Beginnings  |  Team Formation  |  League Play: 1943  |   League Expansion
League Play: 1944  |   League Play: 1945  |   Post War Years

Beginnings
By the fall of 1942, many minor league teams had disbanded due to the war. 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 is what prompted Philip K. Wrigley, the chewing-gum mogul who had inherited the Chicago Cubs major league baseball franchise from his father, to search for a possible solution to this dilemma. Wrigley asked his Chicago Cubs General Manager, Ken Sells, to head a committee to come up with ideas. The committee recommended a girl's softball league be established to be prepared to go into the major league parks should attendance fall due to franchises losing too many quality players to attract the crowds.

Philip Wrigley

With the dedication of a group of mid-western businessmen and the financial support of Mr. Wrigley, the All American Girls Softball League emerged in the spring of 1943. The League was formed as a non-profit organization. A board of trustees was formed which included Phillip 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. Early in the first season of play, the board of trustees changed the League's name to All American Girl's Baseball League (AAGPBL).

The first major issue facing the trustees was to establish what game of ball was going to be played by the women and define the rules for this new brand of ball. Chicago Cubs scout, Jack Sheehan, former player and part-time scout for the Cubs, and Vern Hemlund, supervisor of recreation for the Chicago Parks Department, worked with Ken Sells to write the new set of rules for the League. Since the only organized ball for women in the country was softball, they created a game which included both softball and baseball. There were semi-pro women's softball teams of quality women players in the Chicago area. The skill of these teams provided a logical basis for the use of a 12-inch softball and underhand pitching. They wanted, however, to liven up the game. In an effort to increase the hitting and spotlight base running, and fielding, they extended the length of the base paths and pitching distance. They also incorporated the men's base running rules by allowing runners to lead off and steal bases. Softball at the time had included 10 players. This new game would parallel men's baseball in number of players (9) and types of equipment that would be used.

The second major issue facing the trustees was to find the talented women playing softball or baseball across the country. Jim Hamilton, 30-year veteran player, manager, owner and Chicago Cubs scout, was hired as the Head of Procurement to locate and sign women from all over the United States and Canada. In Canada the driving force was Johnny Gottselig, former defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks national hockey team in the 1920s and 1930s.

Bonnie Baker. Life Magazine June 1945

Gottselig, a native or Regina, Sask., was managing the Blackhawks' Kansas City farm team in 1942. he had many contacts among sporting figures in the provinces, one of whom was a Regina-based hockey scout named Hub Bishop. Bishop was responsible for signing Mary "Bonnie" Baker, All-Star catcher for the South Bend Blue Sox and other highly skilled players from the many popular softball leagues which existed in Canada. Johnny Gottselig became the first manager of the Racine Belles in 1943, and managed his team to the first recognized World Championship of the newly organized AAGPBL. Wrigley already had an established recruitment network in place from his ownership of the Cubs and had sports connections throughout North America. Jim Hamilton with several assistants was responsible for procuring players from California to New York. Many players were screened from the Chicago Softball League and another existing softball league in California. Bill Allington, former minor league player and then coach in the California leagues, was an active scout for the league. Allington became the manager for the Rockford Peaches in the summer of 1944 and remained as a manager in the league throughout the league's existence. By sending out scouts and setting up try-outs in dozens of major cities, Wrigley attracted hundreds of women from all over America and Canada, eager to play in this new league. Of these only 280 were invited to the final try-outs in Chicago, to select the players who would become the very first women to ever play professional baseball.

Team Formation
Wrigley originally envisioned that major league baseball parks could profit from having the women play on the dates the teams were scheduled to be on the road. He calculated this would maximize the use of the parks which were now only utilized 50 percent of the time. He approached other major league owners, but the idea was not well received. Four non-Major League cities were selected that were in close proximity to the League headquarters in Chicago and close to each other. The cities chosen were Racine and Kenosha, Wisconsin; Rockford, Illinois; and South Bend, Indiana. Arthur Meyerhoff, Wrigley's advertising director was given the responsibility of coordinating operations with city officials and civic leaders in the communities. A project budget was developed. Wrigley agreed to fund half the cost of operating each team and all over-budget expenses. The host cities agreed to pay half of projected operating costs.

