Women In Baseball

Women have a long history in American baseball and many women's teams have existed over the years. Baseball was played at women's colleges in New York and New England as early as the mid-nineteenth century; teams were formed at Vassar College, Smith College, Wellesley College, and Mount Holyoke College. An African American women's team, the Philadelphia Dolly Vardens, was formed in 1867.

A number of women's barnstorming teams have existed, and women have played alongside major league players in exhibition games. On April 2, 1931, 17-year-old Jackie Mitchell (originally known as "Virne Beatrice Mitchell Gilbert") of the Chattanooga Lookouts struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in an exhibition game. Commissioner of Baseball Kenesaw Mountain Landis voided her contract as a result. The first girl to play on a boy's varsity high school baseball team was Nellie Twardzik, on April 24, 1935. Twardzik started at first base for the Bartlett High School Indians in Webster, Massachusetts from 1935 through 1937. Her high school letter and glove are on display in the "Diamond Dreams" exhibit featuring women in baseball at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

In 1946, former player Edith Houghton became the first woman to work as an independent scout in Major League Baseball when she was hired by the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League. In 1989, NBC's Gayle Gardner became the first woman to regularly host Major League Baseball games for a major television network. In 2015, Jessica Mendoza was the first female analyst for a Major League Baseball game in the history of ESPN, and Margaret Donahue (1892–1978) was the first non-owner female front office executive in Major League Baseball, starting as a stenographer for the Chicago Cubs in 1919 before becoming the team's corporate secretary in 1926 and team vice president and executive secretary before she retired in 1958.

Effa Manley, the only woman member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame (inducted 2006), co-owned the Newark Eagles baseball franchise in the Negro leagues from 1935 to 1948.

Early history

There is some evidence that women were playing base ball (as it was then called) as far back as the 1860s, but it was not normal for young women to play what was considered a man's sport. In fact, until the early 1890s, when the bicycle craze hit America, women who wanted to get some outdoor exercise were usually discouraged from doing so. But in the late 1890s, there were some organized efforts to have all-female baseball teams, several of which enjoyed success. One of the most successful was the Boston Bloomer Girls baseball club; they took their name from the comfortable pants that some sports-minded young women had begun to wear instead of a long skirt. Young women who went against traditional fashion norms and chose bloomers were often called "bloomer girls". While in some cities, local authorities banned women's baseball teams, including the Bloomer Girls, in other cities, the club was welcomed by curious fans who had never seen female ballplayers.

The Bloomer Girls toured the United States in 1897; the press referred to them as the "champion women's club of the world", although this may have been marketing hyperbole, given that the team often seemed inexperienced and did not play very well. One regular standout for the Bloomers was pitcher Maud Nelson, whose talents as a player were praised by reporters; but her teammates did not seem to have as much polish or skill as she did. As they gained more experience, they began to play with more confidence; while still regarded as a novelty, the club often drew large crowds of appreciative fans, many of whom came to see Maud Nelson and her curve ball. The Boston Bloomers were still touring and playing baseball in the early 1900s; by 1907–1908, their team also included several male players, but the majority of the team continued to be female.

1920s–present

Although female teams like the Bloomers were always considered a novelty, by the early 1920s, there were several female players who were attracting attention at the amateur and semi-pro level and were considered talented enough to play for all-male teams. Perhaps the best known young woman playing baseball in the early 1920s was Rhode Island's Lizzie Murphy. A first baseman, she played for the Providence (RI) Independents, and was praised by newspaper reporters for her fielding skills. Sportswriters said she was every bit as talented as a male player, and noted that she was paid $300 a week, more than many minor league players of the 1920s received. Murphy, who had begun playing baseball when she was only ten, had dreams of becoming a major league player, but she was not able to achieve that goal. She was, however, able to have a long career in the semi-pro leagues, leading a touring team that played all over the eastern United States. According to newspaper accounts, she developed a loyal following, with numerous fans who came out to watch her and her team play. Lizzie Murphy's baseball career lasted from 1918 to 1935, and included one charity exhibition game in which she was part of a team of all-stars who played against the Boston Red Sox.

While Murphy was perhaps the best-known woman playing for an all-male team in the 1920s, there was at least one other woman athlete whose abilities included playing baseball. Philadelphia's Betty Schenkel not only played baseball with the boys during high school, but she was said to be adept in other sports, including basketball, soccer, and cycling.

World War II

During World War II, over 500 baseball players, including super-stars like Ted Williams, Stan Musial and Joe DiMaggio, were drafted. This left major league rosters depleted and severely diminished the level of talent in the league. The owner of the Chicago Cubs, Philip K. Wrigley formed a committee to come up with ideas to keep baseball financially afloat during the war. The result of that committee was the organization of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which operated from 1943 to 1954. At the height of its popularity, it had teams in twelve cities. One of the most successful of the teams in the league was the Rockford (IL) Peaches, which won four championships. The Peaches, and the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, were commemorated in a 1992 movie, ''A League of Their Own'', starring Geena Davis. In 2022, the television series ''A League of Their Own'', co-created by Will Graham and Abbi Jacobson, was an adaptation of the 1992 movie with new characters and storylines, about the formation of a World War II-era women's professional baseball team.

1950s–1990s

There not being a rule against it, 12-year-old Kathryn Johnston of Corning, New York became the first girl to play Little League Baseball

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