A man named Philip Knight Wrigley started the All-
American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1943, which lasted until 1954.
He was a recluse, but in some ways; brilliant.
He owned the Wrigley Gum company and the Chicago
Cubs.
President Franklin Roosevelt sent a letter to Philip Knight
Wrigley regarding Major League Baseball. He said that MLB would be canceled for the duration of the war if Wrigley does nothing about it. So, he capitalizes on the situation with cleverness and creates the All-American Girls Professional
Baseball League for money and to save Major League Baseball.
BUT, when the war was about to near its end a year after the beginning of the AAGPBL, Wrigley left the league.
SEXIST. He forced the women who played to wear short-skirts EVEN WHEN they didn’t have to. Although pants were frowned upon in this time period, getting frequent strawberries is a reason enough to wear pants. The women
(some, not all) strawberried, when they slid, every single game.
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Author:
Paul Goodman wrote in his book Growing Up
Absurd: the Problems of Youth in the Organized
Society, “…how to make something of one’s self. A girl does not have to; she is not expected to make something of herself. Her career does not have to be self-justifying, for she will have children, which is absolutely self justifying, like any other natural or creative act.”
Author:
In an email interview, Ms. Gregorich said, “That makes me think Wrigley was a sexist: he believed that women had to dress a certain way, even when performing games or work that demanded a different style of dress. Because he had the power of money, he hired only players he considered ‘feminine,’ and he made them conform to his rules --- and his rules went way beyond playing baseball.”
The invention of the television ended the league. MLB had returned to the nation and was projected on to the television screens. This was in the fifties.
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The All-American Girls Professional Baseball
League had sparked Title IX. How women could play baseball then, lead to the belief (should be fact) that women can ALWAYS play the same sports as men. This lead to the riots for equality in sports.
Title IX is a law that allows everyone to play in sports, regardless of their genders. It made more equality come upon males and females. It was passed in 1972.
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“Maybe it is because no one really thought women could play baseball and we proved we could. Maybe it is because of the time in history that we played, when women only had the opportunity to go to college to be teachers or nurses, and there was little opportunity for them to become anything else, let alone a professional baseball player.
It was not that our talents were so unique, but that we had developed those skills in a world that forced us to be different in order to have the opportunity to play in sports.” –Jean Lesko
“The league members would look like ladies but play like gentlemen.”
–Philip Wrigley
“Baseball is too much of a sport to be a business, and too much of a business to be a sport.” –Philip Wrigley
“It made an impression on me. I always figured if you were going to be in the public eye, you might as well have a little class.” Former
Outfielder, Thelma “Tiby” Eisen.
.
It was a women’s league
That began in 1943
With Philip Knight Wrigley
He was clever and greedy
He was Philip Knight Wrigley who began a women’s league
For himself to guarantee riches and money
People thought it was for equality
They did not know it was only for greed
So Wrigley became delighted in glee
Wrigley saw only attractively skilled players in the league
Business was slow at first and later famous was the game
Some of the women united in the Hall of Fame when they were invited and came
To celebrate their names and end in flames! In ’81
.
It was a women’s league
That began in 1943
With Philip Knight Wrigley
He was clever and greedy
It occurred in 1943 when Roosey came with a plea
To Wrigley; the genius who would come up with great ideas so non-malicious-
---ly
Too bad it ended in ’54, since the ladies really liked to score!
Anyways Wrigley became deceased recently
But that gum chewing company still lives with great prosperity!
It was the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
A women’s league, which some found really mean (meaning terrible)
The forgotten history……
• GrawOzburn, Clement C. "The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League:." UWLAX.edu. Jodi
Vandenberg-Dawes, 2004. Web. 14 Dec. 2011.
In Clement G.'s college-like paper, I had learned of one man's opinion that differentiates between
Ozburn's. Paul Goodman mentions in his book, Growing Up Absurd: The Problems of Youth in the Organized
Society, "....how to make something of one's self. A girl does not have to; she is expected to make something of herself. Her career does not have to be self-justifying, for she will have children, which is absolutely self-justifying, like any other natural or creative act." I had never known before reading this paper that people had actually used
"bad words" something so clever. This information lead to a major part in my paper.
• Gregorich, Barbara. "Was the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Revolutionary?"" E-mail interview. 1
Feb. 2012.
This email interview with Barbara Gregorich forced me to believe that Wrigley was not all that great. He was sexist, in ways, and had been seeking money through the league. By only selecting "pretty girls," and by forcing them to wear unbelievably short skirts defines Philip Knight Wrigley as a sexist. I mean seriously, he made it so women would be likely to strawberry whenever bothering to slide. Also, Wrigley tried to make it convincing that he wanted sexes to be more equal, but really didn't care. He was a man of money, and was not about to just give it all away.
• Women in Baseball." Www.nocryinginbaseball.com, News, Reviews, Merchandise, Books and Links to The best
Sites on the Web! Web. 15 Nov. 2011. <http://www.nocryinginbaseball.com/women/women.html>.
In order to keep to President Roosevelt's word (to do something to keep the game of baseball going while
Major League Baseball suspended due to World War II), "Wrigley joined forces with Branch Rickey and created the first professional baseball league for women (page one of article)." The category of women's sports had reformed, now including professional baseball. The pay schedule, for each individual player, was from fifty-five dollars to one-hundred twenty-five dollars a week. In addition, meal money of about two dollars and twenty-five cents was provided each day for each of the players. The league of these women players has been alive and running from
1943 (during World War II) to 1954. Although these were female players, over five-hundred ten of them were recognized on a plaque in the Cooperstown, New York Hall of Fame.
• "Ted Williams : Boston Red Sox Legends : Fenwayfanatics.com." Boston Red Sox @ Fenwayfanatics.com. 2004-
2012. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. <http://www.fenwayfanatics.com/redsox/legend/ted_williams/>.
Baseball star Ted Williams had joined in the war effort during World War II. He had abandoned the Major
League of Baseball to help make the United States of America win the war. He had served for approximately three years.