Effects of Stereotypes and the Status Quo On Women's Baseball

[NotAboutEgo]

I found a little literatue on the background of women's baseball and how stereotypes have affected the game for women.

http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED370953&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&accno=ED370953

Title: Women's Baseball in Colleges and Clubs Prior to 1940.

Abstract: This paper reviews the literature on women's baseball prior to the establishment of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League by P. K. Wrigley in 1943. Around the turn of the century, women had fewer opportunities for participation in sports and long standing stereotypes permeated the thoughts and ideals of society with respect to women in sport. One limitation was the stereotype of the delicate, sickly, passive female; a second restraint was the common belief that women's primary goals were of marriage and motherhood; a third limiting factor was the belief that women should behave in a "genteel" manner. It was also commonly believed that participation in sport could result in women becoming infertile, coarse, unfeminine, and possibly immoral. The only place for women to be involved in sports was within the confines of women's colleges and clubs. The growth in popularity of baseball was fostered by the idea of participation, collegiality, and the overall ideal of "sport for sports sake." Competition, however, was viewed with alarm. Baseball clubs were formed to allow women not attending college to participate. Such clubs were often unfortunately exploited for their spectacle value. Women, however, tended not to view their involvement with baseball as a matter of women's rights but simply enjoyed the game. Many women interested in baseball felt the opposition towards their participation in baseball was too great, and concentrated their efforts in non-participant roles including those of spectators, journalists, scouts, and, eventually, owners. (Contains 36 references.) (LL)

[NotAboutEgo]

http://baseballguru.com/lheaphy/analysislheaphy03.html

[Excerpt from: Baseball & Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Batter's Box, edited by Eric Bronson, Open Court Publishing, March, 2004.]

Women Playing Hardball
Leslie Heaphy

Does softball limit women’s potential to be equals on the baseball diamond? To address this question we’ll look at contemporary feminist philosophy, and the history of women’s participation in our national pastime since the mid 19th century. Though there have been quite a few women who have played the game, they have always struggled for acceptance, and struggled to get past the stereotype that baseball is for men and softball is for women.

Given the physical differences, can women compete with men in sports? Men are typically stronger and may be more physically fit than women, but in baseball that may not matter. Baseball requires timing, coordination, and knowledge of the game, control, competitiveness, and desire, assets that are not exclusively male. In baseball the smart ball player or the one with more hustle often outplays the big slugger. A 1982 study involving 87 men and 115 women, “Baseball and Softball: Should Girls and Women have to Choose?”, concluded that “the impact of gender is rather small when one considers strength differences after allowing for body size and composition.”[1] So, perhaps the more pertinent question is, will America accept women’s participation in a sport considered to be men’s domain?


Softball Stereotypes
In her article, “Woman is an Island,” philosopher Judith Williamson investigates how women are seen in mass culture. Because baseball has been viewed historically as a male sport, women who play are considered too masculine and in danger of losing their femininity. Newspaper stories and photographs suggest that the athletes are women first and ball players second, or they highlight their sexuality rather than their athleticism.[2]

These images of female ball players are important for what they show and what they do not. Williamson argues that women are often associated with home, love, and sex and not work, class, or politics. Baseball, as a professional sport, is work. Baseball is part of the public world and therefore not proper for women to play. Women should be happy playing softball and other leisure activities designed for them.

The framework of feminist philosophy, confirms much of what Williamson argues. Masculinity and femininity are culturally defined. Masculinity has come to mean power, strength, and muscle; femininity tends to mean weakness, passivity, and grace. In Western culture, women with “too much” muscle are often considered less feminine.[3]

It is ironic that softball is considered to be a sport for women, given that many of the early players were professional baseball players who wanted to stay in shape during the off-season. Softball had a much later start than baseball, invented in 1887 by George Hancock a Chicago reporter. It began as an indoor game and was not called softball until 1926 when the name was suggested by Walter Hakanson, a Denver YMCA official. Before 1926, the game was most often called indoor baseball, or simply indoor-outdoor. It did not become a popular sport for women until the 1930s when the Amateur Softball Association was created and tournaments and leagues began to spring up around the country. Girls came to be, and still are, steered toward softball because of the bigger ball, the shorter dimensions of the field, and the perception that it is a game relying less on brute strength and more agility and thinking.

Baseball began as a men’s sport at a time in the 19th century when women were not encouraged to be physically active. According to the experts of that time (doctors and ministers), women were physically inferior to men and so needed to be taken care of in the home. Strenuous activity would be bad for women, particularly during child-bearing years. This general view was held by much of American society throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, though some women challenged it. Many assumed that any woman playing baseball must be a lesbian; after all, she is playing a man’s sport. This stereotyping is still rampant on the softball field, though in this sense, softball and baseball are no different from any other sport involving women. Female soccer players in the United Kingdom, for example, defensively claim that they are tomboys, but not “butches” or lesbians.[4]

Baseball teams developed at women’s colleges, such as Vassar, shortly after the Civil War. Women were allowed to play so long as they were not participating in mixed company, and not playing in view of others. The women enjoyed the game, but the colleges worried about accidents and parents’ complaints. In fact, games were nearly done away with at Vassar after one young lady broke a window at the school. Since some parents even thought baseball was corrupting their sons, explaining to parents that their young daughters were not being morally corrupted by the game was particularly difficult.

In the late 1800s advertisements appeared in newspapers inviting young ladies to tryout for a ball club, but there were not many responses. Owners and managers had to assure parents that their daughters would be taken care of and that no moral harm would come to them. Even with those kinds of assurances, newspaper writers wondered about the morality of the young ladies who played for the early bloomer teams or worse yet, those who played with men’s ball clubs. Descriptions of early women’s games focused more on who the young ladies were than on the actual action of the game, often covering what the uniforms looked like before giving the score.

Even the names of many of the early women’s teams reflected the difficulty the players had getting people to take them seriously. Today’s female players often have had a hand in choosing their team’s name. Thus we have clubs such as the San Jose Spitfires and the Detroit Danger, as opposed to the earlier Dolly Vardens, New York Bloomer Girls, and Fort Wayne Daisies. Those early names reinforced the belief that aggressive, competitive games are not for women. Today’s names seem to overcompensate for the deficiencies of the past.

