• LIFE

Meet the Real Women Who Inspired A League of Their Own

3 minute read

When Philip K. Wrigley spearheaded the effort to remedy professional baseball’s wartime decline with a women’s league, one question dogged the league’s founders: what, exactly, to call it. It wasn’t technically softball. The ball was smaller, the bases farther apart and stealing bases—forbidden in softball—was permitted. But it wasn’t baseball, either: the ball was larger and the bases, closer. They settled on a compromise: The All-American Girls Professional Ball League.

The league that would later inspire the 1992 movie A League of Their Own — and the enduring exclamation, “There’s no crying in baseball!” — had just kicked off its third season when LIFE featured it in a photo essay in 1945. The six teams, all based in the Midwest, were comprised of nearly 100 women between the ages of 16 and 27 who played for $50 to $85 per week. Eight were married and three had children. Nearly half a million spectators were expected to turn out over the course of that season, shelling out $0.74 for a seat to watch the Rockford Peaches face the South Bend Blue Sox and the Grand Rapid Chicks take on the Racine Belles.

As exciting as it was to watch women slide and steal and scuff their knees, the league was a product of its time, and its strict rules of conduct reflected this. According to LIFE, “League rules establish she must always wear feminine attire, cannot smoke or drink in public, cannot have dates except with ‘old friends’ and then only with the approval of the ever-present team chaperone.”

But as demure as the players may have been off the field, they were serious athletes as soon as the first pitch was thrown. Blue Sox Catcher Mary “Bonnie” Baker could throw 345 feet. Lefty pitcher Annabelle Lee threw a perfect game. And Sophie Kurys stole 1,114 bases during her ten-year career. The appeal of players’ athleticism kept the league going for more than a decade, with attendance peaking in the late 1940s at 910,000 fans. But the league’s decentralization, a dearth of qualified players and the rise of televised major league games eventually led to its demise, with players retiring their gloves after the close of the 1954 season.

Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizabethRonk.

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Catcher May "Bonnie" Baker of the South Bend Blue Sox has five brothers, four sisters, all of them catchers on Canadian ball teams. Bonnie once set a grade-school record by throwing a ball 345 feet. She also rides, swims and bowls.
Caption from LIFE. Catcher Mary "Bonnie" Baker of the South Bend Blue Sox has five brothers, four sisters, all of them catchers on Canadian ball teams. Bonnie once set a grade-school record by throwing a ball 345 feet. She also rides, swims and bowls.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Pitcher Caroline Morris of Rockford Peaches, who pitched two no-hitters last year, uses a whirling underhand delivery.
Caption from LIFE. Pitcher Caroline Morris of Rockford Peaches, who pitched two no-hitters last year, uses a whirling underhand delivery.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Outfielder Faye Dancer, Fort Wayne, is a heavy hitter. By league rule, skirts must be within six inches of the kneecap.
Caption from LIFE. Outfielder Faye Dancer, Fort Wayne, is a heavy hitter. By league rule, skirts must be within six inches of the kneecap.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Pitcher Annabelle Lee, Fort Wayne southpaw, hurled only perfect game (no opponent reached first) in league history.
Caption from LIFE. Pitcher Annabelle Lee, Fort Wayne southpaw, hurled only perfect game (no opponent reached first) in league history.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Girl's Midwest baseball league, 1945.
Girl's Midwest baseball league, 1945.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Girl's Midwest baseball league, 1945.
Girl's Midwest baseball league, 1945.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Girl's Midwest baseball league, 1945.
Girl's Midwest baseball league, 1945.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Anastasia Batikis, Belles' outfielder, is about to take a healthy cut during a practice game. Former big leaguers like Max Carey and Marty MacManus coach the teams.
Caption from LIFE. Anastasia Batikis, Belles' outfielder, is about to take a healthy cut during a practice game. Former big leaguers like Max Carey and Marty MacManus coach the teams.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Penny O'Brian, Fort Wayne rookie infielder slides into third base. Sliding and bare legs are incompatible but girls do it regularly in their enthusiasm.
Caption from LIFE. Penny O'Brian, Fort Wayne rookie infielder slides into third base. Sliding and bare legs are incompatible but girls do it regularly in their enthusiasm. Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Faye Dancer pays for sliding into base with her bare legs protected only by a skirt rather than the male players' pants. "Strawberry" marks are painfully frequent.
Caption from LIFE. Faye Dancer pays for sliding into base with her bare legs protected only by a skirt rather than the male players' pants. "Strawberry" marks are painfully frequent.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Girl's Midwest baseball league, 1945.
Girl's Midwest baseball league, 1945.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
All six teams of the league pose for a formal picture at season's start…Eight of the players are married, three are mother, many are engaged. A playing team consists of nine players, not ten as in softball. The league has a total of 96 players. Admission to games: $.74.
Caption from LIFE. All six teams of the league pose for a formal picture at season's start … Eight of the players are married, three are mothers, many are engaged. A playing team consists of nine players, not ten as in softball. The league has a total of 96 players. Admission to games: $0.74.Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

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Write to Eliza Berman at eliza.berman@time.com