WOMEN AND SPORTS
1920-1955
OVERVIEW-1
 WOMEN
& SPORTS IN THE 1920s
 SWIMMING RECORDS/ MEDIA
SUCCESS
 TENNIS STARS
 TRACK & FIELD COMPETITIONS
 BABE DIDRIKSON
OVERVIEW-2
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WOMEN AND WWII
SOFTBALL LEAGUES
PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL FOR WOMEN,
COMMERCIAL SUCCESS
“PLAY LIKE MEN, LOOK AND ACT LIKE
WOMEN” BASEBALL POLICIES
APPEARANCE AND MORAL RULES
GIRLS BASEBALL LEAGUE DECLINE
LEGACIES OF FIRST WOMEN TEAM
PROFESSIONAL SPORT
MEDIA AND WOMEN’S SPORTS
1920s
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BY THE 1920s SEVERAL GENERATIONS OF FEMALE
ATHLETES HAVE ALREADY MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS IN
DIFFERENT COMPETITIVE SPORTS, IN PARTICULAR
SWIMMING, TENNIS AND TRACK & FIELD.
IN THE CONTEXT OF THE WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT,
MEDIA BEGAN TO GIVE WOMEN ATHLETICS SOME
RECOGNITION AND COVERAGE.
AMERICAN WOMEN WHO HAD BEGUN SWIMMING IN YWCAs,
COLLEGE AND ATHLETIC CLUBS WERE IN A POSITION TO
CHALLENGE PREVALENT STEREOTYPES ON WOMEN AND
SPORTS.
IN 1924 SYBIL BAER BROKE THE MEN’S RECORD IN
BACKSTROKE, REACHING AUTOMATICALLY CELEBRITY
STATUS.
A SECOND DEVELOPMENT TOOK PLACE IN 1926 WHEN
GERTRUDE EDERLE CROSSED THE ENGLISH CHANNEL
WOMEN AND SPORTS 1920s
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SWIMMING RECORDS GAD GREAT SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE
AND RECEIVED WIDE COVERAGE IN PRESS AND RADIO.
IN THE INTERNATIONAL ARENA, AMERICAN FEMALE TENNIS
PLAYERS INCREASED THEIR PRESENCE AND BECAME
DOMINANT FIGURES.
CALIFORNIAN NATIVE HELEN WILLS REACHED A STAR
STATUS, AFTER HER MEMORABLE MATCHES AGAINST
EUROPEAN STARS.
WOMEN’S VOTING RIGHTS MOVEMENT ENERGIZE THE
PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN SPORTS ALTOGETHER.
SUZANNE LENGLEN vs. HELEN WILLS TENNIS MATCHES
WERE PRESENTED BY THE MEDIA AS INTERNATIONAL
BATTLES BETWEEN FRANCE AND THE U.S.
WOMEN AND THE OLYMPIC
MOVEMENT
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ORIGINAL OLYMPIC GAMES IN ATHENS 1896 WERE ONLY FOR MALE
ATHLETES.
THE FIRST DECADES OF THE 20TH CENTURY WOMEN PARTICIPATED
IN OLYMPIC GAMES FOR ONLY TENNIS AND GOLF.
LATER GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING AND ARCHERY.
THE 1928 OLYMPIC GAMES IN AMSTERDAM WERE SURROUNDED BY
STRONG CONTROVERSIES AS THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC
COMMITTEE REFUSED TO ALLOW WOMEN IN THE TRACK & FIELD
COMPETITIONS.
INTERNATIONAL FEMALE ATHLETES DEMANDED A 10-EVENT
PARTICIPATION IN TRACK & FIELD. THE IOC REFUSED, SO AN
INTERNATIONAL BOICOTT WAS ORGANIZED. ALTHOUGH SOME
COUNTRIES SEND WOMEN IN THEIR DELEGATIONS, THE BOICOTT
WAS DEEMED ONLY A PARTICAL SUCCESS.
THE 1932 OLYMPIC GAMES IN LOS ANGELES INCLUDED TRACK &
FIELD EVENTS FOR WOMEN IN ONLY THREE CATEGORIES.