At various times throughout the history of baseball, the women who did get the opportunity to play were seen as a curiosity, something to bring in the fans, not serious ball players. After Major League Baseball had begun integration in 1947, three women played in the Negro Leagues in the 1950’s with the Kansas City Monarchs and Indianapolis Clowns —Toni Stone, Connie Morgan, and Mamie “Peanut” Johnson. With integration, the Negro Leagues began to suffer in attendance, and perhaps that is why these women were signed, to bolster sagging attendance. It is convenient to overlook the fact that the three ladies had played in their hometown areas before entering the Negro Leagues where they more than held their own. Toni Stone even played in one Negro Leagues East-West Classic.

Baseball is America’s national pastime, and consequently, it represents our public world, the world of men. Historically women were expected to remain in the private world, the world of the home where they could take care of the family and raise children without being corrupted by the outside world. The moral purity of women had been considered essential for the development of this country as a virtuous republic since its inception. Women were expected to raise their children and provide a safe haven for their husbands, a retreat from the corrupt and greedy public world. Ball players like Toni Stone and Mamie Johnson broke the stereotype, and society did not quite know how to deal with them seriously.

So why were they seen as novelties rather than as serious ballplayers? And why are women still encouraged to play “soft”ball, rather than baseball?


Body Matters
The roots of softball and baseball discrimination are embedded in the story of Western philosophy. In Ancient Greece, philosophers such as Pythagoras and Plato argued that the body was a weak, temporary vessel for the immortal soul. During the Middle Ages, the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim theologians of Europe argued that the human body was made of earthly stuff, while the soul was made in the image of God. Still later, during Europe’s Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries, philosophers such as Rene Descartes and Immanuel Kant returned to the idea that the body must be set aside if one is to discover and participate in higher callings. It is no surprise, then, that Western culture has tended to view the body with skepticism. While later philosophers such as Nietzsche and Foucault reminded us that the body also matters, it is contemporary feminist philosophers who have done the most important work in “rehabilitating” our view of the body.

Feminists such as Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) argue that the body, woman’s body in particular, has been routinely left out of philosophical discussion. As philosophical ideas filter down through mainstream culture, this notable absence of the opposite sex--the invisible, silent “other,”--is tolerated, if not outright encouraged. Today, a new wave of feminist philosophers questions whether the “body” has any inherent meaning at all. Obviously, a man’s body is different from a woman’s body, but the differences depend on who observes them. “The human body is always a signified body,” philosopher Moira Gatens observes.[5] Understanding the differences between men and women “does not have to do with biological ‘facts’ so much as with the manner in which culture marks bodies and creates specific conditions in which they live and recreate themselves.”[6] Or, as Denise Riley succinctly explains, “The body becomes visible as a female body, only under some particular gaze.”[7] Clearly, the way the female body is viewed from without and experienced from within contributes to the obstacles women have faced in playing baseball.


Throwing Like a Girl
Philosopher Iris Marion Young argues that the way men and women understand their bodies and the space around them may affect the way some approach a game like baseball. Recent feminists have argued that the issue is not what the body is, but how it is understood. For example, women and men often throw a baseball differently. Hence the derogatory phrase, “throwing like a girl.” Why do the sexes often throw so differently? Citing earlier studies, Young rules out common beliefs that breast size, shoulder width, or muscle size is any impediment to throwing a baseball. Instead, Young argues that many women “throw like a girl” because they are not as free as men in their body movements and do not put their whole body into an action. Young writes:

Not only is there a typical style of throwing like a girl, but there is a more or less typical style or running like a girl, climbing like a girl, swinging like a girl, hitting like a girl. They have in common first that the whole body is not put into fluid and directed motion, but rather, in swinging and hitting, for example, the motion is concentrated into one body part. . . [8]

This lack of fluidity may have a variety of different causes, including lack of confidence, fear of injury, or self-consciousness. Many women perceive their bodies to be a burden, and act accordingly. Instead of believing fully that they can accomplish a physical task such as throwing a baseball correctly, some women believe they are at a disadvantage, and set up a negative self-fulfilling prophecy. Too often others simply reinforce this negative belief.

Women who think they will not be good at baseball have to work harder. Women who already view physical activities as something they cannot do, become more self-conscious and shy away from any activity that draws attention to their lack of physical coordination. When a woman is unsure of what her body can do, she cannot properly control its movements and actions. Her body becomes the focus of attention, distracting her from the sport itself.[9] Women often limit their participation not because of true physical differences, but because society has not encouraged them to be comfortable in their own skin.


Throwing Like an Athlete
Philip Wrigley proposed the idea for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) during the Second World War because he was worried about baseball being cancelled. As a temporary way to fill the void, he suggested a women’s baseball league that started out with softball rules and gradually developed into baseball. The league was to be temporary and there was no question that these would be women who played baseball—women first and ballplayers second. This understanding was reflected in the team names and uniforms. The ladies played in short skirts, even though this was completely impractical for sliding into bases and resulted in many unnecessary injuries. Image won out over practicality. In addition, each team had a chaperone who was responsible for keeping the girls’ behavior in line—no drinking, no overnight guests, no breaking curfew, etc. The league even hosted a charm school to teach the girls how to dress, apply their make-up, walk like ladies, and deal with the press. Such reassurances helped many reluctant parents finally give in to daughters hoping to play in the league.

Propriety was especially important. In 1943, the Rockford Peaches had a souvenir booklet explaining that players stayed in only the best hotels on the road and in private residences at home. The same brochure claimed the girls paid regular visits to beauty salons. There could be no question about their femininity. No tomboys in this league. Clearly, the most important issue for the success of the league was image. There was to be no doubt in anyone’s mind; baseball would not turn these nice girls into masculine “Amazons.” They would learn proper etiquette and behave like ladies, or else be punished accordingly. Newspapers helped reinforce the proper image of these young ladies with headlines such as “World’s Prettiest Ballplayers,” or “Belles of the Ball Game” and articles highlighting the girls’ charitable and patriotic work during the war. When a young lady left a team to get married, she always made the headlines.

Girls playing baseball made headlines in the 1970s when the issue became a heated one for little league teams across the country. Actually this was not a new issue, since Margaret Gisolo had played American Legion Junior Baseball in 1928. The following year the American Legion banned women from playing, and girls were increasingly discouraged from playing any form of organized baseball. Many gave up fighting to play; it became too difficult to fight the players, coaches, and fans just to get a chance to swing the bat. When Jackie Mitchell struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in a game, it quickly became just a publicity stunt and not a serious effort on the part of these professional athletes who were bested by a female pitcher. In 2001 Justine Warren, President of the Women’s Baseball League (WBL), explained that she learned her pitching was an attack on the masculinity of the batter she faced. It called into question the accepted roles of men and women in society.[10]

The Colorado Silver Bullets enjoyed a bit of history as a traveling female baseball team in the 1990s, sponsored by Coors Brewing Company and coached by men. There were no chaperones, though, and the Silver Bullets wore proper baseball uniforms. Does this mean the image of women as ballplayers had finally become accepted? Were all the issues and questions of the past behind us? Of course not. Newspaper articles still focused too often on the players’ lives rather than their athletic performance. The Silver Bullets folded after four seasons because they could not generate enough money for the club’s sponsor. While the uniforms changed, the problematic perceptions remained. People did not see the women as serious baseball players even though they played primarily men’s teams and won their fair share of the games. When the women won, their success was minimized as that of a professional team playing amateur and semi-pro men’s clubs, taking away from their success and talent. Why? And, what values are reinforced each time we portray a woman ballplayer as a bully, a curiosity, or an oddity?

