View source for All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

{{short description|League for women's baseball teams in the United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox sports league
| title          = 
| sport          = [[Women's baseball]]
| founded        = [[1943 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season]] ({{start date and age|1943}})
| logo           = Logo of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.svg
| pixels         = 180px
| fame           = 
| motto          = Do or die!
| inaugural      = 1943
| teams          = [[#Teams|15]]
| country        =
| champion       =[[Kalamazoo Lassies]]
| most_champs    =[[Rockford Peaches]] (4)
| qualification  =
| folded         ={{end date and age|1954|9|5}}
| website        = [http://www.aagpbl.org/ aagpbl.org]
| singles        =
| ceo            =
| related_comps  =
| Founder        = [[Philip K. Wrigley]]
}}

The '''All-American Girls Professional Baseball League''' ('''AAGPBL''') was a professional [[women's baseball]] league founded by [[Philip K. Wrigley]], which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the United States.  Over 600 women played in the league, which eventually consisted of 10 teams located in the American [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]]. In 1948, league attendance peaked at over 900,000 spectators. The most successful team, the [[Rockford Peaches]], won a league-best four championships.

The 1992 film ''[[A League of Their Own]]'' and the 2022 [[A League of Their Own (2022 TV series)|television show of the same name]] are mostly fictionalized accounts of the league and its stars. Sixty-five original AAGPBL members appeared in scenes for the movie filmed in October 1991 recreating the induction of the league into the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]] in 1988.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 1, 2022 |title=A League of Their Own (1992) – AFI Catalog Spotlight |url=https://www.afi.com/news/a-league-of-their-own-1992-afi-catalog-spotlight/ |access-date=2022-08-27 |website=American Film Institute |language=en}}</ref>

==History==
===Founding===
[[File:All American Girls Professional Baseball League members performing calisthenics.jpg|thumb|All-American Girls Professional Baseball League members performing calisthenics in [[Opa-locka, Florida]], on April 22, 1948. The different baseball clubs are (L-R): [[Fort Wayne Daisies]] (partially visible), [[Chicago Colleens]], [[Rockford Peaches]], [[South Bend Blue Sox]], [[Springfield Sallies]] and [[Peoria Redwings]].|alt=]]
Although the AAGPBL was the first recorded professional women's baseball league, women had played baseball since the nineteenth century. The first known women's baseball team played at [[Vassar College]] in 1866,<ref>{{cite journal |first=Debra A. |last=Shattuck |url=http://innovators.vassar.edu/innovator.html?id=76 |title=Bats, Balls and Books: Baseball and Higher Education for Women at Three Eastern Women's Colleges, 1866–1891 |journal=Journal of Sport History |date=Summer 1992 |access-date=March 21, 2007 |archive-date=April 29, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429143736/http://innovators.vassar.edu/innovator.html?id=76 |url-status=dead }}</ref> while there were several barnstorming Bloomer Girls teams<ref>{{Cite book |last=Berlage |first=Gai Ingham |title=Women in Baseball |year=1994 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=0-275-94735-1}}</ref> (sometimes including men).<ref>{{cite book |last=Ritter |first=Lawrence S. |title=The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It |date=June 1981 |isbn=0-941372-08-1}}</ref>

With the entry of the United States into [[World War II]], several major league baseball executives started a new professional league with women players in order to maintain baseball in the public eye [[History of baseball in the United States#The war years|while the majority of able men were away]]. The founders included [[Philip K. Wrigley]], [[Branch Rickey]], and Paul V. Harper. They feared that [[Major League Baseball]] might even temporarily cease due to the war because of the loss of talent,<ref name=WDL1/> as well as restrictions on team travel due to [[Rationing in the United States#World War II|gasoline rationing]].<ref>{{Cite news |url = http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-flash-women-baseball-wrigley-0624-20180612-story.html |title=Female players hit a home run for wartime baseball — but were seen, rarely heard |last=Grossman |first=Ron |date=2018-06-24 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |access-date=2018-06-24 |language=en-US}}</ref>

The women's initial tryouts were held at [[Wrigley Field]] in [[Chicago]].  Scouted from amateur [[softball]] games across the country, over 200 women were invited to try out, and about 60 were selected for the league roster.  Like the male major league, the 'girls' league was also [[Baseball color line|informally segregated]]; thus, no African Americans were recruited or hired.  Women were selected for their skilled play, but the player also needed to fit what was seen by marketers as a wholesome, feminine ideal.<ref name=May/>   The first league game was played on May 30, 1943.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/10-fun-facts-about-the-allamerican-girls-professional-baseball-league/a830a7a0-1f96-4737-8e13-0a7942f1e2bc |title=10 Fun Facts About The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League |work=WBEZ |access-date=June 4, 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sbnation.com/2018/5/30/17407798/women-baseball-trailblazers-reflect-aagpbl-75th-anniversary |title=Women's baseball trailblazers reflect on the league, 75 years after its founding |last=Hasse |first=Nicole |date=May 30, 2018 |website=SBNation.com |access-date=2018-06-07}}</ref>