Teams consisted of 15 players, a manager (coach), a business manager, and a woman chaperone. It was believed that by acquiring notable men sports figures as managers for the girls' teams, there would be greater curiosity and interest by the public. The managers selected were Johnny Gottselig; Bert Niehoff, former major league player and minor league manager; Josh Billings, former major league player; and Eddie Stumpf, former Milwaukee Brewers catcher.

1943 first players signed: Clara Schillance, Ann Harnett, Edie Perlick and Shirley Jameson.

Spring training was set for May 17, 1943, at Wrigley Field in Chicago. All the players stayed at the Belmont Hotel close to Wrigley Field. The final selection process began on the first day. League officials systematically scrutinized each player. They were tested on playing their field position, throwing, catching, running, sliding and hitting. At the end of the day, no one wanted to answer the phone for fear of being told they would have to pack and go home. Those who survived the cut were signed to professional league contracts which stated they were not to have any other employment during the baseball season. Salaries were high for many of these young players, some as young as 15 years old. In many cases they were making more than their parents who had skilled occupations. Salaries ranged from $45 to $85 a week plus. Those that were signed not only had to be highly skilled players, but they also had to comply with high moral standards and rules of conduct imposed by the League. In addition, femininity was a high priority. Wrigley contracted with Helena Rubenstein's Beauty Salon to meet with the players at spring training. After their daily practices, the women were required to attend evening classes. The proper etiquette for every situation was taught, and every aspect of personal hygiene, mannerisms and dress code was presented to all the players. 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. (See Charm School and Rules of Conduct for details).

Wrigley's Art Designer, Otis Shepard, designed special uniforms for the league. The first girl to sign a contract with the league, Ann Harnett, Chicago softball star, became the model for the new uniforms. The one-piece short-skirted flared tunic was fashioned after the figure skating costumes of the period. Satin tights, knee-high baseball socks and baseball hat completed the uniform. Each city had different colored uniforms and its own symbolic patch on the front of the uniform.

League Play: 1943
The League assigned managers, players and chaperones to teams. It was their intent to balance the talent in each city to make the league play highly competitive. Players would often be traded in mid-season to maintain that balance. League play officially began on May 30, 1943, with South Bend playing in Rockford and Kenosha playing in Racine. There would be a total of 108 games played in the regular season, which ran from mid-May to the first of September. The team to win the most games during the regular season was declared the pennant winner. The top teams would them compete in a series of play-off games to determine the League Champion. After the 1943 season, the Kenosha Comets played a five-game series against the Racine Belles for the Championship. Racine won and became the first World Champions of the All American Girl's Baseball League.

At the beginning of each game, the two teams playing formed a "V" for Victory from home plate down the first and third baselines followed by the playing of the Star Spangled Banner.

Assessment of the first year of play was encouraging. The teams were well received by fans in the four sponsoring cities. Attendance was tracked at 176,612 fans for the 1943 season. National League officials, the press and baseball fans across the country were amazed at how well the women played ball and by the enthusiasm and support the teams received in the host cities. Several factors contributed to this success. Most of the nation was involved in one way or another in the war effort. Women, who formerly had been homemakers, had left their homes to support the war by taking jobs in factories that had been converted to making guns, ammunition and other military machinery. This change in the traditional image of women made the environment much friendlier in the league. Another factor was the limits war had placed upon the American people. Some foods, luxury items, tires and gasoline were rationed. People were forced to spend their leisure time close to home. Going to the ballpark was a popular form of entertainment. Wrigley also managed to capitalize on the patriotic mood of the country. America's young men were off fighting for our country, dreaming of the girls they left behind. Playing on the Theme of "All American Girl," he promoted the image that the players were symbols of "the girl next door" in spikes. At the beginning of each game, the two teams formed a "V" for Victory from home plate down the first and third baselines followed by the playing of the Star Spangled Banner. The players would play an even greater part in displaying patriotism by playing exhibition games to support the Red Cross and the armed forces, as well as visiting wounded veterans at Army Hospitals. 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.

