS, AND THE AGGRESSIVE STYLE (probably more than the men's teams).

A New American Sport By James F. Henderson - Sports Editor, The Muskegon Chronicle (1947). Henderson in the article describes why the AAGPBL was such a success, even though, he was a skeptic himself. I will now add excerpts to the Blog:

"We never compared it to baseball in our mind. The reason for this was the fact we had seen girls playing baseball before . . . Remember (if you're old enough) the "Bloomer Girls" who paraded around the country more than two decades ago? Rough and ready, eager for the battle or arguments, but still unable to play formidably against men's teams, even the brand of ball seen in shop leagues.

We might have had a glimmer of the possibility that girls CAN play an acceptable brand of baseball, on the diamond, and with a ball, cut to their size and strength. "We had played with and against a girl in the early twenties who COULD PLAY MEN'S BASEBALL WITH MEN.

Old timers still sing the praises of a Nunica girl, Mildred Gordon, feminine, dainty, pretty, yet a whiz on fielding second base, and throwing from any angle hard enough to sting the gloved hand of a first baseman. Mildred, whose brothers were outstanding baseball players, had to learn the game, and do a good job, or go back to tending dolls. She didn't like dolls particularly, so developed into a fine baseball player.

We were introduced to a new American sport, and one that some day will retire the current brand of girls softball to the limbo of forgotten things. It's a game that will grow, year by year, attracting a new sort of follower."

Why couldn't women play baseball, they are just as good and especiall care more than the men.When a Spectator came to the stadium he/she recieved a proud game of America's pastime. When looking at the goals it is easy to see why the league was such a success. The goals were for the league to replace baseball during the war and then some, and to break the barrier for women's sports. The games were sold out on a nightly basis bringing all certain crowd's of people. Next, the league was able to break the sex barrier because it illustrated to America that women can play ball, too (if not harder). When looking at the data, there is now doubt that the league was such a success.