Batter Up, Ladies! The Beginnings of Women's Baseball

Baseball is said to be America's greatest past time, and it's as old as America itself--if not older. While Abner Doubleday is attributed with inventing baseball in New York in 1839, some scholars think people were playing a sport much like it on US soil by the 1790's, and that game was based on another played in medieval Europe, People have apparently been hitting balls with a stick for a long, long time!

"Medieval Baseball"` Cantigas de Santa Maria, circa 1280. Public Domain

Regardless of its origins, baseball was extremely popular in the mid 1800's--not just among men, but women, too, despite many people's beliefs at that time that ladies shouldn't partake of vigorous exercise.

One source of evidence for females playing "base ball" (as it was called back then) comes from the first women's colleges in America. Students asked for teams and space to play in the 1860's, implying they already knew the rules and what to do. Vassar College formed two teams in 1866, but provided no instruction, supervision, or equipment.(Click here to see a wonderful photo of one of the teams!) 

Other colleges had teams, as well. Baseball was a little rougher than it is now (it included shoving, tripping, etc.), and the play at Smith College was apparently so unmannerly the administration banned it from campus for a time.

Baseball fever among females wasn't limited to women's colleges, of course. In September of 1875, Springfield, Illinois hosted an exhibition game between the Blondes and the Brunettes. The Blondes won, 42-38, but from that point forward, teams with those names comprised of blondes squaring off against brunette players toured the country for several years.

The Dolly Vardens of Philadelphia was an African American ladies' team. (There were several teams of white male players in Pennsylvania who went by this name in baseball's early days, and the two teams are sometimes confused.) In 1883, the New York Times reported that Miss Ella Harris was team captain of the calico-clad Dolly Vardens, and on a game day, the opposing team missed the train and had to forfeit. 

Late 1860's fashion, not ideal for playing baseball! by Henri le Leure, Carte-de-visite portrait of Margherita of Savoy-Genoa. Public Domain {{PD-1923}}

Uniforms were not worn by female players then, nor were gloves (by male or female players). Women wore their every day clothing, which could mean up to thirty pounds of fabric: slips, corset, dress, stockings, etc., and heeled shoes.

In the 1890s, things got a little more comfortable, clothes-wise, when players began to wear Bloomers. The Boston Bloomer Girls club found it far easier to run in the loose pants instead of a skirt. The Bloomer Girls toured America in 1897, playing (and often beating) men's clubs. 

Palisade, CO women's baseball team, around 1910. Public Domain.

It wasn't until the 1930's, however, when female baseball players toured out of the country and signed minor league contracts. In 1943, Philip Wrigley (owner of the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley's Gum) founded the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, a precursor to today's modern leagues and clubs.

Thanks to the female pioneers of yesteryear, women and girls all over the world play baseball and softball for enjoyment and exercise. 

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BIO:

Susanne Dietze began writing love stories in high school, casting her friends in the starring roles. Today, she's the award-winning author of over a dozen historical romances who's seen her work on the ECPA and Publisher's Weekly Bestseller Lists for Inspirational Fiction. Married to a pastor and the mom of two, Susanne lives in California and enjoys fancy-schmancy tea parties, genealogy, the beach, and curling up on the couch with a costume drama and a plate of nachos. You can learn more on her website, www.susannedietze.com. 

Her new novella, The Right Pitch from July's Of Rags and Riches Romance Collection, features a 4th of July exhibition game between two ladies' baseball teams during the Centennial Celebration of 1876.

America's Pastime

Batter Up

I am a sports fan fanatic and baseball is my favorite because two of our sons played on championship teams in high school and we went to a lot of games. Baseball is also considered to be America’s National Pastime. Baseball and softball have been around a long time as I discovered in research. In July, the sport honored three outstanding players and three managers by inducting them into Baseball’s Hall of Fame.

Cricket, rounders, and games called goal ball and even poison ball all resembled what we know as baseball and has been traced back as early as 1700. As time went on, both men and women participated.  

A popular myth leads one to believe that Abner Doubleday set up the basic rules of baseball way back in 1839, but he was still a cadet at West Point at that time. However, a man named Alexander Cartwright is said to have drawn up the rules of baseball with his New York Knickerbockers. His team played the first recorded baseball game in 1846. Then in 1858 the National Association of Baseball Players was established.

Baseball came into national popularity during the War Between the States. Popular on both sides of the Mason Dixon, the huge concentration of young men in army camps and prisons led to a sport formerly reserved for “gentlemen” into a recreational game that could be enjoyed by all of the young men. Rank didn’t matter in choosing the teams. Officers played right beside the enlisted men and earned places on the teams because of their athletic abilities.

Baseball proved to be a morale builder for both sides and became a much needed recreational activity for the young men. It eased their boredom after long details at camp and created a team spirit among the men. One young soldier wrote home and said it helped to forget the things they’d seen and experienced on the battlefield.

In 1871 the first professional baseball league was born. By the beginning of the 20th century, most large cities in the eastern United States had a professional baseball team. The teams were divided into two leagues, the National and American; during the regular season, a team played only against other teams within its league. The most victorious team in each league was said to have won the "pennant;" the two pennant winners met after the end of the regular season in the World Series. The winner of at least four games (out of a possible seven) was the champion for that year. This arrangement still holds today, although the leagues are now suIbdivided and pennants are decided in post-season playoff series between the winners of each division. 

Here is a picture of a typical score sheet for a baseball game. These stats are kept by an official scorekeeper for each game.

Because of the Doubleday myth that started with baseball being organized in Cooperstown, New York, the Baseball Hall of Fame was established there. This museum contains exhibits of

memorabilia from baseball's history and its outstanding players who are inducted each year. Baseball has a long and colorful history and would take many more pages than I have here to tell all about the games and the players who have made baseball the national sport of America that it is today. 

One all-time favorite and one of best known players in history is Babe Ruth pictured here at the height of his career as a New York Yankee. 

Are you a baseball fan? If so, which team is your favorite? If not, you can still say no and be entered in a drawing for my latest release, Love Finds Faith.

Hannah Dyer has just moved to Texas to help her brother-in-law in his medical practice. Despite her handicap of having one leg much shorter than the other, she is a great nurse whose skills help make the practice the most successful in the area.

Hannah Dyer has just moved to Texas to help her brother-in-law in his medical practice. Despite her handicap of having one leg much shorter than the other, she is a great nurse whose skills help make the practice the most successful in the area.

 
When Micah Gordon returns home after some shady escapades, his father hopes he will settle down to ranch life. Hannah is smitten by his good looks and roguish ways, but because of her leg, she has no hopes of attracting his attention.
 
After Micah suffers a tragic loss, he loses his faith and almost loses his ranch. Can Hannah’s care and staunch faith help him on the road to recovery with a new hope, new faith, and a new love?

Martha Rogers is a free-lance writer and was named Writer of the Year at the Texas Christian Writers Conference in 2009 and writes a weekly devotional for ACFW. Martha and her husband Rex live in Houston where they enjoy spending time with their grandchildren.  A former English and Home Economics teacher, Martha loves to cook and experimenting with recipes and loves scrapbooking when she has time. She has written two series, Winds Across the Prairie and Seasons of the Heart as well as several other novels and novellas. Love Stays True, the first book in her new series, The Homeward Journey, released in May, 2013 and book 2, Love Finds Faith, in February 2014.