Baseball is a sport that is typically dominated by men, with women more commonly associated with softball. However, there has always been a strong undercurrent of talented women who have history of overcoming a long series of walls and hardships to be accepted in a sport that has long been seen as only for men.
First Women's Team
The history of women in baseball started with the first organized women's baseball team in 1866. This team was formed at Vassar college in Poughkeepsie, New York. The Vassar Resolutes made baseball history, although collegiate women's baseball never fully took off and continues to be overshadowed by women's collegiate softball teams instead.
African-American Women
Another first for women's baseball is the first African-American women's baseball team. The Dolly Vardens of Philadelphia arrived on the professional women's baseball team in 1867. Although they made history for being the first women's team to allow black women to play, the team's finances were unstable, leading to a short-lived time on the baseball circuit. African-American continued to have a difficult time being accepted into professional play until the 1970s where public opinion began to change along with the Civil Rights Movement.
War Times
World War II marked a significant moment in history for women's baseball. With so many men being shipped off to war, Philip K. Wrigley, owner of the Chicago Cubs and the famous chewing gum brand, decided to keep the sport alive during the war by creating women's teams. Tryouts began in May 1943 and by the following summer rosters were completed and the games began. Unfortunately, as the war ended in 1945, the hype around women's baseball began to die as men returned from war, and men's baseball once again took the primary role.
Women's Associations
Although the war brought an end to many of the professional teams created in the 1940's, women continued to play baseball when several associations leading the way. Some of the most well known include the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which was created in 1943 and survived until 1954. The AAGPBL gave way to the American Women's Baseball Association, which was created in 1988 and the American Women's Baseball League created in 1990. Women continue to play baseball across the U.S. and the rest of the world, including the Women's National Baseball team, which competes every other year in the Women's World Cup of Baseball.
References
- Seaternal.com: History of Women in Baseball
- All American Girls Professional Baseball League: League History
- Vaasar College: Female baseball player feels at home with the boys
- Historical Society of Pennsylvania: More than a Man's Game: Pennsylvania's Women Play Ball
- American Women's Baseball Association: AWBA History
- American Women's Baseball Association: Frequently Asked Questions about the women's national team
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