Scouts for the Chicago-based All-American Girls Professional Baseball League initially sought and recruited talent from the Chicago softball Metropolitan League, along with several others. However, after seeing many of their players leave for the AAGPBL, it was decided to then turn the amateur Metropolitan League to a professional league. The result was the creation of the six-team [[National Girls Baseball League]], which began in 1944, composed entirely of Chicago-area teams. The National Girls baseball League was founded by Emery Parichy, [[Charles Bidwill]] (owner of the [[Chicago Cardinals]] football team) and politician Ed Kolski. Pirachy operated the Metropolitan League. Football star [[Red Grange]] was hired to preside over the league. As a local league with a limited geographical reach, the NGBL was much less publicized than the AAGPBL, but it paralleled the AAGPBL, as it also lasted until 1954 and drew up to 500,000 fans per season. For a time, the two leagues were involved in a strong rivalry for players, before meeting and agreeing to a [[poaching]] truce in 1946. Many players and several managers appeared in both leagues.<ref name="sabr.org">{{Cite web |url=https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-international-girls-baseball-league/|title=The International Girls Baseball League |website=Society for American Baseball Research}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/site/softballnationalnews/past-present/national-girls-baseball-league-1944---1954|title=National Girls Baseball League|website=Softball National News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nationalgirlsbaseballleague.com/about|title=Their Turn at Bat: The Story of the National Girls Baseball League|website=National Girls Baseball League}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/2017/4/10/18373414/national-girls-baseball-league-s-kotch-kowell-dead-at-91|title=National Girls Baseball League's 'Kotch' Kowell dead at 91|first=Maureen|last=O'Donnell|date=April 10, 2017|website=Chicago Sun-Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-01-11-9201030815-story.html|title=Obituary: Girls Baseball League Founder Emery A. Parichy |first=Jerry|last=Crimmins |date=1992-11-01 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>

In the winter of 1952–1953, players from both the AAGPBL and National Girls Baseball League played together in the four–team [[International Girls Baseball League]] based in [[Miami, Florida]].<ref name="sabr.org"/>

===Ownership and management===
{{see also|List of All-American Girls Professional Baseball League managers}}
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League went through three periods of ownership. It was owned by chewing gum mogul Wrigley<ref name="Cullen-DuPont2000">{{cite book |first=Kathryn |last=Cullen-DuPont |title=Encyclopedia of Women's History in America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oIro7MtiFuYC&pg=PA374|access-date=November 28, 2011 |date=August 1, 2000|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-0-8160-4100-8|pages=9–10}}</ref> from 1943 to 1945, wealthy publicist [[Arthur Meyerhoff]] from 1945 to 1951, and the teams were individually owned from 1951 to 1954. The teams generally played in [[Midwestern]] cities. The [[South Bend Blue Sox]] and the [[Rockford Peaches]] were the only two teams that stayed in their home cities for the full period of the AAGPBL's existence.<ref name=May/>

[[Baseball Hall of Fame]] members [[Max Carey]] and [[Jimmie Foxx]] managed teams in the AAGPBL. The character of Jimmy Dugan, played by [[Tom Hanks]] in ''A League of Their Own'', was loosely based on Foxx's tenure in the league. However, several of his former AAGPBL players said that, unlike Hanks's character in the movie, Foxx was always gentlemanly around them.<ref>{{Sabrbio|e34a045d|Jimmie Foxx|John Bennett|November 16, 2013}}</ref>
{{HistBaseball nav|early}}

===Play===
In the first season, the league played a game that was a hybrid of baseball and softball.  The ball was 12&nbsp;inches in circumference, the size of a regulation softball (regulation baseballs are 9 to 9{{fraction|1|4}}&nbsp;inches).  The pitcher's mound was only forty feet from home plate, closer even than in regulation softball and much closer than the baseball distance of 60 feet, 6&nbsp;inches.  Pitchers threw underhand windmill, like in softball, and the distance between bases was 65 feet, five feet longer than in softball, but 25 feet shorter than in baseball.  Major similarities between the AAGPBL and baseball included nine player teams and the use of a pitcher's mound (softball pitchers throw from flat ground).  By 1948, the ball had shrunk to 10{{fraction|3|8}} inches, overhand pitching was allowed, and the mound was moved back to 50 feet.  Over the history of the league, the rules continued to gradually approach those of baseball.  By the final season in 1954, the ball was regulation baseball size, the mound was moved back to 60 feet, and the basepaths were extended to 85 feet (still five feet shorter than in regulation baseball).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aagpbl.org/index.cfm/pages/league/20/rules-of-play |title=Rules of Play |website=All-American Girls Professional Baseball League|date=January 18, 2012}}</ref>  Teams were generally [[Baseball manager|managed]] by men who knew competitive athletics and were former major league players, in part to demonstrate to fans that the league was serious.<ref name=May/>

Salaries were above average for women and ranged from $45–$85 (or ${{Inflation|US|45|1943}}–${{Inflation|US|85|1943}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}}) a week during the first years of play to about $125 (or ${{Inflation|US|125|1951}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}}) per week in later years.  The women's league generally went along with the men's late spring to early autumn season.<ref>{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Anne Janette |title=Great Women in Sports |location=Detroit |publisher=Visible Ink Press |date=1996}}</ref>

<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:1943-First Four AAGPBL.gif|thumb|250px|left|First AAGPBL players signed in 1943: Back, L-R: Claire Schillace, Ann Harnett and Edythe Perlick. Seated: Shirley Jameson. Photo courtesy of Northern Indiana Center for History Collection.{{deletable image-caption|Wednesday, 30 October 2019|PROD}}]] -->
The uniforms worn by the female ballplayers consisted of a belted, short-sleeved tunic dress with a slight flare of the skirt. Rules stated that skirts were to be worn no more than six inches above the knee, but the regulation was most often ignored in order to facilitate running and fielding. A circular team logo was sewn on the front of each dress, and baseball caps featured elastic bands in the back so that they were one-size-fits-all.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org/dressed_to_the_nines/timeline_1943.htm |title=Dressed to the Nines - Timeline |website=National Baseball Hall of Fame}}</ref>

