First Women's Pro Baseball League in 70 Years
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The original women's pro league never had a West Coast team!
The AAGPBL's 15 teams all played in Midwest cities — Illinois, Indiana, Michigan & Wisconsin. San Francisco in today's championship marks the first time women's pro baseball has reached the Pacific Coast.
Topic poll · all networksIn what year did MLB formally ban women from signing pro contracts?
- 1944
- 1952
- 1961
- 1975
Guess, then reveal the answer
1952
Topic poll · all networksWhat matters most about women's pro baseball returning?
Philip Wrigley spent $25K to launch women's pro baseball in 1943!
Wrigley — the chewing gum heir who owned the Cubs — bankrolled the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League fearing WWII would shut down MLB. That league folded in 1954, making today's revival the first in roughly 70 years.
Effa Manley is the only woman in the Baseball Hall of Fame!
Inducted in 2006, Manley co-owned the Newark Eagles and fiercely advocated for players' rights. Tonight marks the first time women's pro baseball reaches a national TV audience since the 1940s AAGPBL era.