Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: A Biographical Dictionary by W. C. Madden

From the Publisher

For a dozen years in the 1940s and 1950s, over 600 women donned skirts and spikes in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Many of them quit their jobs, postponed their educations or left their families behind to pursue the dream of being a professional ball payer in the sport they loved. From Velma Abbott to Agnes "Aggie" Zurkowski, over 600 players are profiled in this biographical dictionary, the most comprehensive look ever at the players of the AAGPBL. For each player, vital dates, place of birth, height, weight, defensive position, teams played for and seasons active are provided, along with complete career statistics. These data are followed in most cases by a brief biographical sketch that details the player's career, how she came to play in the league and information on her post-baseball career. Most of the photographs are from the personal files of the players and have never before been published.

VOYA

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was the brainchild of Philip Wrigley, owner of the Chicago Cubs. Before its demise in 1954, the league provided twelve years of entertainment for thousands of baseball fans and opportunities for hundreds of women to develop and exhibit their athletic skills. The teams in this and the rival Chicago National League were located mainly in the Midwest and attracted players from the United States, Canada, and Cuba. Many of the players were superb athletes and established records that rival or exceed those of their male counterparts. Some of the players were teenagers, some married women with children; some put school or jobs on hold while they took advantage of an opportunity to play the game they loved. Record-setter Joanne Weaver left high school to join the Fort Wayne Daisies in 1950 when she was fourteen. Ted Williams had a.400 batting average in 1953, but in 1954 Weaver hit.429, the highest professional batting average of the century. She stayed with Fort Wayne until the league disbanded then went back home to finish high school. Pitcher Jean Faut had a 20-2 record in 1952 and pitched two perfect games in her eight-year career. Shortstop Dottie Schroeder started her professional career at age fifteen and is the only player to compete in all twelve seasons. Among the records he holds are 431 RBI and 4,120 times at bat. She was the best fielding shortstop in the league three times in her career. Madden presents short biographical sketches, photos, and statistics of about six hundred of the seven hundred women who signed contracts; and their stories make for a fascinating glimpse into the lives of dedicated, talented women, many of whom went on to distinguished careers in academics, medicine, etc. The 1992 movie A League of Their Own is based on the AAGPBL, and some of the former players are in the scenes at the end of the film. Changes in league structure and poor financial management led to the league's disbanding. Not much has been written on the history of professional sports for women, and here is a good look at the life of a league and at women who loved to play the game and did it exceptionally well. Index. Photos.

Product Details

• ISBN: 0786422637
  
• ISBN-13: 9780786422630
• Format: Paperback, 295pp
• Publisher: McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
• Pub. Date: January 2005