Today there are a number of women’s teams and leagues across the country, and overseas. In 2001 a women’s World Series was played at the Skydome in Toronto. The USA sent a national team of twenty-five female players who earned their spots based on their athletic ability, not their looks or charm. How many people are aware of today’s women’s teams? How much news coverage do they get? What kind of coverage do they get? Typically, a 2001 article from the St. Petersburg Times covering Christine Dennis and her experience playing in Toronto focused on why Dennis played baseball when it would be easier to find support to play softball. Dennis spoke for many women who play baseball: she plays because it is more of a challenge; it is more fun to push herself.[11]

Wanting to play baseball, women have often found that men’s teams were their only option. They were often an unwelcome addition to the team, sometimes accused of taking a boy’s spot or simply trying to push an agenda. Before women’s baseball can become a respected professional sport, “there are prejudices to overcome, opinions to change, perceptions to shatter and rumors to put to rest.”[12] Veronica Geyer, who plays for the New Jersey Nemesis, says there is a long way to go but sees no reason why women’s baseball cannot stand alongside softball. Aptly, the team name, Nemesis, recalls the Greek goddess of justice.


The Courageous Ila Borders
After seeing her first major league game, Ila Borders decided that she wanted to play baseball. She made the junior high school and varsity teams at Whittier Christian as a pitcher and with the success she enjoyed at the high school level got a chance to pitch before college scouts. Ila was signed by Southern California College in 1994 and in her first game against Claremont made history, becoming the first female player to pitch a complete game on a men’s college team. Encountering much resistance at SCC, Borders was forced to transfer to Whittier College for her senior year.

With a 4-5 record at Whittier, Borders got a chance to tryout for the minor league St. Paul Saints in 1996 and made the team. Within a month the team traded her to the Duluth Dukes where she pitched in relief for the next two seasons. Though most of her appearances came when the outcome of the game was no longer in doubt, Borders made history again on July 9, 1998 when she became the first female starting pitcher in a regular season minor league game. The Dukes lost 8-3 but through four innings Borders was in command of a 2-1 lead. Borders followed that first start with another history making appearance, winning her first game on July 24. Against the Canaries of Sioux Falls, Borders pitched six strong innings and came away with a 3-1 victory.

In 1999 Borders was traded to the Madison Black Wolf where she got a chance to start and pitch the first three innings of all her games. Leading the team in ERA, she helped the Black Wolf turn around their season, finishing just one win away from the playoffs. Even though Borders enjoyed some success on the field with her male teammates, she never gained full acceptance. She remained an oddity.

Borders never set out to prove anything about women’s abilities to play baseball with men. She just loved the game and wanted the chance to play.


Softball: The Good is the Enemy of the Best
A persistent thorn in the side of women trying to play baseball is softball, which provides a seemingly viable alternative, making it seem unnecessary for women to play baseball. This alternative is unlike basketball or volleyball--sports where men and women play the same game.[13] When a woman wants to play baseball, she is asked why. Why not? Baseball and softball are different games. Unfortunately, individuals and companies do not want to risk their money sponsoring a team or league that has controversial issues to work through when there are plenty of other sports teams, both male and female, succeeding.

The softball alternative thereby became a convenient means for American society to postpone answering some hard questions about perceived gender differences. Women playing baseball instead of softball are seen as anomalies even though from the beginning of the game women have played hard ball. They started their own teams and leagues when men did not welcome them and society questioned their presence on the diamond. In the 19th century, the concern over the moral degradation of women playing this public sport led many parents to discourage or prohibit their daughters’ participation. In the next century, their playing was accepted simply as a temporary measure geared toward entertainment, not talent. Today, the issues are no less challenging. While we can not blame softball for its very existence, we should note that the good is often the enemy of the best. It is good for women to play softball. But if playing softball perpetuates the prejudice that women cannot or should not play baseball, then softball is indeed the enemy of the best.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] “Baseball and Softball: Should Girls and Women have to Choose?” http://www.womenssportsfoudation.org

[2] Judith Williamson, “Woman is an Island: Femininity and Colonization,” in Theorizing Feminism by Anne Herrmann and Abigail Stewart, (Westview Press, 1994), p. 385.

[3] Susan L. Greendorfer, “Title IX, Gender Equity, Backlash and Ideology,” Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal, 7, 1998, pp. 77-78.

[4] Jayne Caudwell, “Football in the UK: Women, Tomboys, Butches, and Lesbians,” in Sport, Leisure Identities, and Gendered Spaces, Sheila Scraton and Beccy Watson, eds. (Leisure Studies Association, 2000), pp. 95-110.

[5] “Power, Bodies and Difference,” in Feminist Theory and the Body: A Reader, Janet Price and Margrit Shildrick, eds. (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1999), p. 230.

[6] Ibid., pp. 230-31.

[7] “Bodies, Identities, Feminisms,” in Ibid., p. 224.

[8] Iris Marion Young, “A Phenomenology of Feminine Body Comportment, Motility, and Spatiality,” in Throwing Like a Girl and Other Essays in Feminist Philosophy and Social Theory (Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1990), p. 146.

[9] For a good discussion of the perils of thinking, see Gregory Bassham’s chapter in this volume.

[10] Justine Warren, “Baseball to Me,” June 17, 2001, http://www.baseballglory.com/baseballmeans.html.

[11]Greg Auman, “Dennis Goes to Bat for Women’s Baseball,” St. Petersburg Times, July 3, 2001.

[12] Michael Gasparino, “Playing Hardball,” http://www.nysol.com/baseball_women.html

[13] While women’s basketball uses a smaller ball, the size of the court and the height of the basket are not different from the men’s game.