League Expansion
May 14 to May 25, 1944, was the time set for the second spring training camp for the AAGPBL. Held in Peru, Illinois, 126 girls, six managers and all league personnel were housed at the Peru Hotel and in LaSalle, Illinois, twin city to Peru, at the St. Francis Hotel. There was access to three diamonds for the camp, swimming pools and a gym. Ruth Tiffany School had been contracted to run the nightly charm school. The emphasis was to make "bright stars" of each player by integrating a healthy mind and a healthy body. The arts of walking, sitting, speaking, selecting clothes, applying make-up, and social skills were again part of the program. The importance of being feminine and projecting the image of "The All-American Girl next door," along with outstanding athletic ability, continued to be on the top of Wrigley's list of priorities.

As a result of the success of the League in its first year, civic groups in each of the four cities agreed to finance their own franchises. This gave Wrigley the opportunity to try his dream of placing the girls' teams in major league parks. He, Paul Harper and Branch Rickey agreed to finance two additional teams to play in the American Association ballparks in Minneapolis and Milwaukee. League scheduling for the 1944 season was structured to play in the major league stadiums of these two cities during the time periods the men were on road trips. Former major league Hall of Famer, Max Carey, became the manager for the newly formed Milwaukee Chicks, and Bubber Jonnard, was chosen to manager the Minneapolis Millerettes.

Bill Allington

The tenure of the managers in the league was not long. Josh Billings and Eddie Stumph no longer manage in the league were replaced by Marty McManus and Jack Kloza. Bill Allington replaced Kloza as a manager of the Rockford Peaches in July 1944. The League would continue to hire former notable men sports figures as managers. They hoped that famous baseball players, such as Johnny Rawlings and Woody English, Hall of Fame players Dave Bancroft, Max Carey and Jimmie Foxx, and hockey great Johnny Gottselig, would draw fans to the new league. Not unlike major league baseball, cities wanted their teams to win. Managers were expected to produce winning teams. The League's policy of moving players to maintain a balanced helped, but inevitably, the success or failure of a team rested on the managers. They were paid well, sometimes more than $3,600 for 5 month's work. If they did not produce, the cities would often replace them after only one season. Bill Allington would top the list of winning managers and longevity, spending ten plus years with the League.

League Play: 1944
The two new teams were excited to be playing in major league parks. 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. Media coverage was a big difference. The smaller cities received media support. Like the men's teams, all the games were reported with box scores and sometimes papers even ran photographs. In the large cities, the games were often not even mentioned or received negative publicity. The fans sat very close to the field and the dugouts became friendly with the players as individuals in the smaller cities. In the large stadiums, the distances between the fans and the player did not give the women this advantage. Even the size of the field itself was a handicap to the women who could not hit the ball over the fences for homeruns. This sharp contrast between the men playing the faster regulation baseball, on certain nights and the women basically playing a modified softball fast pitch on others, offered the fans too much choice of games to attend. Even though large 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. Attempts to add pre-game entertainment of all kinds, including the symphony, failed to increase attendance. Early in the season, it became evident that the war would not force major league baseball to disband, and Wrigley lost interesting the league. Despite poor attendance in the two major league parks, league attendance increased. After the season, Wrigley sold the League to Chicago advertising executive Arthur Meyerhoff. It was under Meyerhoff that expansion and publicity of the League reached its peak. On November 15, 1944, Meyerhoff met with representatives from the four original cities and reorganized the league so that each franchise would be governed through a League board of directors with representatives from each franchise. Each club would supervise the adoption of rules and regulations and the direction of the sport. All assets were turned over to the new directors and Wrigley was no longer involved with the league. Ken Sells resigned as league president and Max Carey was named the new president.