During [[spring training]], the girls were required to attend evening classes at [[Helena Rubinstein]]'s charm school.  The proper etiquette for every situation was taught, and every aspect of personal hygiene, mannerisms and dress code was presented to all of the players. In an effort to make each player as physically attractive as possible, each received a beauty kit and instructions on how to use it.  As a part of the league's 'Rules of Conduct', the 'girls' were not permitted to have short hair, could not smoke or drink in public places, were not allowed to wear pants, and were required to wear lipstick at all times.  Fines for not following the league's rules of conduct were five dollars for the first offense, ten for the second, and suspension for the third.<ref name="leaguehistory" /> In 1944, [[Josephine D'Angelo|Josephine "JoJo" D'Angelo]] was fired for cutting her hair short.<ref>{{cite web |last1=de la Cretaz |first1=Britni |title=The Hidden Queer History Behind "A League of Their Own" |url=http://narrative.ly/the-hidden-queer-history-behind-a-league-of-their-own/ |website=Narratively |access-date=May 30, 2018 |date=May 30, 2018}}</ref>  The women's contracts were much stricter about behavior than in the men's league, and each team was also assigned its own [[chaperone (social)|chaperone]] by the league.<ref name=May/>

===Publicity===
The AAGPBL received extensive publicity from its inception throughout the 1940s. The league was featured in national periodicals such as ''Time'', ''Life'', ''Seventeen'', ''Newsweek'' and American Magazine'','' as well as in local city newspapers. Philip Wrigley, the league's founder, believed in the value of advertising, which may have contributed to the league's extensive exposure and marketing focus. Wrigley learned to appreciate advertising from his father, William Wrigley, who had success with his chewing-gum company in large part due to marketing methods. The league remained under Wrigley's advertising influence until 1951, when individual team directors took over the publicity.<ref name="auto1">{{cite book |last=Fidler |first=Merrie A. |chapter=Establishing the Public Image: Publicity and Promotion, 1943–1944 |title=The Origin and History of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League |pages=50–68 |location=Jefferson, NC |publisher=McFarland |date=2006}}</ref>

The league's principal advertising agent was Arthur E. Meyerhoff, who handled the league's publicity from 1943 through 1950. Meyerhoff's promotional efforts focused on the value of national exposure in popular periodicals. These magazine articles attracted new fans and new players to the AAGPBL. The major publicity themes that characterized the league were "Recreation for War Workers", "Femininity", "Community Welfare", and "Family Entertainment".<ref name="auto1"/>

The league shifted to decentralized league administration from 1951 to 1954.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aagpbl.org/history/league-structure|title=League Structure |website=All-American Girls Professional Baseball League}}</ref> Thus, the responsibility was on individual team management to publicize and promote the teams. However, local managers were not always effective due to their lack of expertise in advertising. In the 1951 season, league president Fred Leo asked all team presidents to provide publicity on games and training events. Only one team complied with Fred Leo's request, which led to an early 1952 preseason board meeting to discuss inadequate promotion.<ref name="auto">{{cite book |last=Fidler |first=Merrie A. |chapter=Decentralization of Publicity and Promotion, 1951–1954 |title=The Origin and History of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League |pages=136–142 |location=Jefferson, NC |publisher=McFarland |date=2006}}</ref>

Due to the decentralized league administration, many of the promotion efforts from team management were aimed exclusively at local populaces. There were many promotional events with players, children's benefits, civic groups and holiday celebrations. Along with daily newspaper reports, the primary advertising strategy was radio broadcasts.<ref name="auto"/>

The AAGPBL peaked in attendance during the 1948 season, when 10 teams attracted 910,000 paid fans.<ref name="leaguehistory" /> The [[Rockford Peaches]] won the most league championships with four (1945, 1948, 1949 and 1950). The Milwaukee/Grand Rapids Chicks were second with three (1944 in Milwaukee and 1947 and 1953 in Grand Rapids). The Racine Belles (1943 and 1946) and the South Bend Blue Sox (1951 and 1952) each won two, and the Kalamazoo Lassies won in the league's final season (1954).<ref name=May>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BK3iCwAAQBAJ&q=from+1943+to+1945,+Arthur+Meyerhoff+from+1945+to+1951,+and+the+teams+were+individually+owned+from+1951+to+1954.+In+1947+and+1948,+spring+training+exhibition+games+were+held+at+the+Gran+Stadium+in+Havana,+Cuba. |title=Encyclopedia of Women and Baseball |last1=Heaphy |first1=Leslie A. |last2=May |first2=Mel Anthony |date=March 1, 2016 |publisher=McFarland |pages=9–16 |isbn=978-1-47666-594-8 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Closure===
{{expand section|date=May 2023}}

Once WWII ended, men returned to the workforce, which meant that men's sports became more prioritized again rather than women's sports.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Graves |first1=Jamie |last2=Scroggs |first2=Lori |last3=Collins |first3=Nina |date=2008 |title=They Played in Peoria: The AAGPBL Redwings |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40204711 |journal=Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society |volume=101 |issue=1 |pages=7–21 |jstor=40204711 |issn=1522-1067}}</ref> As attendance and revenues began to fall in the early 1950s, the league became less alluring to players, and some even returned to playing softball. Teams rapidly began to close down operations each year until, at the end of the 1954 season, only five teams remained, and the AAGPBL officially shut down and closed in 1954.<ref>{{Cite web |title=All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Collection, 1945-1952, 1976-2020, undated |url=https://vc.bridgew.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1047&context=finding_aids |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819002916/https://vc.bridgew.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1047&context=finding_aids |archive-date=2023-08-19 |access-date=2023-08-19 |website=[[Bridgewater State University]]}}</ref> During the AAGPBL's twelve-year operations, over 500 women were able to play baseball in a professional setting.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kenow |first=Laura J. |date=2010-04-01 |title=The All-American Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL): A Review of Literature and Its Reflection of Gender Issues |url=https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/wspaj/19/1/article-p58.xml |journal=Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal |language=en-US |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=58–69 |doi=10.1123/wspaj.19.1.58 |issn=1938-1581|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Rules of play==
Since the only organized ball for women in the [[United States]] was [[softball]], the league officials created a hybrid game which included features of both [[fastpitch softball|fast-pitch]] softball and [[baseball]]. Compared to softball, the crucial differences were that nine (not ten) players were used, and runners could lead off, slide and [[stolen base|steal bases]].

