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During
World War II, many baseball team rosters were depleted as more and more
young men were being drafted for the war effort. Chicago Cubs owner Phillip
Wrigley and other baseball executives were concerned that the major league
parks’ attendance would decline. In 1943, they came up with the
idea of organizing a professional league of women players and the All-American
Girls Professional Baseball League was born.
The
game played by the women was somewhat of a hybrid of baseball and softball
with nine players, shorter distances between bases and a slightly larger
ball. What was evident early on was the popularity of the league. From
its inception to the disbanding of the league in 1954, hundreds of thousands
of fans came to the games. Over 600 women played at one time or another
in the league.
Depicted are players
from the Grad Rapids, MI. team, the Grand Rapids Chicks.
Photos courtesy the Grand Rapids Public Museum. |
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