[NotAboutEgo]

More from Leslie Heaphy...

http://www.kent.edu/Magazine/Summer2007/LeaguesApart.cfm

Leagues Apart
Professor explores history of Negro and women’s baseball leagues

By Melissa Edler, ‘00

The smell of popcorn, the sound of a bat cracking against a ball, followed by the roar of a crowd, the sight of a glimmering, green diamond-shaped field — all these things remind us of America’s favorite pastime, baseball. However, baseball represents much more than a hobby in our history. “Baseball can tell us so much about American culture, such as class, gender and political issues,” says Dr. Leslie Heaphy, associate professor of history at Kent State University Stark Campus.

Heaphy’s love for the sport came from her dad, who was a huge baseball fan. “I grew up with three brothers, none of whom were really into baseball, so someone had to watch the games with my dad,” she says. But it wasn’t until graduate school that she had the chance to combine her two loves, baseball and history, as part of a labor history course.

“There was very little written about the Negro leagues, so it was a great opportunity to learn more about the players and their lives,” says Heaphy, who now has authored several books on the topic. Using mostly old newspaper articles and oral histories, Heaphy researched the history of the Negro leagues from the very beginning.

The first attempt to form a professional Negro league took place in 1887, but failed after only two weeks, due to lack of attendance. By 1890, the International League had banned African-American players. Though teams formed through the next few decades, it wasn’t until 1920 that another — successful — attempt was made to create a professional Negro league, the Negro National League. And not only were the players black in this league, but also the owners of all but one of the 10 teams. Even more unusual were the Newark Eagles — they were handled by a white female named Effa Manley, who co-owned the team with her husband Abe and became the first woman elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.

The Negro American League was the longest running league and persisted until 1960, when the major leagues finally were integrated.

“Baseball reflects how our culture segregated by race and sex, which is a large part of the American story,” says Heaphy. “If you’re going to tell young kids about the great hero Babe Ruth, then you also should tell them about Satchel Paige.”

Paige was considered Babe Ruth’s equivalent in the Negro leagues, and he eventually went on to pitch in the major leagues for the Cleveland Indians. Famous for his speed, Paige was also a great storyteller. He once said that he could turn the light switch off in his room and jump in bed under the covers before the lights went out. “What he left out was that there was a short in the switch,” says Heaphy.

Surprisingly, a few black women also played in the Negro leagues, including Mamie Johnson, a petite pitcher who was nicknamed Peanut. During one game, she was on the mound getting ready to pitch to a large male player, when he told her to go sit down. In those days, the roles of pitcher and catcher were considered male positions, even on women’s teams. But Peanut told the man to pick up his bat and get ready; then she promptly struck him out.

“After I discovered that women played in the Negro leagues, I knew there was a bigger story to be told,” says Heaphy. So she began a search for information on women playing baseball, and found a past as old as the Negro leagues.

Women have been playing baseball since the 1830s, though during the 19th century, newspapers tended to focus on how the women looked instead of how they performed as players. In 1866, the first official college team was created at Vassar College. Within a decade, the first public game between women was held, though it was more for entertainment purposes than sport. The teams were divided into blondes versus brunettes, and they mostly played during the weekends. Then a group of women called the Bloomer Girls, named for their style of clothing, began traveling across the nation playing both women’s and men’s teams. However, with the advent of softball in the early 20th century, interest in women’s baseball declined.

Originally, softball was invented for older men who could no longer play baseball, to keep them occupied and in shape. Thus, the implication was that softball was easier and didn’t require as much skill, so it was more acceptable for women to play. “Baseball has always been considered the men’s game, so women who played softball weren’t hassled nearly as much,” says Heaphy.

However, during World War II, when the men were away at war, women’s baseball became popular again with the first official league, the All-American Girls Baseball League. The teams in this league were the focus of the well-known film A League of Their Own, which created a renewed interest in the sport. “Today many women’s baseball teams exist across the world, and every year these groups play in a World Series,” says Heaphy, chair of the Women’s Baseball Committee for the Society for American Baseball Research.

Heaphy plans to continue studying the lives of players in both the Negro leagues and women’s leagues. “You can’t talk about such a large part of history without including all sides of the story,” she says.

[TG Coach]

"But if playing softball perpetuates the prejudice that women cannot or should not play baseball, then softball is indeed the enemy of the best."

What a bunch of bunk! You couldn't pay me enough to be on the mound or play in at the corners of an 18U/G ASA softball game. The ball comes back too darn fast at a short distance. Yet I never thought once about getting hit by a shot on baseball field.

And your researcher should dig a little deeper. Men's and women's volleyball are not the same. The net is lower for the women. I wonder why that is?

[TonyK]

"Originally, softball was invented for older men who could no longer play baseball, to keep them occupied and in shape."

Was this a quote from her research or are you paraphrasing what she wrote?

It is hard to believe that a Chairperson of a SABR committee could overlook softball's roots in indoor baseball. Indoor baseball began as a sport played in gyms or armories during the long cold winters up North. Due to the smaller sized arenas, the bases had to be shorter distances. Due to the thousands of spectators (Yes, thousands of fans were packed inside the arenas sitting up in the balconies or along the walls) sitting very close to the action, the baseball was replaced by a larger softer ball. They actually used various size balls in these games with some as large as cantaloupes.

Many professional baseball players played indoor baseball in the 1890's and early 1900's. It was a way for them to keep in shape and to earn some income during the winter months. Fans paid admission to watch indoor baseball games. Baseball organizers in NY State even tried to launch an indoor baseball minor league one year!

By the time indoor baseball moved outdoors, the professionals had moved on to warmer areas of the US to play ball during the winter months. Eventually softball was a haven for the older out of shape men who weren't good enough for semi-pro baseball teams or city leagues where they lived. But I wouldn't say that softball was invented for older men without qualifying what form of softball you are talking about.

[NotAboutEgo]

"Originally, softball was invented for older men who could no longer play baseball, to keep them occupied and in shape."

Was this a quote from her research or are you paraphrasing what she wrote?

I copied and pasted the article word for word... it's what she wrote.

It is hard to believe that a Chairperson of a SABR committee could overlook softball's roots in indoor baseball. Indoor baseball began as a sport played in gyms or armories during the long cold winters up North. Due to the smaller sized arenas, the bases had to be shorter distances. Due to the thousands of spectators (Yes, thousands of fans were packed inside the arenas sitting up in the balconies or along the walls) sitting very close to the action, the baseball was replaced by a larger softer ball. They actually used various size balls in these games with some as large as cantaloupes.

Many professional baseball players played indoor baseball in the 1890's and early 1900's. It was a way for them to keep in shape and to earn some income during the winter months. Fans paid admission to watch indoor baseball games. Baseball organizers in NY State even tried to launch an indoor baseball minor league one year!