BABE DIDRIKSON
SUPER STAR
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IN A PROCESS SIMILAR TO PARTICIPATION IN SWIMMING,
AMERICAN FEMALE ATHLETES INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY THEIR
PRESENCE IN TRACK & FIELD COMPETITIONS IN THE 1920s.
AS TRACK & FIELD BECOME A REGULAR FEATURE IN COLLEGIATE
AND AMATEUR COMPETITIONS FOR WOMEN IN THE U.S. THE
QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF ATHLETES EXPERIENCED A DRAMATIC
INCREASE.
IN THE EARLY 1930s BABE DIDRIKSON WAS THE MOST DOMINANT
ATHLETE IN TRACK & FIELD EVENTS BOTH IN THE UNITED STATES
AND WORLDWIDE.
DIDRIKSON BROKE NATIONAL, OLYMPIC AND WORLD RECORDS IN
SEVERAL TRACK & FIELD EVENTS.
DIDRIKSON DOMINATED IN THE TRACK & FIELD EVENTS IN THE 1932
OLYMPIC GAMES.
BABE DIDRIKSON
 BORN
IN TEXAS (BEAUMONT), MULTISPORT STAR IN HIGH SCHOOL
(SWIMMING, TENNIS, BASKETBALL,
VOLLEYBALL, GOLF).
 U.S. TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP IN
1932 BROKE FOUR WORLD RECORDS
AND WON SIX GOLD MEDALS.
 BECAME A CELEBRITY AFTER THE
1932 OLYMPIC GAMES
DIDRIKSON SHOWS
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1934 STAR IN HER MEN & WOMEN ITINERANT BASKETBALL
TEAM.
1935 MLB SPRING TRAINING CAMPS TOUR, PITCHER, VERY
SUCCESFUL. MLB COMMISSIONER PROHIBITED THE
PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN TRAINING SEASON AFTER
SEING HER.
BARNSTORMING BASEBALL TEAMS
LATE 1930s PROFESSIONAL GOLFER
HER IMAGE IN THE MEDIA WAS A THE “BOGEYMAN FOR
WOMEN IN SPORTS”
DESPITE BEING ONE OF THE MOST TALENTED ATHLETES OF
THE CENTURY, SHE WAS REGULARLY PRESENTED AS THE
“MASCULINE” WOMAN BY THE MEDIA. DIED OF CANCER IN
HER FORTIES.
WOMEN AND WORLD WAR II
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SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN
THE 1940s MADE POSSIBLE THE CREATION OF THE FIRST
PROFESSIONAL TEAM SPORT FOR WOMEN IN THE UNITED
STATES: BASEBALL.
AS LARGE NUMBERS OF MEN PARTICIPATED IN THE
MILITARY DRAFT, THE WAR EFFORT AT HOME OPENED
GREAT ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR AMERICAN WOMEN.
MILITARY INDUSTRY, AUTOINDUSTRY. STEEL INDUSTRY,
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY, IN THE GREAT LAKES,
CALIFORNIA, AND NATIONWIDE, HIRED LARGE NUMBERS OF
WOMEN FOR BLUE AND WHITE COLLAR POSITIONS: ROSY
THE RIVETEER.
SUCH MASSIVE PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN THE LABOR
MARKET, PROVIDED THEM: ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE,
LEISURE TIME, DISCRETIONARY INCOME. AMERICAN WOMEN
BECAME A DISTINGUISHABLE CONSUMMER GROUP
WOMEN AND WORLD WAR II
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AS MORE AND MORE AMERICAN YOUNG WOMEN
REACHED ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE AND SOLID
POSITIONS IN THE NATIONAL ECONOMY, THEY
ALSO ARTICULATED WAYS TO ORGANIZE LEISURE
AND ATHLETIC ACTIVITIES IN URBAN AREAS, MORE
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE NEW TIMES. AMERICAN
WOMEN WERE IN A POSITION TO SUPPORT AND
SPONSOR ORGANIZED SPORTS FOR WOMEN,
BOTH AS ATHLETES AND FANS.
 TENNIS AND GOLF WERE TWO OF THE MOST
POPULAR SPORTS.
