1. AAGPBL The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

2.  Why was the league created? - many minor league teams disbanded due to the war - there was fear this pattern would continue into the major leagues and ballparks would collapse  Who was responsible for the league? - Philip K. Wrigley (gum mogul, Cubs owner) - Ken Sells (Cubs Assistant General Manager) - committee that recommended a girls’ softball league

3.  The league emerged in spring 1943  The league used baseball rules except short infield distances and underhand pitching  Name changed through the years - 1943: All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) - 1943 mid-season: All-American Girls Baseball League (AAGBBL) * made the game more distinctive from softball - 1943 - 1945: All-American Girls Professional Ball League (AAGPBL) * controversy about baseball in the name - 1946 - 1950: All-American Girls Baseball League (AAGBBL) * overhand pitching and smaller ball sizes were adopted - 1950: American Girls Baseball League (AGBL) - 1988: All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) * Players’ Association & Hall of Fame recognized

4.  The game included both softball and baseball  A 12-inch ball was used  Underhand pitching  Extended base paths and pitching distances - increase hitting and spotlight base running and fielding - thought to liven up the game  Incorporated men’s base running rules - allowed lead offs and base stealing  9 players instead of 10

5.  Try-outs were set up in dozens of major cities  Hundreds of women from all over America & Canada showed  280 were invited for final try-outs in Chicago  60 were chosen to become the first women to play professional baseball

6.  Four non-Major League cities were selected close to league headquarters in Chicago  Racine, Wisconsin  Kenosha, Wisconsin  Rockford, Illinois  South Bend, Indiana

7.  Teams consisted of 15 players, a manager, a business manager, and a women chaperone  Notable men sports figures were acquired as managers  Johnny Gottselig, Bert Niehoff, Josh Billings, and Eddie Stumpf were the first managers selected

8.  Spring training was held in May 1943 at Wrigley Field (final cuts were made here)  Players were tested on playing their position, throwing, catching, running, sliding, and hitting  Those who survived, signed a professional league contract  Ann Harnett first girl to sign to a contract  Salaries ranged from $45-$85 a week

9.  Players could not have any other employment during the season  Players not only had to be highly skilled, but had to comply with moral standards and rules of conduct imposed by the league

10.  After daily practices, the women were required to attend evening charm school classes  Proper etiquette for every situation was taught  Every aspect of personal hygiene  Mannerisms  Dress code  Each player was to be as attractive as physically possible (even received a beauty kit & instructions how to use it)

11.  One-piece short-skirted flared tunic (fashioned after figure skating, field hockey, and tennis costumes of the period)  Satin shorts  Knee-high baseball socks  Baseball hat  Each city had a different colored uniform and its own symbolic patch on the front

12.  The league intended to balance the talent on each team to make league play highly competitive  Players were often traded in midseason to maintain that balance  League play officially began on May 30, 1943

13.  A total of 108 games were played in the regular season  Season ran from mid- May to the first of September  Team who won the most games during the regular season was the pennant winner  Top two teams competed in a series play-off to determine league champion

14.  The Kenosha Comets won the first AAGBL pennant  In a 5-game series, the Racine Belles defeated the Comets to become the first World Champions of the AAGBL  The first season was encouraging and teams were received well by fans in the sponsoring cities  Several factors contributed to this success - change in traditional occupation of women - limitations placed on the American people (rationing/conserving, people had to spend leisure time closer to home)

16.  Wrigley played on the theme of “All- American Girl”  Promoted the image that players were symbols of “the girl next door” in spikes  The teams formed a “V” for victory before every game, followed by the playing of the Star Spangled Banner

17.  Projecting the image of the “All-American Girl Next Door” with outstanding athletic ability continued to top Wrigley’s priority list  The success of 1943 season prompted the four cities to finance their own franchises  Wrigley could now attempt to put the girls’ teams in Major League parks

18.  Two new teams were added to play in Major League parks  Milwaukee Chicks  Minneapolis Millerettes  Both teams would play in their city’s Major League park when the men were on road trips

19.  Obvious differences emerged for the larger city teams  Media coverage – small cities received extensive coverage (articles, box scores, photographs) large cities often not mentioned or received negative publicity  The fans sat much closer to the field and dugouts in the smaller cities (players became friendly with fans)  The size of the field itself was a handicap

20.  Even though the larger cities offered a greater population, there was also a much greater diversity of entertainment  Smaller cities were able to obtain support and promotion from local businesses  Wrigley sold the league at the end of the season to Arthur Meyerhoff

21.  Meyerhoff reorganized the league so each franchise would be governed through a league board of directors with a representative from each team  Each club now had a voice in adopting new rules and regulations and the direction the sport would go in

22.  Meyerhoff undertook a rigorous advertising campaign to promote the league  Patriotic fans and families were turning out in large numbers to ensure the future of the league  Milwaukee was picked up by Grand Rapids, MI & Minneapolis was picked up by Fort Wayne, IN

23.  Women were more involved in displaying their playing abilities  Charm school was discontinued  Players eagerly supported the War effort - had husbands and brothers overseas - brought a lot of positive publicity and national press to the league

24.  The girls played 13 exhibition games at army camps and veteran hospitals  Went into the hospitals before and after games to speak with wounded soldiers  The “V” for victory  Celebrated the end of the War at the ballparks  Attendance reached 450,313 for the season

25.  Junior leagues were organized in the host cities for young girls 14 and older  Teams traveled to exotic locations for spring training - Pacagoula, FL (1946) - Havana, Cuba (1947) - Opalocka, FL (1949)  Rules were modified each year to model baseball more - infield distances lengthened - side-arm pitching (1946) - overhand pitching (1948)

26.  2 more franchises were acquired in Peoria, IL & Muskegon, MI  A 4 team minor league was formed in Chicago (CGBL)  Post-season tours to Cuba & South America were organized as a plan to create an international league

27.  Springfield (IL) Sallies & Chicago Colleens were added to the league in 1948, but lost their franchises by the end of the year  For the next two years these teams became rookie training teams  Played exhibition and recruited new talent as they toured the South & East  These teams even played in Yankee Stadium

28.  First 3 years after the war, teams attracted between 2 and 3 thousand fans per game  League record 10,000 people saw a July 4 th double-header in South Bend (1946)  Attendance peaked during the 1948 season – 10 teams attracted 910,000 paid fans

29.  Attendance and revenues begin to decline during the 1949 season  The league was decentralized (1950) - the league was bought out by directors and teams operated independently - no control of publicity, promotion, player procurement, and equalization of player talent  Team owner’s finances declined and hindered the ability to operate

30.  Local fan bases shrunk due to other forms of recreation and entertainment  The advent of televised Major League games (early 50’s)  With the game being purely baseball now, it was more difficult to find talented players  Revenues fell and teams couldn’t support rookie training teams and advertisements to recruit

31.  By 1952, only 6 teams remained (Kenosha & Peoria disbanded)  1953 – the Battle Creek team relocated to Muskegon and folded by the end of the season  1954 season ended with only 5 teams - Fort Wayne, South Bend, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Rockford

32.  The AAGPBL gave 600 women athletes the opportunity to play professional baseball at a level never before attained  The league operated from 1943-1954  It represents one of the most unique aspects of our nation’s baseball history