By the time indoor baseball moved outdoors, the professionals had moved on to warmer areas of the US to play ball during the winter months. Eventually softball was a haven for the older out of shape men who weren't good enough for semi-pro baseball teams or city leagues where they lived. But I wouldn't say that softball was invented for older men without qualifying what form of softball you are talking about.

Heaphy actually did state that softball was invented as an indoor form of baseball. Basically, you re-iterated some of what she said. I have read the same thing in many other places. It sounds to me like it was invented solely as an indoor form of baseball, and then men from many backgrounds started playing it... professional, amateur, older, whoever.

Then, women started to be steered toward playing softball instead of baseball, because of the perceptions of society at that time. It's interesting to see that, close to 100 years later, things have changed to some degree but really not much at all... at least where perceptions and the status quo are concerned. Females are STILL steered toward softball and are not told they have the choice of playing baseball also or instead of softball.

Why is that?

[NotAboutEgo]

Heaphy states, "It is ironic that softball is considered to be a sport for women, given that many of the early players were professional baseball players who wanted to stay in shape during the off-season. Softball had a much later start than baseball, invented in 1887 by George Hancock a Chicago reporter. It began as an indoor game and was not called softball until 1926 when the name was suggested by Walter Hakanson, a Denver YMCA official. Before 1926, the game was most often called indoor baseball, or simply indoor-outdoor. It did not become a popular sport for women until the 1930s when the Amateur Softball Association was created and tournaments and leagues began to spring up around the country. Girls came to be, and still are, steered toward softball because of the bigger ball, the shorter dimensions of the field, and the perception that it is a game relying less on brute strength and more agility and thinking."

[TonyK]

I copied and pasted the article word for word... it's what she wrote.



Heaphy actually did state that softball was invented as an indoor form of baseball. Basically, you re-iterated some of what she said. I have read the same thing in many other places. It sounds to me like it was invented solely as an indoor form of baseball, and then men from many backgrounds started playing it... professional, amateur, older, whoever.

Then, women started to be steered toward playing softball instead of baseball, because of the perceptions of society at that time. It's interesting to see that, close to 100 years later, things have changed to some degree but really not much at all... at least where perceptions and the status quo are concerned. Females are STILL steered toward softball and are not told they have the choice of playing baseball also or instead of softball.

Why is that?

Maybe she meant that eventually the sport of softball became the sanctuary of older out of shape men long after indoor baseball was first played in the late 1880's or early 1890's. Indoor baseball was not a haphazard Saturday afternoon get together but a well-organized team sport. Wherever there was an armory or large gymnasium up North there probably was an indoor baseball league with standings, playoffs, and championship trophies. Signing minor leaguers or major league ballplayers to play on the indoor team guaranteed increased attendance.

I would bet that some women played indoor baseball back in the 1890's. When did women first play college softball? Might they have played indoor baseball/softball in gyms too?

I've wondered why women use a larger ball to play softball, yet use a smaller basketball that is easier for them to dribble and shoot?

[NotAboutEgo]

Maybe she meant that eventually the sport of softball became the sanctuary of older out of shape men long after indoor baseball was first played in the late 1880's or early 1890's. Indoor baseball was not a haphazard Saturday afternoon get together but a well-organized team sport. Wherever there was an armory or large gymnasium up North there probably was an indoor baseball league with standings, playoffs, and championship trophies. Signing minor leaguers or major league ballplayers to play on the indoor team guaranteed increased attendance.

I would bet that some women played indoor baseball back in the 1890's. When did women first play college softball? Might they have played indoor baseball/softball in gyms too?

I've wondered why women use a larger ball to play softball, yet use a smaller basketball that is easier for them to dribble and shoot?

I'm thinking she did mean that eventually it became a game for the older, out of shape players. I don't know when the pro and minor league baseball players stopped playing indoor baseball... maybe when it was taken outside and was called softball. As far as I have read, women didn't play indoor baseball but started playing softball later when the game was taken outside, and thus, they began to be pushed into it. I don't know the exact date that women first started playing softball in college, but I think it was a long time after that. Women weren't even encouraged to go to college back then let alone play sports in college.

From what I've read, the game of softball started as an unorganized game of fun between some guys in a gym one day, and it became more than that after it caught on.

Women started playing organized baseball in college in 1866 (Vassar College) and started playing organized baseball in the 1830's. They were discouraged from playing it from the beginning, because of the status quo and the perception of the times then. We have continued to fight to play baseball since then and have been pushed into softball being told that women play softball. It's quite ludicrous and unbelievable to me... that this sort of attitidue (the attitude that is against women playing baseball) is still widespread today... over 170 years after women started playing organized hardball and going on 100 years when they were first pushed into playing softball.

Women use the larger ball in softball, because that is the nature of sotftball from where it got it's start, and since women have been pushed into playing it, it is part of the game. It doesn't make sense, since the average female hand is smaller than the average male hand.

It's time for a big change.

[NotAboutEgo]

Softball
A variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' baseball. The name softball was given to the game in 1926. A tournament (1933) at the Chicago World's Fair spurred interest in the game. The Amateur Softball Association of America (founded 1933) governs the game in the United States and sponsors annual sectional and world series championships. The International Softball Federation regulates rules of play in more than 110 countries, including the United States and Canada. Women's fast-pitch softball became an Olympic sport in 1996, but it (and baseball) were dropped in 2005 from the 2012 games.

Softball didn't even become popular until the 1930's, 100 years after women began playing organized baseball.

[NotAboutEgo]

http://www.athleticscholarships.net/history-of-softball.htm

In order to reach the Olympics, the women's sport of softball obviously had to grow greatly from its beginnings. The first women's softball team was formed in 1895 at Chicago's West Division High School. They did not obtain a coach for competitive play until 1899 and it was difficult to create interest among fans. However, only five years later, more attention was given to the women's game. The Spalding Indoor Baseball Guide 1904 issue fueled this attention by devoting a large section of the guide to the game of women's softball.

The Chicago National Tournament in 1933 also advanced the sport. At this competition, the male and female champions were honored equally. The International Softball World Championships in 1965 developed women's softball by making it an international game, a step towards the Pan-American Games and the Olympics. Eleven years later, women softball players were given the closest equivalent to Major League Baseball with the 1976 formation of the International Women's Professional Softball League. Player contracts ranged from $1,000 to $3,000 per year, but the league disbanded in 1980 because of financial ruin. Vicki Schneider, a St. Louis Softball Hall of Famer and former professional player, recalls this league as being the high point of her career (Schneider).