RISE OF SOFTBALL
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SINCE THE 1930s SOFTBALL HAVE BECOME A FAVORITE PAST TIME
IN INDUSTRIAL, CHRISTIAN, RECREATIONAL AND ETHNIC
LEAGUES. SOFTBALL WAS CONCEIVED LESS AGGRESSIVE THAN
BASEBALL, LESS COMPETITIVE AND MORE FRIENDLY.
 1934 AMATEUR SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION CREATED TO ORGANIZE
LEAGUES AND TOURNAMENTS . THE ASSOCIATION UNDERWENT A
HUGE TRANSFORMATION IN ITS NUMBERS: FROM 1 TO 9 MILLION
PLAYERS BOTH MALE AND FEMALE.
 IN THE LATE 1930s POPULAR INTEREST IN WOMEN’S SOFTBALL WAS
LARGE ENOUGH TO SUPPORT THE FORMATION OF SOME SEMI
PROFESSIONAL FEMALE TEAMS IN THE UPPER MIDWEST, 4 OF
WHICH WERE BASED IN THE CHICAGO AREA.
 SOFTBALL FOR WOMEN WAS PERCEIVED AS AN IDEAL TEAM SPORT
IN TERMS OF PROVIDING A MODERATE EXERCISE, NON-VIOLENT
AND NON-STRENOUS ACTIVITY, IN A WAY SIMILAR TO THE
BERENSON RULES FOR WOMEN’S BASKETBALL.
REACTIONS TO WOMEN’S
SOFTBALL
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ALTHOUGH INITIALLY THERE WERE MIX REACTIONS TO
WOMEN’S SOFTBALL, PUBLIC OPINION WAS FOR THE MOST
PART FAVORABLE TO THE SPORT.
IT WAS THOUGHT TO HELP WOMEN TO “KEEP FEMININE
FIGURE”
IT WAS SEEN NOT AS COMPETITIVE AS BASEBALL
FOR SOME CRITICS, HOWEVER, SOME PLAYERS ABANDON
“LADYLIKE” MANNERS AND OCCASIONALLY “PLAY AND LOOK
LIKE MEN”
THEREFORE SOFTBALL RULES SHOULD BE CONSTANTLY
MODIFIED FOR WOMEN, FOLLOWING BASKETBALL MODEL.
DESPITE CRITICISM, SOFTBALL FOR WOMEN WAS
ENORMOUSLY POPULAR AS A TEAM SPORT FOR MIDDLE
AND LOWER CLASSES IN URBAN AREAS.
ALL-AMERICAN GIRLS
SOFTBALL LEAGUE 1943-1955
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CREATED IN 1943 BY PHILIP K. WRIGLEY AND ARTHUR
MEYERHOFF, AAGSL AS ONE OF THE ALTERNATIVES TO THE
MAJORLEAGUE BASEBALL CRISIS DUE TO THE ENROLLMENT
OF MOST THE MALE STARS IN THE MILITARY CONFLICT.
ORIGINALLY A MERE REACTION TO MALE BASEBALL
SOCIOECONOMIC CRISIS, THE AAGL SOON BECAME A VERY
PROSPEROUS LEAGUE AND FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT.
1945 MEYERHOFF ONLY OWNER, SWITCHED THE GAMES
FROM SOFTBALL TO BASEBALL, MAKING IT THE ALL
AMERICAN GIRLS BASEBALL LEAGUE (AAGBL) AND THEN
NATIONAL GIRLS BASEBALL LEAGUE.
4 TEAMS (KENOSHA, RACINE, SOUTH BEND AND ROCKFORD).
IN THE REMAINING YEARS OF THE DECADE THE AAGBL
GENERATED SIGNIFICANT INTEREST IN THE PUBLIC AND
REVENUE IN THE BOX OFFICE.
NATIONAL GIRLS BASEBALL
LEAGUE
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LEAGUE’S GREAT ECONOMIC SUCCESS, 10 TEAMS,
+1 MILLION ATTENDANCE
INSPIRED BY THE MODIFICATION PRINCIPLE, THE
LEAGUE CHANGED IN VARIOUS OCCASSIONS THE
RULES OF MALE PRO-BASEBALL (PITCHING AND
BASES-DISTANCE, BALL SIZE, ETCETERA.