In its twelve years of history the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League evolved through many stages. These differences varied from the beginning of the league, progressively extending the length of the [[Baseball#Rules and gameplay|base paths]] and [[Baseball#Rules and gameplay|pitching distance]], while decreasing the size of the ball until the final year of play in [[1954 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1954]].

For the first five years the circuit used a fastpitch underhand motion, shifted to [[Sidearm (baseball)|sidearm]] in the [[1947 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1947]] season, and [[Pitcher#Pitching in a game|overhand pitching]] began in [[1948 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1948]].<ref>[http://www.aagpbl.org/index.cfm/pages/league/20/rules-of-play All-American Girls Professional Baseball League – Rules of Play]</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|- align=center style="background: #F2F2F2;"
!Season!!Ball circumference !! Length of base paths !! Pitching distance !! Pitching style
|-align=center
|[[1943 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1943]] || {{cvt|12|in}} || {{cvt|65|ft}} || {{cvt|40|ft}} || Underhand 
|-align=center
|[[1944 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1944]] || {{cvt|11+1/2|in}} (midseason) || {{cvt|68|ft}} (midseason) || {{cvt|40|ft}} || Underhand 
|-align=center
|[[1945 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1945]] || {{cvt|11+1/2|in}} || {{cvt|68|ft}} || {{cvt|42|ft}} (midseason) || Underhand 
|-align=center
|[[1946 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1946]] || {{cvt|11|in}} || {{cvt|70|ft}} || {{cvt|43|ft}} || Underhand (limited side-arm)
|-align=center
|[[1947 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1947]] || {{cvt|11|in}} || {{cvt|70|ft}} || {{cvt|43|ft}} || Side-arm
|-align=center
|[[1948 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1948]] || {{cvt|10+3/8|in}} || {{cvt|72|ft}} || {{cvt|50|ft}} || Overhand
|-align=center
|[[1949 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1949]] || {{cvt|10|in}} (red seam) || {{cvt|72|ft}} || {{cvt|55|ft}} (midseason) || Overhand
|-align=center
|[[1950 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1950]] || {{cvt|10|in}} (livelier) || {{cvt|72|ft}} || {{cvt|55|ft}} || Overhand
|-align=center
|[[1951 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1951]] || {{cvt|10|in}} (livelier) || {{cvt|72|ft}} || {{cvt|55|ft}} || Overhand
|-align=center
|[[1952 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1952]] || {{cvt|10|in}} (livelier) || {{cvt|72|ft}} || {{cvt|55|ft}} || Overhand
|-align=center
|[[1953 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1953]] || {{cvt|10|in}} || {{cvt|75|ft}} || {{cvt|56|ft}} || Overhand
|-align=center
|[[1954 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1954]] || {{cvt|9|in}} || {{cvt|85|ft}} || {{cvt|60|ft}} || Overhand
|-align=center
|}

==Uniforms==
[[File:ChicksUniform MillerPark.jpg|thumb|Reproduction 1944 Milwaukee Chicks uniform on display at Miller Park]]The uniform was a one-piece short-skirted flared tunic with a team patch in the center of the chest.  The base uniform was designed by [[Wrigley Company]] art director [[Otis Shepard]], assisted by Wrigley's wife Helen and Chicago softball player Ann Harnett, the first player signed by the league.<ref name="leaguehistory">{{cite web |title=League History |url=https://www.aagpbl.org/history/league-history |website=All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association |access-date=July 11, 2019}}</ref>  Shepard was also the longtime art director for the [[Chicago Cubs]] and spearheaded a series of innovative uniforms beginning in 1937.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Thorn|first1=John|title=Otis Shepard, Baseball's Greatest Graphic Artist|url=https://ourgame.mlblogs.com/otis-shepard-2ac835a93d61|website=Our Game|publisher=Major League Baseball|access-date=May 3, 2018|date=August 10, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Lukas|first1=Paul|title=Possibly the Greatest Example of Uni-Watching Ever|url=https://uni-watch.com/2014/02/14/incredible-chicago-tribune-article-on-the-1937-cubs-uniforms/|website=Uni Watch|access-date=May 3, 2018|date=February 14, 2014}}</ref>  Shepard designed all visual elements of the league, including game scorecards and promotional materials.  For his work on the AAGPBL and the Cubs, Shepard was called the "chief visualizer of mid-century baseball".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hathaway |first1=Norman |last2=Nadel |first2=Dan |title=Dorothy and Otis: Designing the American Dream: The Pioneering Designers of Baseball, Billboards, and Chewing Gum |date=2014 |publisher=Harper Design |location=New York |isbn=978-0062262431 |page=231}}</ref>