[TonyK]

http://www.athleticscholarships.net/history-of-softball.htm

In order to reach the Olympics, the women's sport of softball obviously had to grow greatly from its beginnings. The first women's softball team was formed in 1895 at Chicago's West Division High School. They did not obtain a coach for competitive play until 1899 and it was difficult to create interest among fans. However, only five years later, more attention was given to the women's game. The Spalding Indoor Baseball Guide 1904 issue fueled this attention by devoting a large section of the guide to the game of women's softball.

The Chicago National Tournament in 1933 also advanced the sport. At this competition, the male and female champions were honored equally. The International Softball World Championships in 1965 developed women's softball by making it an international game, a step towards the Pan-American Games and the Olympics. Eleven years later, women softball players were given the closest equivalent to Major League Baseball with the 1976 formation of the International Women's Professional Softball League. Player contracts ranged from $1,000 to $3,000 per year, but the league disbanded in 1980 because of financial ruin. Vicki Schneider, a St. Louis Softball Hall of Famer and former professional player, recalls this league as being the high point of her career (Schneider).

I'd love to read the 1904 Spalding Indoor Baseball Guide or other guides like that. I imagine the Nat'l Baseball Hall of Fame Library has a copy of it, and files on Indoor Baseball and early softball. It is one part of the history of baseball and softball that has been ignored. I don't even know if any books have ever been written about the subjects.

Did the 1895 women's HS softball team play a form of softball outdoors, or did they play indoors? Do you know if they faced only male teams?

[TonyK]

"But if playing softball perpetuates the prejudice that women cannot or should not play baseball, then softball is indeed the enemy of the best."

What a bunch of bunk! You couldn't pay me enough to be on the mound or play in at the corners of an 18U/G ASA softball game. The ball comes back too darn fast at a short distance. Yet I never thought once about getting hit by a shot on baseball field.

And your researcher should dig a little deeper. Men's and women's volleyball are not the same. The net is lower for the women. I wonder why that is?

You are right about the dangers of playing in the infield in softball leagues. I played quite a bit at 1B and dreaded it when a good lefty came up to bat. I was warned about how good one batter was, and he hit a line drive with his aluminum bat that missed my right knee by inches. I never even had a chance to react and move my glove! I hit two 1B with line drive shots to their shoulders but both were not seriously injured.

[NotAboutEgo]

I'd love to read the 1904 Spalding Indoor Baseball Guide or other guides like that. I imagine the Nat'l Baseball Hall of Fame Library has a copy of it, and files on Indoor Baseball and early softball. It is one part of the history of baseball and softball that has been ignored. I don't even know if any books have ever been written about the subjects.

Did the 1895 women's HS softball team play a form of softball outdoors, or did they play indoors? Do you know if they faced only male teams?

I'm sure the NBHOF has something like that. Not sure where else an official rulebook would be, unless it's in another museum. It would be interesting to read.

I'm not sure who the girls' HS softball team from Chicago played and whether they played indoors or outdoors. I wasn't able to find anything else on it, and I still haven't been able to find info on when women first started playing softball in college in the U.S. I will keep digging.

[NotAboutEgo]

THis site has a good history of women's softball in Chicago, where it all began. It seems that they did play indoors for some time.

http://www.ihsa.org/initiatives/hstoric/softball_girls.htm


It seems that women's softball, at least in high schools, also faced a lot of the same animosity towards women playing sports as women's baseball has faced. It seems that many girls in different high schools kept organizing games against other schools, but the schools kept getting in their way. According to the article, it wasn't until the 1960's that women's sports were being allowed to be played interscholastically in high schools.

According to articles I've read about the ancient and modern Olympics, women have always had and still continue to have to fight to participate in various athletics.... thousands of years of fighting to play sports. How absolutely ludicrous and absurd!!!

It's time for a revolution!

[NotAboutEgo]

The status quo has heavily affected and continues to affect women's sports.

[TonyK]

THis site has a good history of women's softball in Chicago, where it all began. It seems that they did play indoors for some time.

http://www.ihsa.org/initiatives/hstoric/softball_girls.htm


It seems that women's softball, at least in high schools, also faced a lot of the same animosity towards women playing sports as women's baseball has faced. It seems that many girls in different high schools kept organizing games against other schools, but the schools kept getting in their way. According to the article, it wasn't until the 1960's that women's sports were being allowed to be played interscholastically in high schools.

According to articles I've read about the ancient and modern Olympics, women have always had and still continue to have to fight to participate in various athletics.... thousands of years of fighting to play sports. How absolutely ludicrous and absurd!!!

It's time for a revolution!

Wow! That is a terrific article about an era in women's sports that most of us know nothing about. You are right that the school officials did everything possible to prevent girl's indoor baseball from becoming an official school sport.

I was shocked when I read that in 1925 there were 569 high school teams in Chicago playing indoor baseball. It had to have been played in other cities too.

You have to figure that a lot of memorabilia from that era is still around...gloves, 17" softballs, the bloomers uniforms the girls wore, the sandbags used for bases, bats, and scrapbooks.

Viva La Revolution!! Burn the Sports Bras.

[NotAboutEgo]

Wow! That is a terrific article about an era in women's sports that most of us know nothing about. You are right that the school officials did everything possible to prevent girl's indoor baseball from becoming an official school sport.

I was shocked when I read that in 1925 there were 569 high school teams in Chicago playing indoor baseball. It had to have been played in other cities too.

You have to figure that a lot of memorabilia from that era is still around...gloves, 17" softballs, the bloomers uniforms the girls wore, the sandbags used for bases, bats, and scrapbooks.

Just think of where women's sports would be without all the barricades they've had to face throughout time.


Viva La Revolution!! Burn the Sports Bras.

:rofl:

[TonyK]

[QUOTE=NotAboutEgo;909406]Just think of where women's sports would be without all the barricades they've had to face throughout time.

Barry Bonds might still be chasing Ruth's record for most home runs...only this Ruth would be a girl that played in a women's ML. ;-)


I hope some others here take a look at the pictures you located and read the stories about women's teams from the last 150 years. I will go back and read some more of the articles you posted. You have done a tremendous "one-woman" job to educate us about how hard it has been for women to crack the gender barrier in baseball.

Who in your family was a big influence in your love for baseball?

[NotAboutEgo]

[QUOTE=NotAboutEgo;909406]Just think of where women's sports would be without all the barricades they've had to face throughout time.