TO THE SURPRISE OF MANY, THE LEAGUE WAS
APPEALING TO MALE AND FEMALE CROWDS AND
CREATED A RESPECTABLE INTEREST IN THE
MEDIA BY USING MLB ADVERTISING STRATEGIES.
THE LEAGUE MADE A CONSISTENT EFFORT TO
PITCH WOMEN’S BASEBALL NOT ONLY AS AN
ATHLETIC COMPETITION BUT ALSO AS A FORM OF
ENTERTAINMENT THAT HIGHLIGHTED THE
PLAYERS’ BEAUTY AND SEX APPEAL.
WOMEN’S BASEBALL SUCCESS
 CONTRAST
BETWEEN “MASCULINE”
ATHLETIC SKILLS AND “FEMININE”
BEAUTY, “MEN’S GAME PLAYED BY
NORMAL WOMEN”
 BASEBALL WILL NOT HARM, CHANGE
OR DIMINISH PLAYERS’ FEMININE
CHARACTERISTICS
 COACHES FORMER MLB PLAYERS
PLAYERS
 “THE
MORE FEMININE THE
APPEARANCE OF THE PERFORMER,
THE MORE DRAMATIC THE
PERFORMANCE”
 BASES FOR RECRUITMENT:
FEMININITY WITH SKILL
 NO ATHLETIC TALENT WITHOUT SEX
APPEAL
 NO WOMEN OF COLOR
APPEARANCE RULES
TRAINING INCLUDED “MANDATORY CHARM
SCHOOL” (MAKE UP, TABLE MANNERS,
POSTURE, FASHION) BY BEAUTICIANS
FROM H. RUBINSTEIN SALON
 ANY IMITATION OF MEN’S STYLE IN HAIR,
FASHION FORBIDDEN
 RULES ON NAILS, HAIRDO, MAKE UP, AND
PUBLIC APPEARANCES
 MEN SHOES, SHORTS, JEANS, T-SHIRTS
BANNED.
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MORAL RULES
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NO DRINKING, NO SMOKING.
SOCIAL ACTIVITIES AND LIVING
CONDITIONS ONLY WITH TEAM’S
APPROVAL. PLAYERS SHOULD “LOOK AND
ACT LIKE WOMEN”
SAFEGUARDING THE FEMININITY AND
MORAL REPUTATION OF PLAYERS
“NO FREAKS OR AMAZONS”
FEMINIZED TEAM NAMES: BELLES, DAISIES,
PEACHES, LASSIES
AAGBL MARKET STRATEGIES
 SPRING
TRAINING
 FILM NEWS
 REGULAR MLB PROMOTIONS
 SCOUTING AND RECRUITMENT FROM
INDUSTRIAL AND MUNICIPAL
LEAGUES
 ENTERTAINMENT BASED ON SKILLS
AND SEX APPEAL
WOMEN’S BASEBALL DECLINE
IN POST WAR YEARS
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LITTLE LEAGUE GENDER SEGREGATION
RULES, 1939-1974.
DECLINE IN INDUSTRIAL LEAGUES, WOMEN
WORKERS REPLACED BY RETURNING
VETERANS
WOMEN’S RETURN TO “DOMESTIC
CHORES”
DECLINE IN SPORTS PARTICIPATION,
PLAYGROUND, CITY LEAGUES
INCREASE MLB ATTENDANCE
WOMEN’S BASEBALL LEGACY
 FIRST
PROFESSIONAL COMPETITIVE
TEAM SPORT FOR WOMEN
 FIRST W-SPORT WITH FINANCIAL
SUCCESS
 TIES BETWEEN DISCRETIONARY
INCOME, FREE TIME AND
PROFESSIONAL SPORTS.
 ORGANIZED, CONTROLLED AND
OWNED BY MEN.
 LEARN
MORE ABOUT THE AAGBL.
WATCH “A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN:
THE DOCUMENTARY” (1987) OR THE
1992 BLOCKBUSTER “A LEAGUE OF
THEIR OWN” WITH TOM HANKS,
GEENA DAVIS AND MADONNA.
 CHECK THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF
THE ALL AMERICAN GIRLS BASEBALL
LEAGE AT www.aagpbl.org