Shepard modeled the uniform after the figure skating, field hockey and tennis outfits of the period.  The uniforms included satin shorts, knee-high baseball socks and a baseball cap.<ref name="leaguehistory" /> The team patches were modeled after each respective city's seal.<ref>{{Cite tweet |user=AAGPBL |author=AAGPBL Official |number=982178369725915137 |date = April 6, 2018 |title=On top are the logos used in #ALeagueofTheirOwn and on the bottom are the real logos. The logos are actually the city seal of the towns they played in. Why they changed the logos for the movie? Because it looked better on camera.}}</ref> The uniform was meant to display the player's feminine image; all masculine clothing was not allowed, both on the field and in public.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Weiller |first1=Karen H. |last2=Higgs |first2=Catriona T. |date=1994-09-01 |title=The All American Girls Professional Baseball League, 1943–1954: Gender Conflict in Sport? |url=https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ssj/11/3/article-p289.xml |journal=Sociology of Sport Journal |language=en-US |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=289–297 |doi=10.1123/ssj.11.3.289 |issn=0741-1235|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In the beginning, each team was issued one uniform style, to be worn in all games. Shepard unveiled the inaugural uniforms in a palette of pastel colors: green for Kenosha; yellow for Racine; blue for South Bend; and peach for Rockford.  The accessories (cap, belt and stirrups) were bold, darker shades of the team color. As new teams were added, they were given a new distinctive team color (gray for Milwaukee, pink for Minneapolis). Road uniforms were introduced to the league starting with the 1948 season.

==Branding==
[[File: AAGSBL logo.jpg|thumb|Logo of the All-American Girls Softball League, 1943]]The league went through a series of name changes during its history.  It was founded as the '''All-American Girls Softball League''',<ref name="Cullen-DuPont2000"/> but, midway through its first season of 1943, the name was changed to the '''All-American Girls Baseball League''' (AAGBBL).<ref name="leaguehistory"/>  After the 1943 season, the official League name was again changed, to the '''All-American Girls Professional Ball League''' (AAGPBL), reflecting that players were paid from the start and further separating it from existing amateur leagues.<ref name=WDL1>{{cite web|title=All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Player Marg Callaghan Sliding into Home Plate as Umpire Norris Ward Watches|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/4025/|work=[[World Digital Library]]|date=April 22, 1948|publisher=[[Library of Congress]]|access-date=December 31, 2013}}</ref>  This name was used until the end of the 1945 season, when the league reverted to '''All-American Girls Baseball League''' (AAGBBL), which it would use through 1950.  When teams were sold to independent owners at the end of the 1950 season, the official League name was changed to the '''American Girls Baseball League''' (AGBL), although it continued to be popularly identified as the '''All-American League''' or the '''All-American Girls Baseball League''' (AAGBBL).  When the Players' Association was organized in 1986 and gained recognition from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988, it was again, and finally, named ''All-American Girls Professional Baseball League'' (AAGPBL).<ref name="leaguehistory"/>

The theme song made famous in the 1992 film ''[[A League of Their Own]]'' was the official song of the All-American Girls Baseball League, co-written by [[Pepper Paire]] and [[Nalda Bird]] (although in the movie, the word "Irishmen" was changed to "Irish ones").<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aagpbl.org/index.cfm/pages/league/21/victory-song |title=Victory Song |website=All-American Girls Professional Baseball League|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326063722/http://www.aagpbl.org/index.cfm/pages/league/21/victory-song |archive-date=March 26, 2018 }}</ref> In their annual reunions since 1998, it is usual to hear the original AAGPBL players singing the song.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_SqGGLs0Yw|title=All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players |last=emilylasota|date=May 14, 2007|website=YouTube}}</ref>

==Teams==
=== Team timeline ===

<timeline>
DateFormat  = mm/dd/yyyy
Define $now  = 12/31/1954
ImageSize   = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20
Period      = from:01/01/1943 till:12/31/1954
TimeAxis    = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea    = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph,  use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<#
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          id:line      value:black
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          id:Comets   value:yellowgreen
          id:Peaches value:rgb(1,0.714,0.757)
          id:Belles value:rgb(0.824,0.706,0.549)
          id:BlueSox value:skyblue
          id:Schnitts value:rgb(0.790,0.790,0.790)
          id:Orphans value:rgb(1,0.5,0.5)
          id:Chicks value:rgb(0.875,0.675,1)
          id:Daisies value:rgb(0.941,1,0.467)
          id:Lassies value:rgb(0.502,1,0.478)
          id:Redwings value:rgb(1,0.749,0.502)
          id:Colleens value:rgb(0.753,1,0.502)
          id:Sallies value:rgb(0.502,1,1)
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   width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:8.5pt

   bar:1  color:Peaches from:01/01/1943 till:12/31/1954 text:[[Rockford Peaches|Rockford]]
   bar:2  color:BlueSox from:01/01/1943 till:12/31/1954 text:[[South Bend Blue Sox|South Bend]] 
   bar:3  color:Comets from:01/01/1943 till:12/31/1951 text:[[Kenosha Comets|Kenosha]] 
   bar:4  color:Belles from:01/01/1943 till:12/10/1950 text:[[Racine Belles|Racine]] 
   bar:5  color:Schnitts from:01/01/1944 till:12/10/1944 text:[[Milwaukee Chicks|Milwaukee]] 
   bar:6  color:Daisies from:01/01/1944 till:12/10/1944 text:[[Minneapolis Millerettes|Minneapolis]] 
   bar:5  color:Schnitts from:01/01/1945 till:12/31/1954 text:[[Grand Rapids Chicks|Grand Rapids]] 
   bar:6  color:Daisies from:01/01/1945 till:12/31/1954 text:[[Fort Wayne Daisies|Fort Wayne]] 
   bar:9  color:Lassies from:01/01/1946 till:12/10/1949 text:[[Muskegon Lassies|Muskegon]] 
   bar:10  color:Redwings from:01/01/1946 till:12/31/1951 text:[[Peoria Redwings|Peoria]]
   bar:11  color:Colleens from:01/01/1948 till:12/31/1948 text:[[Chicago Colleens|Chicago]] 
   bar:12  color:Sallies from:01/01/1948 till:12/31/1948 text:[[Springfield Sallies|Springfield]] 
   bar:9  color:Lassies from:01/01/1950 till:12/31/1954 text:[[Kalamazoo Lassies|Kalamazoo]] 
   bar:4  color:Belles from:01/01/1951 till:12/10/1952 text:[[Battle Creek Belles|Battle Creek]]
   bar:4  color:Belles from:01/01/1953 till:12/31/1953 text:[[Muskegon Belles|Muskegon]]