Barry Bonds might still be chasing Ruth's record for most home runs...only this Ruth would be a girl that played in a women's ML. ;-)


I hope some others here take a look at the pictures you located and read the stories about women's teams from the last 150 years. I will go back and read some more of the articles you posted. You have done a tremendous "one-woman" job to educate us about how hard it has been for women to crack the gender barrier in baseball.

Who in your family was a big influence in your love for baseball?

I'm going to do more research as well. I didn't realize women's softball faced so much adversary as well, and it shares a link with women's baseball; not only because of that but also in the way that it became popular for women because women were forced out of baseball and into softball. You can't talk about women's baseball without mentioning the history of women's softball.

Thanks for the compliments. This is all a passion for me... not only helping expand baseball opportunities for girls and women and helping people see what women who've wanted to play baseball and other sports have had to face and still face... but getting people to see who we are (women who love and play baseball) as people and not discriminating against us and condemning us because they think we are inferior. To me, it's also about people accepting me and other women like me for who we are... women athletes who love baseball and love to play the game... and not judging us based on their insecurities and their stereotypes and prejudices that stem from those insecurities. I am an athlete, I have been my whole life, and I always will be... and I will play baseball as long as I can... period.

No one, that I remember, was a big influence in my love for baseball. I don't remember a time when I didn't like it, so it's always been a big part of me. My mom told me that I went to my first MLB game when I was 4. My grandpa always told my sister and I stories of when he played ice hockey and baseball as a kid. Many people in my family have always watched and listened to the Tigers... both men and women. My mom told me she was really into the Tigers in '68 when she was 22 years old. Our parents took us to many Tiger games when we were kids. My dad played softball when I was young, and I remember watching boys play baseball while at his games... thinking that I wanted to play very badly and not accepting the excuse that I couldn't play just because I'm a girl (that's when I was 5 or 6). My dad always played ball with my sister and I when we were kids... hitting fly balls to us and playing catch with us. My grandpa showed my sister, cousin, and I how to throw a curve ball when we were kids. No one ever told us we shouldn't play baseball just because we're females. One time, my uncle gave my sister and I some silver coins for getting good grades in school, so I cashed them in when their value went up, and I went out and bought a bat, a glove, some balls, and a baseball hat. It's something I did on my own because I wanted to play ball very badly. I know I have a natural passion for the game driven from within, and I'm sure all of those influences helped bring it out.

Like I said, I don't remember a time when I didn't love the game.

[TonyK]

[QUOTE=TonyK;910086]

I'm going to do more research as well. I didn't realize women's softball faced so much adversary as well, and it shares a link with women's baseball; not only because of that but also in the way that it became popular for women because women were forced out of baseball and into softball. You can't talk about women's baseball without mentioning the history of women's softball.

Thanks for the compliments. This is all a passion for me... not only helping expand baseball opportunities for girls and women and helping people see what women who've wanted to play baseball and other sports have had to face and still face... but getting people to see who we are (women who love and play baseball) as people and not discriminating against us and condemning us because they think we are inferior. To me, it's also about people accepting me and other women like me for who we are... women athletes who love baseball and love to play the game... and not judging us based on their insecurities and their stereotypes and prejudices that stem from those insecurities. I am an athlete, I have been my whole life, and I always will be... and I will play baseball as long as I can... period.

No one, that I remember, was a big influence in my love for baseball. I don't remember a time when I didn't like it, so it's always been a big part of me. My mom told me that I went to my first MLB game when I was 4. My grandpa always told my sister and I stories of when he played ice hockey and baseball as a kid. Many people in my family have always watched and listened to the Tigers... both men and women. My mom told me she was really into the Tigers in '68 when she was 22 years old. Our parents took us to many Tiger games when we were kids. My dad played softball when I was young, and I remember watching boys play baseball while at his games... thinking that I wanted to play very badly and not accepting the excuse that I couldn't play just because I'm a girl (that's when I was 5 or 6). My dad always played ball with my sister and I when we were kids... hitting fly balls to us and playing catch with us. My grandpa showed my sister, cousin, and I how to throw a curve ball when we were kids. No one ever told us we shouldn't play baseball just because we're females. One time, my uncle gave my sister and I some silver coins for getting good grades in school, so I cashed them in when their value went up, and I went out and bought a bat, a glove, some balls, and a baseball hat. It's something I did on my own because I wanted to play ball very badly. I know I have a natural passion for the game driven from within, and I'm sure all of those influences helped bring it out.

Like I said, I don't remember a time when I didn't love the game.

You said that you played ice hockey as a kid and I don't ever remember a girl playing hockey or any sports with the boys where I grew up. We did have a young woman speed skater as a neighbor who qualified for the Winter Olympics of 1960 on the same rink we played hockey on. She finished 3rd in the 1956 Olympics and 4th in the 1960 Olympics. Watching her at our rink lap the competition impressed me and I remember cheering her on along with the other locals.

Your research has shown us that thousands of girls and young women tried very hard to play baseball or softball without much success. Today's climate seems to be better for girl's to play baseball. But girl's have so many more sports to choose from today unlike back in 1895 or 1925. Had they been allowed to play on HS girl's baseball teams back then I'm sure there would be a thriving women's ML today.

[NotAboutEgo]

[QUOTE=NotAboutEgo;910221]

You said that you played ice hockey as a kid and I don't ever remember a girl playing hockey or any sports with the boys where I grew up. We did have a young woman speed skater as a neighbor who qualified for the Winter Olympics of 1960 on the same rink we played hockey on. She finished 3rd in the 1956 Olympics and 4th in the 1960 Olympics. Watching her at our rink lap the competition impressed me and I remember cheering her on along with the other locals.

Your research has shown us that thousands of girls and young women tried very hard to play baseball or softball without much success. Today's climate seems to be better for girl's to play baseball. But girl's have so many more sports to choose from today unlike back in 1895 or 1925. Had they been allowed to play on HS girl's baseball teams back then I'm sure there would be a thriving women's ML today.

There weren't many girls playing ice hockey where I lived while growing up, either. I lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan until I was 9, and then we moved to a rural area. My sister and I started playing more after we moved to the rural area. We played with our cousins and neighborhood kids but never had the chance to play organized hockey. We tried to start a girls' league when we were in high school, but it was hard finding enough players. We put posters up in stores and other public places, but in a rural area where you have to travel far to do anything and without the internet at that time, recruiting was tough. Also, the permeating gender stereotypes affected who signed up and who didn't. My mom had the school announce the league in the school announcements, and many boys sat there laughing when they heard that we were starting a girls' hockey league. This was in the late 1980's. Those kinds of attitudes have a lot of impact.

