The All American Girls Professional Baseball League was created in 1943 when professional baseball was threatened by World War II. Women took jobs in factories, grew victory gardens, organized scrap salvage drives and more. The AAGPBL was another example of women filling roles that had traditionally been filled by men. This lesson plan seeks to introduce students to a part a part of history they might not be familiar with while also showing how sports, entertainment and popular culture can mirror larger social issues. The goal is to find an easily relatable topic, such as baseball, and get kids interested in history and education through that.
Philip Wrigley founded the league in 1943 as a business venture; he owned the Chicago Cubs and many of his players had left the team to join the military. Originally called the All American Girls Softball League it consisted of four teams in its first year; all the teams were based in the midwest and all were owned by Wrigley. Between 1943 and 1954, when it was officially disbanded, the league experienced many changes. Consistent throughout the years was the fact that women were the central figures of the league, the teams mainly existed in the Midwest and the high standard that the players were held to. They were not only ballplayers, they were ladies also.