ScaleMajor  = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/1943

TextData =
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    textcolor:black
    pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center)
    text:
# > If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following six options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. {{Font color || {{RGB|190|186|218}}|Current clubs}} {{Font color || {{RGB|255|255|179}}|Former clubs}} {{Font color || {{RGB|101|211|159}}|Future clubs}}
 <#  </timeline>

{{OSM Location map      
| nolabels = 1  
| coord = {{coord|42.5|-88.25}}
| zoom = 6
| width = 550
| height = 350
| mark1 = Blue pog.svg| label1 = Rockford Peaches | mark-coord1 = {{coord|42.259444|-89.064444}}| label-pos1 = left| label-color1 = black
| mark2 = Blue pog.svg| label2 = Kenosha Comets | mark-coord2 = {{coord|42.582222|-87.845556}}| label-pos2 = left| label-color2 = black
| mark3 = Blue pog.svg| label3 = Racine Belles | mark-coord3 = {{coord|42.726111|-87.805833}}| label-pos3 = right| label-color3 = black
| mark4 = Blue pog.svg| label4 = South Bend Blue Sox | mark-coord4 = {{coord|41.676389|-86.250278}}| label-pos4 = bottom| label-color4 = black
| mark5 = Blue pog.svg| label5 = Milwaukee Chicks | mark-coord5 = {{coord|43.05 |-87.95 }}| label-pos5 = left| label-color5 = black
| mark6 = Blue pog.svg| label6 = Minneapolis Millerettes | mark-coord6 = {{coord|44.981944|-93.269167}}| label-pos6 = right| label-color6 = black
| mark7 = Blue pog.svg| label7 = Fort Wayne Daisies | mark-coord7 = {{coord|41.080556|-85.139167}}| label-pos7 = bottom| label-color7 = black
| mark8 = Blue pog.svg| label8 = Grand Rapids Chicks | mark-coord8 = {{coord|42.961111|-85.655556}}| label-pos8 = right| label-color8 = black
| mark9 = Blue pog.svg| label9 = Peoria Redwings | mark-coord9 = {{coord|40.720833|-89.609444}}| label-pos9 = top| label-color9 = black
| mark10 = Blue pog.svg| label10 = Chicago Colleens | mark-coord10 = {{coord|41.881944|-87.627778}}| label-pos10 = left| label-color10 = black
| mark11 = Blue pog.svg| label11 = Springfield Sallies | mark-coord11 = {{coord|39.799444|-89.655 | }}| label-pos11 = top| label-color11 = black
| mark12 = Blue pog.svg| label12 = Kalamazoo Lassies | mark-coord12 = {{coord|42.29 |-85.585833}}| label-pos12 = left| label-color12 = black
| mark13 = Blue pog.svg| label13 = Battle Creek Belles | mark-coord13 = {{coord|42.312222|-85.204167}}| label-pos13 = right| label-color13 = black
| mark14 = Blue pog.svg| label14 = Muskegon Lassies / Belles | mark-coord14 = {{coord|43.234167|-86.248333}}| label-pos14 = top| label-color14 = black
}}

* [[Kenosha Comets]]<ref name="Cullen-DuPont2000"/> (1943–1951)
* [[Racine Belles]]<ref name="Cullen-DuPont2000"/> (1943–1950)
* [[Rockford Peaches]]<ref name="Cullen-DuPont2000"/> (1943–1954)
* [[South Bend Blue Sox]]<ref name="Cullen-DuPont2000"/> (1943–1954)
* [[Milwaukee Chicks]] (1944)
* [[Minneapolis Millerettes]]<ref name="Cullen-DuPont2000"/> (1944)
* [[Fort Wayne Daisies]]<ref name="Cullen-DuPont2000"/> (1945–1954)
* [[Grand Rapids Chicks]]<ref name="Cullen-DuPont2000"/> (1945–1954)
* [[Muskegon Lassies]] (1946–1949)
* [[Peoria Redwings]]<ref name="Cullen-DuPont2000"/> (1946–1951)
* [[Chicago Colleens]]<ref name="Cullen-DuPont2000"/> (1948)
* [[Springfield Sallies]]<ref name="Cullen-DuPont2000"/> (1948)
* [[Kalamazoo Lassies]]<ref name="Cullen-DuPont2000"/> (1950–1954)
* [[Battle Creek Belles]] (1951–1952)
* [[Muskegon Belles]] (1953)