Now, that rural area and most cities have girls' hockey programs.

That's cool about the woman speed skater who skated at your rink. I would like to see that in person.

Girls' do have a lot more sports to choose from now, but the affects of the stereotypes and gender discrimination has influenced that as well. Women's sports in general would have developed more and would have developed sooner than they have without those barriers.

The funny thing is, there were so many women playing orgnaized hardball from the late 1800's to about 1934 on Bloomer Girls teams. Some teams were sponsored by companies. Many of those women who played made decent livings by doing so and paid their way through college. They then went on to become profound women in society after their playing days. This is only one example of the development that was taking place in women's baseball more than 100 years ago, yet we are still in the developmental stages today because of the sexism that has existed against women's baseball from the time women started playing it.

It's time for a BIG change!!!

[TonyK]

[QUOTE=TonyK;910851]

There weren't many girls playing ice hockey where I lived while growing up, either. I lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan until I was 9, and then we moved to a rural area. My sister and I started playing more after we moved to the rural area. We played with our cousins and neighborhood kids but never had the chance to play organized hockey. We tried to start a girls' league when we were in high school, but it was hard finding enough players. We put posters up in stores and other public places, but in a rural area where you have to travel far to do anything and without the internet at that time, recruiting was tough. Also, the permeating gender stereotypes affected who signed up and who didn't. My mom had the school announce the league in the school announcements, and many boys sat there laughing when they heard that we were starting a girls' hockey league. This was in the late 1980's. Those kinds of attitudes have a lot of impact.

Now, that rural area and most cities have girls' hockey programs.

That's cool about the woman speed skater who skated at your rink. I would like to see that in person.

Girls' do have a lot more sports to choose from now, but the affects of the stereotypes and gender discrimination has influenced that as well. Women's sports in general would have developed more and would have developed sooner than they have without those barriers.

The funny thing is, there were so many women playing orgnaized hardball from the late 1800's to about 1934 on Bloomer Girls teams. Some teams were sponsored by companies. Many of those women who played made decent livings by doing so and paid their way through college. They then went on to become profound women in society after their playing days. This is only one example of the development that was taking place in women's baseball more than 100 years ago, yet we are still in the developmental stages today because of the sexism that has existed against women's baseball from the time women started playing it.

It's time for a BIG change!!!

Women such as yourself will make lots of changes in women's sports over the next 20 years.

A girl hockey player from my son's HS earned a Div I ice hockey scholarship but she had to travel to away games nearly every weekend to do it. The best girl player in our local Little League is now the JV softball pitcher. I bet she could play on the boy's JV baseball team.

If you have the desire and know it's what you really want to do then don't let the barriers stand in your way.

I lived near the ice skating rink as a kid and we played hockey at one end while the others (the girl's?) figure skated on the other end. I spent a lot of hours helping to smooth the ice for the owners. It was large enough to hold the Eastern US Olympic Trials for speed skating back when facilities were not as good as they are today. The winner of each race made the Olympic team along with the winner from out West somewhere.

Our neighbor who attended Tufts University won her race and then finished third in the 1960 Winter Olympics 500 meters. I'll never forget how hard I rooted for her on TV to win it! Her name is Jeanne Ashworth and she is the first US woman to ever win a medal for speed skating. She was a pioneer and probably nobody has ever heard of her. Her Russian competitors may have taken advantage of substances that are banned today.

[NotAboutEgo]

[QUOTE=NotAboutEgo;911355]

Women such as yourself will make lots of changes in women's sports over the next 20 years.

A girl hockey player from my son's HS earned a Div I ice hockey scholarship but she had to travel to away games nearly every weekend to do it. The best girl player in our local Little League is now the JV softball pitcher. I bet she could play on the boy's JV baseball team.

If you have the desire and know it's what you really want to do then don't let the barriers stand in your way.

I lived near the ice skating rink as a kid and we played hockey at one end while the others (the girl's?) figure skated on the other end. I spent a lot of hours helping to smooth the ice for the owners. It was large enough to hold the Eastern US Olympic Trials for speed skating back when facilities were not as good as they are today. The winner of each race made the Olympic team along with the winner from out West somewhere.

Our neighbor who attended Tufts University won her race and then finished third in the 1960 Winter Olympics 500 meters. I'll never forget how hard I rooted for her on TV to win it! Her name is Jeanne Ashworth and she is the first US woman to ever win a medal for speed skating. She was a pioneer and probably nobody has ever heard of her. Her Russian competitors may have taken advantage of substances that are banned today.

My women's baseball team (we're from Metro Detroit) played in Battle Creek, Michigan yesterday. We played in a minor league stadium that is now used for a summer collegiate team/league that's supposed to be as good as the Cape Cod League. The people in Battle Creek were all over us playing there and welcomed us in so many ways. They went out of their way to have us play there and did everything they could to make sure everything was ready. All of the people who helped set it up (from there) were guys. They are very friendly, positive, encouraging, and are all for women's baseball. They love it and want it back. The Battle Creek community is a great community (neither small town mind set or big city mind set but is somewhere in between) for things such as developing women's baseball.

In the Detroit area, people are open to it, but they aren't as welcoming and encouraging about it as they are in Battle Creek. If we want to play around here, we can get fields and umps and whatever else, but the people work with us more out of the fact that it's their job to do so; whereas, in Battle Creek, they jumped all over it and did everything they could to make it right and were excited about it.

I know the sexism and discrimination towards women's baseball doesn't exist everywhere at the current time, but it still exists enough to be a barrier that we have to overcome. It is clear that some areas are more open to it and want to help it progress while other areas go along with it and do what they're supposed to do because it's their job but aren't as encouraging about it... and then there are some areas that are flat out against it.

I think the bigger cities that have major sports are the ones that are not as excited about it and that just go through the motions when we need fields and umps, while the smaller towns like Battle Creek love it, because they don't have major sports and major dollars coming from it that influence the mindset of the people. They seem to be more open-minded and more open-armed about things that big cities could care less about.

When the AAGPBL existed, they had more success with having teams in the smaller cities and towns than they did trying to support teams in the bigger cities. That's why cities like Detroit and Chicago never had any AAGPBL teams.

It goes to show, attitudes (whether they are good or not so good) are contagious and influence things in big ways.

I agree with you that many of us who are working on developing women's baseball will help to make some major changes within the next 20 years. I've been involved with women's baseball since 1998, and so many things have changed and progressed since then. It's awesome to see that, in spite of the stereotypical attitudes that still exist, progress is being made, and those attitudes will fade in time.