Women in Baseball history

	1866 — First organized women’s baseball teams in U.S. started at Vassar College
	1867 — The Dolly Vardens of Philadelphia became the first professional black women’s team
	1875 — The first women’s baseball game for which fans were charged and women players were paid was played between the Blondes and the Brunettes in Springfield, Illinois on September 11
	1876 — The Resolutes modeled after Vassar College team developed their own version of uniforms which included: long sleeved shirts with frilled high neckline, embroidered belts, wide floor length skirts, high button shoes and broad striped caps
	1880 — A Smith College team was despaired after disproving mothers complained about the children playing the sport, saying it was not appropriate for women to play
	1898 — Lizzie Arlington became the first woman to sign a professional baseball contract; she signed with the Philadelphia Reserves
	1890s to 1935 — Women’s “Bloomer Girls” clubs barnstormed U.S. and played men’s town, semi-pro, and minor league teams; Bloomer teams had an average of 3 males on them; Rogers Hornsby and Smokey Joe Wood got their starts with Bloomer Girls teams, dressed as women
	1900s — Bloomer Girls introduced night baseball games
	1904 — Amanda Clement was the first woman to be paid to umpire a baseball game; she umpired professionally for 6 years after that
	1908 — Maude Nelson was the starting pitcher for the men’s Cherokee Indian Base Ball Club
	1908 — The U.S. baseball national anthem, “Take me out to the ball game,” was inspired by and written about a young girl’s love of the game
	1911 to 1916 — St. Louis Cardinals were owned by Helene Britton
	1920s — Philadelphia had factory teams for women, women’s leagues, and the Philadelphia Bobbies for non-working women
	1920s — Mary O’Gara took Philadelphia Bobbies to Japan to play men’s teams
	1928 — Lizzie Murphy became the first woman to play for a major league team in an exhibition game; she also became the 1st person, of either gender, to play for both the American League and National League in All-Star games
	1928 — Mary Gisolo joined the nationwide American Legion Junior Baseball Program and she helped to lead Blanford Cubs to the Indiana state title
	1930s — The “Bold Years” for women’s baseball; women baseball players toured internationally, played junior baseball, and signed minor league contracts
	1934 — Olympic hero Babe Didrikson pitched exhibition games for the Athletics, Cardinals, and Indians
	1943 to 1954 — The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was started by Philip Wrigley, owner of Chicago Cubs and Wrigley's Chewing Gum
	1944 — Dottie Wiltse pitched for the AAGPBL up until she was 6 months pregnant
	1946 — Edith Houghton became the first woman to scout for the major leagues
	1946 — Sophie Kurys set the stolen base record for the AAGPBL with 201 stolen bases in 203 attempts; this record continues to be unequalled in baseball history, as Ricky Henderson is 2nd in stolen bases with 130 (1982)
	1947 — The Racine Belles of the AAGPBL started the Junior Belles baseball program; 100 girls tried out and 60 were selected to play on 4 teams; the Grays, Greeens, Reds, and Golds
	1947 — Eulalia Gonzales became the first Cuban woman to play baseball in U.S.; played with the Racine Belles
	1948 — The Junior Belles became more popular, as more girls tried out for the teams; other AAGPBL teams, such as the Lassies and the Comets, began to sponsor girls’ junior baseball teams
	1948 — After 5 years of playing, the AAGBL (also known as the AAGPBL) starts throwing pitches overhand instead of underhand
	1950 — Racine Belles and Junior Belles folded due to lack of money
	1950s — Toni Stone, Connie Morgan, and Mamie “Peanuts” Johnson played on men’s professional teams in the Negro Leagues; they weren’t allowed to play in the AAGPBL because they are African American
	1952 — George Trautman voided Eleanor Engle’s minor league contract with AA Harrisburg Senators
	1952 — June 23, organized baseball banned women from the minor leagues; the ban remains in effect today
	1955 — Bill Allington formed two women’s teams called Allington’s All-Stars which barnstormed the U.S. playing men’s town and semi-pro teams, like the Bloomer Girls did; lasted until 1957
	1969 — Bernice Gera became the first woman to sign a professional umpire contract
	1971 — Gloria Jean “Jackie” Jackson tried out for Pittsfield Senators; she received an offer from the Raleigh Durham Triangles, but the offer was revoked one day later
	1973 — Pawtucket Slaterettes became the first all-girls’ baseball league
	1974 — Girls won the right to play baseball in Little League Baseball
	1976 — Christine Wren umpired in Class A Northwest League (minor leagues)
