Full Description
Growing up, Pat Brown had two dreams: to play baseball and to attend college. She was told she couldn't play baseball because she was a girl and couldn't attend college because she had no money, but in spite of the obstacles, she achieved both of these dreams, playing for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1950 and 1951 and going on to attend college. She is among the few women professional baseball players to be included into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
"As the only former AAGPBL player to have written about the League," Brown says, "I feel like I have finally pitched my no hit game." This is a memoir of playing baseball on the sandlot, discovering and playing in the AAGPBL, and playing basketball in college. Brown shares her thoughts on the League's history, including what Philip K. Wrigley sought to do by creating the AAGPBL, what happened after Wrigley left to give more attention to the Chicago Cubs, and why the League ended. She also considers the future for women's professional baseball.
Interviews with such former AAGPBL players as Helen Hannah Campbell, Patricia "Pat" Courtney, Madeline "Maddy" English, Lenora "Smokey" Mandella, Jacqueline "Jackie" Matson, Jane Moffet, Mary "Sis" Moore, and Janet "Pee Wee" Wiley are included.
Contents
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I: Inside the AAGPBL: A Ballplayer's Memoir
1. Beginning and End of My Sandlot Days
2. Discovering the AAGPBL
3. Rookie School
4. The Kenosha Comets
5. The Chicago Colleens
6. The 1950 Tour Begins
7. From the Battle Creek Belles to College
8. After College, What?
9. Recognition for the AAGPBL
Part II: Thoughts on League History
10. What Did Wrigley Want?
11. What Happened After Wrigley?
12. Why Did the League End?
13. Is There a Future for Women in Baseball?
Part III: Interviews with Former AAGPBL Players
Helen Hannah Campbell
Patricia "Pat" Courtney
Madeline "Maddy" English
Lenora "Smokey" Mandella
Jacqueline "Jackie" Mattson
Jane Moffet
Mary "Sis" Moore
Janet "Pee Wee" Wiley
Epilogue
Appendix A: Annotated Rules of Conduct
Appendix B: Night Baseball at Wrigley Field: The Women Did It First
Bibliography and Source Material
Index