==League champions==
The League had twelve championship series, and six separate champion teams, in its time of play. For the 1943 and 1944 seasons, the playoffs were a matchup of the first half champion and the second half champion. The seasons of 1945–1947 matched four teams for its postseason. For 1948 only, four teams each from the Eastern and Western Division made the postseason. The 1949 season utilized a system where six teams reached the postseason, with the 1 and 3 seeds having a first-round bye (the 2 seed played the 1 seed). The 1950 season had four teams reach the postseason. The 1951 season returned to the half system, but with a caveat that the top two teams of the first and second half went to the playoffs. For the final three seasons (1952–1954), they had the top four teams reach the playoffs.<ref name=May/>
{| class="wikitable"
|+Overview of AAGPBL champions
|-
!scope="col"| Year
!scope="col"| Winning team
!scope="col"| Series
!scope="col"| Losing team
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:left;" |[[1943 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1943]]
| [[Racine Belles]]
| 3–0
| [[Kenosha Comets]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:left;" |[[1944 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1944]]
|[[Milwaukee Chicks]]
| 4–3
|[[Kenosha Comets]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:left;" |[[1945 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1945]]
|[[Rockford Peaches]]
| 4–1
| [[Fort Wayne Daisies]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:left;" |[[1946 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1946]]
|[[Racine Belles]]
|4–2
|[[Rockford Peaches]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:left;" |[[1947 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1947]]
|[[Grand Rapids Chicks]]
|4–3
|[[Racine Belles]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:left;" |[[1948 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1948]]
|[[Rockford Peaches]]
| 4–2
| [[Fort Wayne Daisies]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:left;" |[[1949 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1949]]
|[[Rockford Peaches]]
| 3–1
| [[Grand Rapids Chicks]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:left;" |[[1950 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1950]]
|[[Rockford Peaches]]
|4–3
|[[Fort Wayne Daisies]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:left;" |[[1951 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1951]]
|[[South Bend Blue Sox]]
|3–2
|[[Rockford Peaches]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:left;" |[[1952 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1952]]
|[[South Bend Blue Sox]]
| 3–2
|[[Rockford Peaches]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:left;" |[[1953 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1953]]
|[[Grand Rapids Chicks]]
| 2–0
|[[Kalamazoo Lassies]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:left;" |[[1954 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season|1954]]
| [[Kalamazoo Lassies]]
| 3–2
|[[Fort Wayne Daisies]]
|}

==Legacy==
===Media===
The 1992 film ''[[A League of Their Own]]'', although fictionalized, covers the founding and play of this league. [[Geena Davis]], [[Lori Petty]], [[Rosie O'Donnell]], [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] and [[Tom Hanks]] were the stars of the film, which was directed by [[Penny Marshall]].<ref name=May/> A six-episode [[A League of Their Own (1993 TV series)|television series with the same name]] aired in 1993. In 2022, a [[A League of Their Own (2022 TV series)|second spin-off television series]] of the same name was released. The 2022 series shares a number of similarities to the film, but showrunner [[Abbi Jacobson]] notes that the series aims to portray a more authentic representation of the league.<ref>{{Cite web |last=White |first=Abbey |date=2022-07-16 |title='A League of Their Own' Star Abbi Jacobson on Whether Series Characters Will Call Back to Team From 1992 Film |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/abbi-jacobson-a-league-of-their-own-characters-similarities-penny-marshall-film-1235175433/ |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> The television adaptation addresses homosexuality within the league, the reality of which has been discussed by former players.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-17 |title=Baseball icon and A League of Their Own inspiration Maybelle Blair comes out as gay at 95 |url=https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/life/baseball-icon-and-a-league-of-their-own-inspiration-maybelle-blair-comes-out-as-gay-at-95/ |access-date=2023-02-22 |website=GAY TIMES |language=en-GB}}</ref> The series also addresses race relations at the time, taking on a split format which follows both the Peaches and Max Chapman—a fictional black pitcher who was barred from trying out for the league.

[[Lois Siegel]] documented the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in her film ''[[Baseball Girls]]'', which was produced by the National Film Board of Canada.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nickus |first1=Janina |title=Baseball girls |url=https://riverviewparkreview.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/RPR-1910-OCT-NOV-2019-FOR_WEB_REVISED.pdf |access-date=10 October 2024 |work=Riverside Park Review |date=2019 |page=8}}</ref> Several histories of the AAGPBL have also been published in book form.<ref>{{cite book |last=Macy |first=Sue |title=A Whole New Ball Game: The Story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League |year=1995 |publisher=Puffin Books |isbn=0-14-037423-X}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Browne |first=Lois |title=Girls of Summer: The Real Story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League |year=1993 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=0-00-637902-8}}</ref>

===AAGPBL Players Association===
When the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was unable to continue in 1955, its history and its significance were forgotten by baseball historians. Many people in the 1950s thought that women were not supposed to play baseball, so most female athletes competed on other fields of endeavor. Finally, in 1980, former pitcher [[June Peppas]] launched a newsletter project to get in touch with friends, teammates, and opponents that resulted in the league's first reunion in [[Chicago|Chicago, Illinois]] in 1982.  The Players Association was formed after a 1986 Reunion held in Fort Wayne as part of Run, Jane, Run, a local Women's Bureau event. Historian and Baseball card publisher Sharon Roepke (author of ''Diamond Gals'') who was circulating a petition to get the Baseball Hall of Fame to recognize the All American Girls Baseball League asked the players at the Reunion to organize to help the effort.  A meeting was held at the South Bend home of Fran Janssen, and the Player's Association was born.  June Peppas was nominated President.<ref>Minutes of AAGPBL origin meeting; personal recollection of participant Sharon Roepke</ref> Membership is now offered to players, staff members, and descendants, in addition to associate memberships for baseball fans and historians.