	1977 to 1978 — Pam Postema umpired, with high marks, in the Rookie Gulf Coast League
	1979 to 1980 — Pam Postema umpired in Class A Florida State League
	1981 to 1982 — Pam Postema umpired in Class AA Texas League
	1983 — Pam Postema moved up to Triple A Pacific Coast League
	1984 — Bob Hope founded the Sun Sox, a Class A minor league all-women’s team; tried to enter the team into the Class A Florida State League; the league didn’t award Hope the franchise, because of male chauvenism; Henry “Hank” Aaron was the team’s Director of Player Personnel
	1988 — Pam Postema was invited by baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti to umpire spring training games and the Hall of Fame game
	1988 — American Women’s Baseball Association (AWBA) founded in Chicago; first organized women’s league since AAGPBL (1943-1954); 6 players from the AWBA were extras in the movie “A League of Their Own”
	1988 — Julie Croteau played semi-pro baseball for the Fredericksburg Giants of the Virginia Baseball League
	1989 — Pam Postema was invited by baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti to umpire spring training games again
	1989 — Bart Giamatti died and thus Pam Postema was released from umpiring in the minor leagues, and this ended her dream of umpiring in the major leagues; she umpired for 13 years in the minors
	1989 — Julie Croteau became the first woman to play collegiate men’s varsity baseball; she did so at St. Mary’s College (NCAA Division III)
	1990s — American Women’s Baseball League (AWBL; also known as American Women’s Baseball, AWB) was founded by Jim Glennie in an effort to unite women’s baseball teams and leagues around the country and to provide support to them
	1992 — “A League of Their Own” movie about the AAGPBL was produced by Penny Marshall
	1993 — Sal Coats became the first woman to play in the MSBL World Series (Men’s Senior Baseball League)
	1994 — Bob Hope formed and Coors Brewing Company sponsored the Colorado Silver Bullets women’s baseball team which played men’s college and minor league teams; team existed for 4 years
	1995 — Ila Borders became the first woman to pitch and win a complete collegiate baseball game; Ila also was the first woman to win a collegiate baseball scholarship
	1998 — Ila Borders became the first woman to win a men’s pro game while pitching for the Duluth Dukes independent minor league team
	1997 — Ladies League Baseball was formed by Mike Ribant, “a San Diego business man”; it became the first professional women’s baseball league since the AAGPBL; the San Jose Spitfires won the Championships that year over the Los Angeles Legends
	1998 — After beginning its second season, the Ladies League Baseball expanded to 6 teams and goes nationwide, but folds shortly after “due to lack of attendance”
	2000 — The American Women’s Baseball League (AWBL) took women’s baseball team to Japan to play Team Energen, the Japanese women’s national team
	2001 — The first Women’s World Series (WWS) was played at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; countries that participated were the U.S., Australia, Canada, Japan — the U.S. won the gold medal
	2003 — The American Eagles of American Women’s Baseball (AWB) became the first women’s baseball team to be sanctioned by USA Baseball
	2003 — Women’s baseball became official sport (39th) of the AAU; this marks the first time in U.S. history that a U.S. national organization began sanctioning and supporting women’s baseball
	2004 — The first-ever Women’s World Cup of Baseball will be played in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada from July 30 to August 8; the event is sanctioned by the International Baseball Association and Federation (IBAF) and will be hosted by Baseball Canada
	2004 — USA Baseball will sanction the first official national women’s baseball team; the team will compete in the 2004 WWS (in Japan) and in the 2004 Women’s World Cup of Baseball
	2004 — John Kovach, manager of the South Bend Blue Sox Women’s Baseball Club, Director of the Great Lakes Women’s Baseball League, and AAU Women’s Baseball Youth Baseball Chair, worked out a proposal with Little League, Inc. to use the Michiana Girls’ Baseball League (a league that Kovach founded in 2002) as a model league to develop girls’ Little League baseball programs around the country; Little League started a boy’s softball program in 2000 because 500 boys were playing in Little League softball leagues around the U.S., but the organization failed to start a girls’ baseball program, when thousands of girls are playing baseball in Little League baseball leagues around the U.S.
	2008 — Women’s baseball hopes to enter the Olympics as an exhibition sport

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Last updated 04/11/05.