League Play: 1945
Meyerhoff undertook a rigorous advertising campaign to promote the League in 1945. Everything was going well with the war and for the League. Patriotic fans were ensuring the League had a future. Families were turning out in large numbers at the ballparks. The Milwaukee Chicks were picked up by Grand Rapids, Michigan; and the Minneapolis Millerettes went to Fort Wayne, Indiana. Meyerhoff had projected the image he and Wrigley had envisioned for these women. They were now involved deeply in displaying their abilities on the playing field. The emphasis had changed and the Charm School was discontinued. Meyerhoff arranged for the girls to play exhibition games at 13 army camps and veteran hospitals during the last five days of spring training. The players went into the hospitals and spoke to the wounded soldiers before and after the games. Players in the League eagerly supported the War effort. Several of the players had husbands and brothers overseas and many had relatives in the service. This war effort brought a lot of positive publicity to the League as well as national press. The All Americans celebrated the end of World War II on August 14, 1945, at the ballpark. The war had ended but the All American Girl's Professional Baseball League was not over. By the end of the season, attendance had reached 450,313.

Post War Years
Life was great. The All Americans host cities had Junior Leagues for young girls 14 years and older. The teams traveled to exotic locations for spring training. In 1946, spring training camp was held in Pascagoula, Mississippi; in 1947, in Havana, Cuba; and in 1948, in Opalocka, Florida. The League would acquire franchises for two more teams in Peoria, Illinois, and Muskegon, Michigan. The rules change to lengthen distances and approve side arm pitching. The game was modified each year with overhand pitching commencing in 1948.

The Junior Racine Belles

In the first three years after World War II, teams often attracted between two and three thousand fans to a single game. One league highlight occurred when an estimated 10,000 people saw a Fourth of July double-header in South Bend in 1946. The AAGPBL peaked in attendance during the 1948 season, when ten teams attracted 910,000 paid fans. However, attendance declined in the following years. One of the reasons for decreasing attendance and a resulting decrease in revenues was the decentralization of the League. In 1951, Max Carey resigned as League president and each host city assumed full control of its team. Without any centralized control, the League began to break down. Two teams that started the beginning of the 1948 season, the Springfield Sallies and the Chicago Colleens, lost their franchises in mid-1948 and 1949 respectively. They became traveling teams touring the country playing each other in exhibition games and searching for new talent. Another major factor was the decline of the local fan base, due in part to the rise of other forms of recreation and entertainment and the advent of televised major league games in the early-1950s. A third factor was a smaller pool of talented players. As revenues fell, teams were unable to support farm teams and cultivate new players and funds to advertise as a way to recruit new baseball talent were limited. The touring teams of 1949 and 1950, the Chicago Colleens and the Springfield Sallies, were dropped in 1951 due to dwindling finances. By 1952, only six teams remained in the league as Kenosha and Peoria were disbanded. By 1953, Battle Creek was moved to Muskegon, and by the end of that season, it too folded. The 1954 season would end with only five teams remaining: Fort Wayne, South Bend, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Rockford.

The All American Girls Professional Baseball League gave over 600 women athletes the opportunity to play a professional level of baseball never before attained. The league operated from 1943 to 1954 and represents one of the most unique periods of our nation's baseball history.

Written by Jeneane Lesko; edited by Jean Cione and Sue Macy.

Leslo and Cione are both former AAGPBL players. Jean Cione is a host for the electronic field trip"Dirt on Their Skirts" as well.

Information from Ken Sells story generously provided by Nikie Fox, AAGPBL player 1943-1952, for the Kenosha Comets and Rockford Peaches.

Original copy in Northern Indiana Center for History, South Bend, Indiana.

Special thanks to author of "A Whole New Ball Game" and associate member of The AAGPBL Player's Association, Sue Macy, for allowing the use of references from her book.