Sixty-five original AAGPBL members appeared in the 1992 film ''A League of Their Own'' in scenes recreating the induction of the league into the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]] in 1988.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 1, 2022 |title=A League of Their Own (1992) – AFI Catalog Spotlight |url=https://www.afi.com/news/a-league-of-their-own-1992-afi-catalog-spotlight/ |access-date=2022-08-27 |website=American Film Institute |language=en}}</ref>

The President of the AAGPBL Players Association is Richard Chapman.  He attended the 1982 reunion representing his mother [[Dorothy Maguire]], who died in the prior year.  In 2017, he told ''[[Baseball America]],''  "When I went to the reunion in 1982 to represent her, I learned more about her playing than she had ever said. There is a lot of history getting lost.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Newcomb |first1=Tim |title=Working to Keep Girls Professional Baseball League History Alive |url=https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/working-to-keep-girls-professional-baseball-league-history-alive/ |website=Baseball Americaq |date=November 3, 2017 |access-date=2024-05-23 |ref=Chapman}}</ref>"

In 2019, the Players' Association established ''American Girls Baseball,'' which promotes women's baseball for the [[World Baseball Softball Confederation]] [[Women's Baseball World Cup]].<ref>{{cite web |title=AAGPBL to increase support for women and girls playing baseball |url=https://www.aagpbl.org/articles/show/67 |website=AAGPBL Players Union |access-date=2024-05-24 |ref=AGB}}</ref>  American Girls Baseball, established by Sue (Parsons) Zipay, who played in the final two seasons of the league with Rockford in the 1953 and 1954 seasons, and Misdee Miller, granddaughter of AAGPBL founder Phillip Wrigley, first began the All-American Woman's Baseball Classic at [[Ed Smith Stadium]], the spring training home of the [[Baltimore Orioles]], in [[Sarasota, Florida]] during November in a tournament that began in 2022.<ref>{{cite web |title=All-American Woman's Baseball Classic |date=November 2022 |url=https://americangirlsbaseball.org/inaugural-all-american-womans-baseball-classic-to-take-place-at-ed-smith-stadium/ |publisher=American Girls Baseball |access-date=2024-05-24 |ref=AGBOSST}}</ref>  The AGB tournament features four teams named as tributes for the original AAGPBL teams, with all teams using a progressive fade to white jersey based on the colors of the squad—Rockford (peach with red numerals), South Bend (light blue with dark blue numerals), Racine (gold with brown numerals), and Kenosha (light green with green numerals) and white trousers.  Games are played to modern WBSC Women's Baseball rules, with all games seven innings long.  Players must be 16 years of age to participate.

The 2025 Players Association Annual Meeting is scheduled for July 31 to August 3 at [[Durham Bulls Athletic Park]] in [[Durham, North Carolina]], and will feature events with surviving players and descendants.  In addition, the American Women's Baseball Classic will be part of the reunion for the first time.<ref>{{cite web |title=2025 AAGPBL Reunion |url=https://aagpbl.org/articles/show/103 |website=All American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association |access-date=2025-06-14 |ref=PADurhamBulls}}</ref>

==National Women's Baseball Hall of Fame inductees==
*1999 – [[Claire Schillace]]
*2002 – [[Faye Dancer]]
*2003 – [[Dorothy Ferguson]] (Dottie Key)
*2005 – [[Joanne Winter]]
*2010 – [[Dorothy Kamenshek]]
*2012 – [[Jean Faut]]
*2012 – [[Doris Sams]]
*2013 – [[Pepper Paire]]
*2013 – [[Sophie Kurys]]
*2017 – [[Arleene Johnson]] (Noga)
*2018 – [[June Peppas]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eteamz.com/hallfame |title=Inductees |website=National Women's Baseball Hall of Fame |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114184929/http://www.eteamz.com/hallfame/ |archive-date=January 14, 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[All-American Girls Professional Baseball League All-Star Team]]
*[[All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Player of the Year Award]]
*[[All-American Girls Professional Baseball League batting records]]
*[[All-American Girls Professional Baseball League fielding records]]
*[[All-American Girls Professional Baseball League pitching records]]
*[[List of All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players]]
*[[Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame]], which includes an AAGPBL exhibit
*[[Major women's sport leagues in North America]]
*[[Women in baseball]]
* [[Toni Stone]], [[Mamie Johnson]], [[Connie Morgan]] (the only three black women to play in the [[Negro leagues]])<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://sabr.org/journal/article/playing-with-the-boys-gender-race-and-baseball-in-post-war-america/ |title=Playing With The Boys: Gender, Race, and Baseball in Post-War America |first=A.J. |last=Richard |date=2019 |website=Society for American Baseball Research}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*''A Whole New Ball Game'' by [[Sue Macy]]
*"Muscle in the Bud" (an article in ''Baseball As America'') by Barbara Gregorich

==External links==
{{sister project links|v=no|voy=no|n=no|wikt=no|species=no|m=no|mw=no|b=no|s=no|commons=Category:All-American Girls Professional Baseball League|d=Q1052634|q=no}}
*{{Official website|http://www.aagpbl.org/}}
*[https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/collections/show/33 Grand Valley State University All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Oral History Project]
*[https://minds.wisconsin.edu/handle/1793/38136  University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, The Forgotten Champs: The 1944 Milwaukee Chicks Oral History Project]
*[https://www.nfb.ca/film/baseball_girls/"Baseball Girls" documentary, The National Film Board of Canada ]

{{All-American Girls Professional Baseball League|state=uncollapsed}}
{{Professional Baseball}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:All-American Girls Professional Baseball League| ]]
[[Category:1943 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:1954 disestablishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct baseball leagues in the United States]]
[[Category:Women's baseball leagues in the United States]]
[[Category:Sports leagues established in 1943]]
[[Category:Sports leagues disestablished in 1954]]
[[Category:Defunct women's baseball leagues]]